Demand for Software Architects Continues to Expand
The demand for software architects is poised to continue increasing. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that software development jobs would increase more than four times faster than average from 2023 to 2033. As of 2025, they stand by this figure, stating that GenAI is unlikely to lessen it as AI-powered advancements reshape software roles rather than replace them.
Businesses across industries continue to digitize their operations, providing a steady need for professionals experienced in designing high-performance software systems. Top companies outside the software industry are competing with major technology firms like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google for candidates with expertise in microservices, cloud computing, and scalable architectures. At the same time, it’s not so straightforward to filter the talent pool: Software architects must use problem-solving skills in a much broader context than software developers, aligning software solutions with business needs while maintaining an acute awareness of the underlying engineering.
Those who are hiring software architects will benefit from this guide, which covers key talent attributes, practical job description steps, and insightful sample interview questions. By the end, you’ll have a clear framework for hiring software architects to drive your software development projects forward.
What attributes distinguish quality software architects from others?
Whereas software developers focus on building individual components, software architects work from a birds-eye view. They design the overall structure of software systems, selecting the technologies and services they’re built with and defining how these layers interact. To do so effectively requires a superset of the knowledge of a software developer: Their role may or may not involve coding, but they need to know how to do it well either way. The most valuable type of experience for this role lies in longer tenures where candidates have had the chance to learn from the full effects of architectural decisions — whether theirs or someone else’s.
A great software architect is a system design expert and, often enough, a cloud architect — services under the AWS, Azure, and GCP umbrellas are the default backbone for many new projects. However, the best architects will have enough experience with both cloud-based and on-premises systems (and hybrids of the two) to discern which approach is best suited to a given project.
The same goes for microservices: Some will say “always,” and others will say “never.” An expert software architect falls into neither camp: They’re someone who knows the fallacies of distributed computing, their continued relevance, how to mitigate them, and when this mitigation is an appropriate trade-off.
For architects to handle system-level optimization, they must be well-versed in multiple programming languages (like JavaScript, Python, and Java) and paradigms (functional versus object-oriented). Since they’ll often be responsible for a project’s full stack of technologies, their experience with multiple back-end environments and front-end frameworks is essential to making wise decisions. Software engineering prowess is undoubtedly necessary, but so are soft skills — software architects must communicate well with development teams, information technology teams, and stakeholders of various levels — from project managers to CTOs — to be effective.
How can you identify the ideal software architects for you?
The hiring process begins with a company’s specific needs and especially their scope. Startups looking for scalability and established organizations having trouble with alignment on a sizeable software project are both likely to need a software architect. But if you’re looking for higher-level coordination with many software architects, you may be looking for a solution architect instead. Likewise, the largest organizations might need an enterprise architect to harmonize the work of all the solution architects. (That said, enterprise and solution architecture are sometimes divorced from software development altogether.)
At the software architect level, you’ll want someone who keeps their hands-on coding skills sharp and stays current with the industry’s evolution. Alignment in these areas with the company’s technology stack is more important when the stack is both homogeneous and well established. For instance, a company working heavily with Microsoft technologies will benefit the most from an architect with Azure experience. But in a startup or a new department where the stack isn’t fully decided, the tech stack particulars of the architect’s expertise are less relevant.
Likewise, it’s worth evaluating a candidate’s experience with the particular methodologies (e.g., Agile, waterfall, DevOps, DevSecOps) and technological umbrellas (web, mobile, gaming, machine learning, cryptocurrencies) that are central to your team, project, or company. But where these remain unestablished, prioritize candidates with more comprehensive development process experience so they can help you set a foundation that makes sense for your context.
The best software architect for you is one who has the technical and organizational experience needed to bring your strategic vision to life. Has your candidate been successful in this role in similar industries and situations? They must be able to design robust architectures, streamline development workflows, and align software solutions with business objectives — make sure their track record shows it.
