35 Solution Architect Interview Questions (And Answers)

Updated 23 February 2023

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Solution architects are professionals responsible for solving specific business problems by providing IT solutions. Solution architects recommend and manage hardware and software systems central to business operations. If you have technical understanding and development skills, you may aspire to become a solution architect. In this article, we examine 35 potential solution architect interview questions you can expect during a job interview with example answers.

Please note that none of the companies, institutions or organisations mentioned in this article are associated with Indeed.

General Solution Architect Interview Questions

Interviewers may begin an interview with general questions that may or may not be technical. It may help you become comfortable and answer the questions that follow confidently. As the interview progresses, they may move to more complex and technical questions specific to your skill and the job role. Some general solution architect interview questions that you may face are:

What goals would you set for yourself as a professional solution architect?
What projects will you start within three months if you are selected?
If we asked your colleagues to describe you in one word, what would they say?
How comfortable are you speaking to people about technical topics?
What would a day in your ideal job role look like?
What is your desired salary range?
Explain a recent professional achievement.
What qualities of yours make you a good fit for this job?
What specific skills does a solution architect require?
Why are you choosing to exit your current role?

Questions About Work Experience And Background

After an initial ice-breaking session and some general questions, interviewers may ask specific questions about your work experience as a solution architect. A solution architect often serves as a bridge between technical and non-technical members of an IT project. It helps them understand your experience and gather details of the projects you have previously worked on in the role. Some questions that an interviewer may ask to evaluate your experience in solution architecture are:

What is your favourite thing about being a solution architect?
How long have you been working as a solution architect?
What are your strengths as a solution architect?
What are your weaknesses as a solution architect?
Tell me about a recent successful project you were part of as a solution architect.
Tell me about a time a project was unsuccessful and why.
How many coding languages are you fluent in and what are they?
In your experience, what is the major benefit of being a solution architect?
How does your educational background prepare you to be a solution architect?
Explain in detail any one project in your portfolio.

In-Depth Interview Questions

Answers to in-depth questions reveal your understanding of the role and give an idea about your skills and competencies. You may answer these questions in steps or provide examples, like a portfolio or work out a sample problem. Some common in-depth questions you may encounter in a solution architect interview include:

Tell me more about the projects in your portfolio.
Share an example in which you analysed a complex problem, came up with a solution and evaluated results.
Show me some projects that you have worked on that demonstrate your technical skills in coding.
Describe how and when you diagnosed the cause of an operating error and fixed it.
Give an example of a situation where you had to collect information to solve a problem. How did you do it?
Explain what tools you use to perform the duties of a solution architect. Why do you use them and what do they do?
In steps, describe your approach for working with a lot of data.
In what ways have you applied new technology as a solution architect and innovated for your employer?
Explain your strategy for successfully improving upon existing software.
Look at this example piece of code and determine the output.

Common Solution Architect Interview Questions With Sample Answers

Before responding to questions in a solution architect interview, understand the questions thoroughly and give adequate thought to your responses. Evaluate whether a question warrants a brief or a detailed response before answering it. These are some common solution architect interview questions with sample answers:

1. What is the most innovative solution you have proposed so far in your experience as a solution architect?

The purpose of this question is to know about your experience in specific technologies and if that can be helpful for the company's business. Your innovative solution can help them understand your overall capability in providing solution specific to their company or clients.

Example: "When I worked at a previous company, a client that was a creditor presented us with a problem. The company had designed a website to encourage users to create an account and find the perfect credit card for their lifestyle. They wanted to include a way that customers could return to a credit card they had previously viewed.

I decided that the best solution would be to create a user interface that allows guests to favourite credit cards. This allowed consumers to mark cards they wanted to choose when they visited the website again. As a result, the creditor increased their customer base."

2. What is AWS?

Interviewers may ask this question if you attend an interview for a solution architect job or for an AWS solution architect role. The question aims to evaluate your knowledge about the job role. Your answer can also help the interviewer evaluate your exposure to popular technological platforms.

Example: "Amazon Web Services or AWS is the most widely used cloud platform offering features like database storage, computing power, content delivery and networking. An AWS solution architect is a cloud-computing professional with expertise in designing and implementing the architecture of a company's cloud-based systems on the AWS platform. They use the AWS Well-Architected Framework pillars to develop cloud solution that are secure, resilient and efficient. An AWS solution architect is typically knowledgeable in cloud migration protocols. AWS is a scalable platform giving AWS solution architects the flexibility to design customisable solution for their clients."

3. What is Domain Driven Design?

An interviewer may ask this question to assess your knowledge of crucial concepts of solution architecture. If the company works in a domain like banking or retail, they may want to test your knowledge of this particular concept. Respond to the question with a brief explanation of what domain-driven design is.

Example: "A solution architect may design an application using the latest technologies, but if it does not meet a client's needs, it may be of no value to them. Domain Driven Design (DDD) focuses on the domain of a business. It is a methodology that incorporates core business domain concepts into the software architecture. It focuses on the core domain and domain logic. A solution architect can design complex designs based on the models of the domain. They also collaborate with domain experts to understand and resolve domain-related issues."

4. How do you ensure security in design and solution?

Security is a top priority for businesses looking to secure the services of a solution architect. Security breaches are one of the prime concerns for any business. An interviewer may test your approach to building solutions in an optimised manner. Describe your approach to security and establish why your solutions are effective.

Example: "Organisations may suffer financial losses if there is a leak of crucial business information or customer data. When defining the solution architecture, I first try to understand how I can fit security aspects into the architecture. I provide security by protecting the databases from SQL injection. I also encode data before use and finally validate the input data before storing or using it. I also implement access control and encryption to provide data privacy and prevent unauthorised access. I conceal web server information, use HTTPS domains and set strong passwords to ensure optimum security for my solutions."

5. List the tools you may use for designing a solution.

There are many tools that a solution architect may use to design the architecture of a system. Describe the ones that you have used so far and their importance. You can also include other tools you know but have not used so far. You can also learn more about the skills that the company has mentioned in the job description.

Example: "The most popular tools for solution architects include:

Veracode to analyse source code and reach design goals quickly at a lesser cost.
Nagios to monitor systems and infrastructure and rectify errors.
Git to track the changes made in the source code during software development.
Terminal to execute processes, download apps or navigate between multiple files with the help of a single command.
Java and Docker for programming."