How do I screen Solutions Architect candidates before interviewing?

Send every applicant one link that carries 4 skills tests (Computer System Architecture, Advanced Networking in AWS, Software Engineer, Presentation Skills), a personality inventory and 5 one-way video questions. springhire scores everything automatically and ranks the candidates, so you interview the top few. The free plan covers 10 candidates a month.

How long does the Solutions Architect screening take a candidate?

About 40 minutes for the tests, plus 10 to 15 minutes for the video questions. Candidates complete it on their own time, on any device.

What should a Solutions Architect job description include?

A short brief, key responsibilities, must-have and nice-to-have skills and the requirements. The JD generator writes one for this role in a minute.

Which interview questions work best for a Solutions Architect?

Questions that ask for a specific past example and a walkthrough of how the candidate thinks. This page lists 8 with sample answers, and the full bank has more.

Yes. The free plan includes every screening tool with 10 candidate credits a month and no card. Paid plans start at $39 a month.

Engineering

How to hire a Solutions Architect

What the role does, the job description, the interview questions, and the 40-minute screening pack that tells you who can do the job before you book a single interview.

Screen Solutions Architect candidates free See the pack

The role

What a Solutions Architect does

A Solutions Architect sits in the Engineering function. The sections below give you the job description, the interview questions and the screening pack for the role.

Screen before you interview

The Solutions Architect screening pack

Systems, cloud, engineering fundamentals and explaining them to buyers. Every applicant gets one link. You get one ranked report.

Skills tests · 40 minutes total

IT & securityComputer System Architecture Test10 min · 20 questions · IntermediateThe Computer System Architecture Test helps hiring teams assess whether candidates can reason about CPU behavior, memory use, storage performance and system trade-offs. It fits intermediate IT and infrastructure roles where people need to diagnose slow systems and make sound architecture choices.Programming knowledgeAdvanced Networking in AWS Test10 min · 20 questions · IntermediateThe Advanced Networking in AWS Test helps hiring teams screen candidates for practical AWS networking knowledge. It fits roles that need sound decisions on VPC design, routing, peering, and security groups, and it gives a quick, structured read on whether someone can handle common cloud network tasks.IT & securitySoftware Engineer Test10 min · 20 questions · IntermediateThe Software Engineer Test is a 10-minute pre-employment assessment for hiring teams screening intermediate engineering candidates. It checks practical knowledge in programming fundamentals, data structures and debugging, helping you spot applicants who can reason through common development tasks.Situational judgementPresentation Skills Test10 min · 20 questions · IntermediateThe Presentation Skills Test is a 10-minute situational judgement assessment for hiring teams that need to evaluate how candidates plan and deliver effective presentations. It is a good fit for roles where clear structure, audience awareness and confident responses to questions matter.

Personality inventory

Big 5 (OCEAN) Personality TestThe Big 5 (OCEAN) Personality Test helps hiring teams understand how entry level candidates are likely to approach work, people and pressure. It measures five broad personality dimensions that can support decisions for roles where reliability, teamwork, adaptability and communication matter.

One-way video questions · answered on camera, scored by AI

1
Whiteboard the architecture for a system you designed recently.
2
How do you translate a customer's business problem into a technical design?
3
Describe a trade-off you made between cost, speed and reliability.
4
How do you handle a customer who wants the wrong solution?
5
Which cloud services do you reach for first, and why?

Send this pack to your applicantsFree plan, 10 candidates a month, no card.

Interview questions

Solutions Architect interview questions

For the candidates who pass the pack. Each comes with a sample answer on the full page.

01
What drew you to the solutions architect role rather than staying purely in engineering?
02
Describe a solution you architected end to end.
03
How do you keep current across such a broad set of technologies?
04
Who are the stakeholders you typically work with, and how do you manage them?
05
How do you decide between a monolithic and a microservices architecture?
06
How do you approach non-functional requirements like scalability and availability?
07
How do you factor cost into an architecture?
08
How do you design for security and compliance in an architecture?

All Solutions Architect interview questions with answers

Frequently asked questions

Also hiring in Engineering

How to hire a Android Developer

Kotlin knowledge, OOP fundamentals, algorithms and version control cover the day-to-day of an Android role.

How to hire a QA Engineer

Test engineering, automation, detail and the tooling around it.

How to hire a Technical Lead

Engineering leadership plus staying technical: code, algorithms and delivery.