Solutions Architect
Interview Questions.
15 practice questions across 12 skills — each with what the interviewer is really listening for. Prepare with intent, not guesswork.
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How to use this page
Don't memorise answers. For each question, read what the interviewer is looking for, then practise answering out loud in your own words with a real example. The notes describe strong answers and common red flags — they are for your prep, not a script.
System Design
1 questionWalk me through how you would design a scalable e-commerce platform for a client expecting rapid growth.
AdvancedWhat the interviewer is looking for: Strong answers clarify requirements and scale first, then reason about statelessness, caching, data stores, and failure modes with trade-offs. Jumping to a specific tech stack before understanding needs is a red flag.
AWS
1 questionHow do you choose the right AWS services for a workload without over-engineering?
IntermediateWhat the interviewer is looking for: Look for matching services to requirements, favouring managed services where sensible, and weighing cost and operational burden. Reaching for every shiny service or lift-and-shift with no thought is a red flag.
Microservices
1 questionWhen would you recommend a monolith over microservices to a client?
AdvancedWhat the interviewer is looking for: Strong candidates note that microservices add operational complexity and suit larger teams and independent scaling, while a monolith is often right early. Recommending microservices by default is a red flag.
API Design
1 questionHow do you design an API that multiple teams and external partners will depend on?
AdvancedWhat the interviewer is looking for: Look for clear contracts, versioning, backward compatibility, consistency, and good docs. Breaking changes with no versioning strategy is a red flag.
Cloud Architecture
1 questionHow do you design for high availability, and what does the client's RTO/RPO tell you?
AdvancedWhat the interviewer is looking for: Strong answers tie redundancy, multi-AZ, and backup strategy to the client's recovery objectives and budget. Gold-plating availability the client does not need, or ignoring DR, are red flags.
Cost Optimization
1 questionA proposed architecture is technically elegant but too expensive for the client. What do you do?
IntermediateWhat the interviewer is looking for: Look for right-sizing, managed services, and pragmatic trade-offs to fit the budget while meeting requirements. Insisting on the ideal design regardless of cost is a red flag.
Stakeholder Management
1 questionHow do you translate business requirements from non-technical stakeholders into an architecture?
IntermediateWhat the interviewer is looking for: Strong candidates ask about outcomes, constraints, and priorities, and validate understanding before designing. Designing from assumptions without stakeholder input is a red flag.
Communication
1 questionHow do you present a complex architecture so both executives and engineers understand it?
BasicWhat the interviewer is looking for: Look for tailoring the level of detail, clear diagrams, and connecting design to business value. One-size-fits-all deep technical dumps for executives are a red flag.
Security Architecture
1 questionHow do you bake security into an architecture from the start rather than bolting it on?
AdvancedWhat the interviewer is looking for: Strong answers use least privilege, defence in depth, encryption, and secure defaults as first-class concerns. Treating security as a later add-on is a red flag.
Architecture Diagrams
1 questionHow do you keep architecture documentation and diagrams useful and current?
BasicWhat the interviewer is looking for: Look for right-altitude diagrams for the audience, versioning, and keeping them in sync with reality. Stale diagrams nobody trusts are a red flag.
Technical Leadership
2 questionsYou disagree with an engineering team's proposed approach. How do you handle it as the architect?
AdvancedWhat the interviewer is looking for: Strong candidates lead through influence and rationale, listen to the team, and align on trade-offs rather than dictating. Overruling by authority or avoiding the disagreement are red flags.
How do you evaluate whether to adopt a new technology in a client's stack?
IntermediateWhat the interviewer is looking for: Look for weighing maturity, team skills, support, and fit against real needs, and de-risking with pilots. Chasing hype or blanket resistance to change are both red flags.
Negotiation
1 questionHow do you handle a client who wants a specific technology that is a poor fit?
AdvancedWhat the interviewer is looking for: Strong answers understand the underlying want, educate with evidence, and find a solution that serves them, not just say no. Blindly complying or dismissing the client are red flags.
Behavioural & role-general
2 questionsTell me about an architecture decision you got wrong. What did you learn?
BasicWhat the interviewer is looking for: Look for honest reflection, understanding the trade-off missed, and applying the lesson. Claiming all designs were perfect is a red flag.
How do you balance delivering value now with keeping the architecture flexible for the future?
IntermediateWhat the interviewer is looking for: Strong candidates avoid both over-engineering for imagined futures and painting into a corner, making reversible decisions where possible. Extreme in either direction is a red flag.