How to Write a Software Architect Job Description for Your Project
As an early filter, it’s worth highlighting (even within the job posting title) whether the position is full-time or contract-based and whether the position is (or can be) remote; for the latter, be sure the time zone requirements are clear.
Next, attract candidates with specifics about your project goals, its scalability requirements, and the key stakeholders to which the role will be responsible. Give them a sense of why the role is exciting and ignite their ambitions by detailing what you expect them to accomplish.
But drawing a larger candidate pool must be balanced with filtering out poor matches. On this point, the bulk of writing a software architect job description hinges on how firmly established your software architecture and methodologies are. The more you need someone to select and define as part of their leadership, the wider the exposure you’re looking for. The more you need them to fit into and refine your preexisting paradigms, the more it makes sense to list and require experience with as many specifics as possible.
Lastly, when specifying a requirement for years of experience, make a delineation: Experience working purely as a programmer is helpful insofar as it’s long enough to learn from architectural choices. Otherwise, it should be considered a bonus compared to direct experience as a software architect.
What are the most important software architect interview questions?
It’s just as important to test candidates’ hands-on knowledge with full-stack and general software development interview questions as it is to evaluate the broader perspective required of a software architect. An effective interview will include a blend of detailed technical questions and open conversations on topics like the following:
How do you approach designing for scalability?
A strong candidate will offer a decision-making framework that references techniques like horizontal and vertical scaling, load balancing, and fault tolerance. They’ll be able to provide and defend their opinions on:
- When microservices versus monoliths are most appropriate.
- Database scalability strategies like sharding and replication.
- Caching mechanisms like Redis, Memcached, and content delivery networks (CDNs).
- Cloud scaling services like AWS Auto Scaling, Google Kubernetes Engine, and Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets.
They should also be able to discuss how partnerships with DevOps and infrastructure team members can improve scalability — for example, through infrastructure as code (IaC) enabling the rapid and reliable expansion of infrastructure during demand spikes.
What are your primary security considerations, and where do they typically fit into your architecture?
Candidates must clearly understand authentication, authorization, data encryption, and secure coding practices. They should be able to describe secure login mechanisms such as OAuth 2.0, JWT, and SAML and when to use role-based access control (RBAC) versus attribute-based access control (ABAC).
A strong candidate will know the difference between encryption and hashing algorithms and which to use for data in transit and storage. Can they describe why passwords should never be stored in plain text and how salting makes it harder to brute-force a password?
If the role involves web applications, candidates should know the dangers of CORS misconfigurations and how to protect against XSS vulnerabilities, CSRF attacks, and SQL injections.
Likewise, cloud-based projects will need an architect who is well versed in the role of using AWS IAM policies, Google Cloud Security Command Center (SCC), or Microsoft Defender for Cloud, as applicable, to secure projects at the infrastructure level.
Consider an overreliance on a single security mechanism a red flag: Security must be implemented in all layers to be effective.
How do you decide on the best tech stack for a new project?
An appropriately detailed answer should include how to evaluate technologies based on scalability, maintainability, and alignment with business goals. It should touch on functional and non-functional requirements and preexisting company constraints (for example, a focus on a particular technical ecosystem). It should include defensible criteria for choosing front- and back-end components that eschew herd mentality and the often outdated arguments associated with it. It should put security first.
Your project will be ill-served by someone who uses React or WordPress for everything just because it makes up the bulk of their experience. Similarly, someone who develops mobile apps for iOS first as a matter of principle is showing a preemptively stronger loyalty to Apple than to your customer or your business. Strongly favor candidates who make data-driven decisions.
Why do companies hire software architects?
Companies hire software architects to build robust, scalable, and efficient software — and to help existing systems evolve with minimal friction. A software architect’s technical skills and strategic insight, and ability to communicate the two to developers and stakeholders alike, make them a cost-effective investment.
Ultimately, the quality of a software architect’s work can make or break the user experience and, therefore, their software’s success. With this guide’s strategic insights into defining, attracting, and hiring the right architect for your software, you’re well positioned to secure the top-tier talent that will drive your company’s long-term success.
