Software Architect Interview Questions

Have you ever thought of the interview questions companies ask software architects before employment? WeTest helps you prepare for your interviews and get the best results.

Software architects make architectural decisions based on technical standards, comprehensive knowledge, and soft skills. Software architects are involved in software development projects and have different duties, such as engineering and design. 

Software architects are among the most demanding careers worldwide, and companies need a professional strategy to hire the right fit for their firm. They are experienced developers who should make important software design decisions by reaching out to businesses and customers.

Software architects are part of the software engineering team responsible for designing, developing, communicating, and executing creative solutions. 

Software developers and software architects are both part of the software development teams. Still, software developers are primarily responsible for writing codes, and software architects focus on making practical business decisions. 

Simply put, software developers transfer the practical business requirements identified by software architects to codes.

Software architect roles and responsibilities

Software architectures work with other team members constantly to provide a successful product. First, they will write code similar to developers but mainly focus on standards growth instead of creating software parts. 

In the first stage of software development, the architect will help the team to determine the customer’s needs and necessary resources.

Software architects will study the requirements and identify restrictions. Architecture’s central question is if the created idea is achievable based on the budget and deadline. 

The primary responsibilities of a software architect are as below:

• Work with other professionals to identify practical and non-practical requirements for new software or applications
• Use tools and methods to make presentations for the user interface of the desired products
• Develop high-level product descriptions by considering system integration and practicality
• Define all details of development, from proper technology and workflow to coding standards
• Transfer all concepts and guidelines to the development team
• Supervise the progress of the development team to guarantee the stability of the initial design
• Provide technical instructions to developers and engineers
• Ensure software meets all quality, security, modifiability, extensibility requirements, etc.
• Approve the final product before launch.

Some other significant responsibilities of a software architect are:

• Identifying initial non-practical requirements
• Assessing practical requirements gathered by a business analyst
• Choosing a technology funnel and classification methods
• Evaluating development time
• Designing an effective architectural solution

What skills should a software architect have?

Software architectures’ roles and responsibilities are comprehensive and demanding. A software architect should make professional decisions about what kind of platforms, tools, and processes the development team should use to make an application. These decisions also can guarantee that the IT system is aligned with the business’s goals and requirements. 

Software architecture should have technical and average skills because software architectures work with developer teams and should have a broad knowledge of the technology. These professionals communicate directly with customers’ project managers. It’s critical for software architects to share with both groups. Many software architects start working as developers or have a high level of experience in tech. Still, not all developers or engineers can become good at their jobs.

Here are some critical skills a good software architect should have:

• Problem-solving & resolving conflicts
• Communication – software architects must clearly explain the team’s mission, deadlines, and expectations.
• Coaching & inspiration – Leaders should guide and inspire team members to achieve goals if expectations still need to be met.
• Organization – Since software architects set the roadmap for development, being organized is essential.
• Prioritizing – Software architects must prioritize tasks quickly and manage team members’ responsibilities.
• Detailed thinking – In any development project, many details should be analyzed correctly. 
• Creative thinking – The software architect has to motivate teams to achieve the objectives regardless of the complications. 

Some other software architects’ primary qualifications are as below:

• Having a comprehensive understanding of coding and programming languages
• Having experience in database design and data modeling
• Having considerable knowledge of the software development process and communicative technologies
• Having an Excellent understanding of design patterns and architectural models
• Having expertise in content management system knowledge
• Having a good experience with ESBplatforms, such as BizTalk and MuleSoft
• Having powerful soft skills, such as attention to detail, problem-solving, and communication skills

The most common software architect interview questions

Suppose you are getting ready for an interview in the software architect field. In that case, your soft skills can have a critical role as much as your technical skills and knowledge. Hiring managers look for both abilities to guide the development team and handle the most complicated projects. 

Therefore, preparing for an interview will help you predict the questions about soft and hard skills. This article covered some of the most common interview questions for software architects. These questions help you prepare in advance to have the best luck getting approved for the interview.

1. What are your most vital technical skills?
2. What does “fail early” or “fail fast” mean in software architecture?
3. How would you apply a framework using Java programming?
4. What is your experience with component-based design?
5. Why should you use WebSocket over HTTP?
6. What is the best way to acquire end-user feedback on application prototypes?
7. Which tools are your favorite for testing software code?
8. Explain what a domain-driven design is.
9. What is lower latency interaction?
10. Can you describe your methods for defining application requirements?
11. Explain what the CAP theorem is.
12. What is Domain Driven Design?
13. How do you apply the SOLID principles to functional programming and deep-level system architecture?
14. Which programming languages have you used broadly?
15. What is the KISS principle?
16. What is your method of delegating tasks?
17. Which is the best choice for real-time data: WebSockets or Rest API?
18. What is Elasticity (in contrast to Scalability)?
19. Explain the difference between concurrency and parallelism.
20. What is a regression test in the software architect field?
21. What is a smoke test in the software architect field?
22. Why should you avoid the GOD class?
23. What is eventual consistency?

Conclusion 

Interviews can be challenging and stressful because you never know what might happen during the process. Therefore, the best way to avoid stress is to do some practice and research before the interview. 

Preparing a list of hard and soft questions can help software architect candidates to gain confidence before the interview and master the interview itself. 

The main goal of asking these questions is that employers want to ensure that the software architect candidate has the necessary qualifications and skills and can be a suitable fit for fulfilling the company’s goals.