How To Hire a Software Architect
Complete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Software Architect hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.
Software Architect Recruitment Guide
What does a Software Architect do?
Software Architects are highly technical individuals who are responsible for designing and developing systems and applications. They are the decision makers when it comes to designs, coding, and standards of the software. This role shapes how pieces of technologies are built and function, which as a byproduct influences how well a software developer can do their job.
Day to day tasks of a Software Architect
- Interacting with stakeholders to understand their needs and wants of software
- Creating high level design documents for pieces of software
- Assisting the software developers implement code
- Reviewing pieces of code from the software developers
- Staying up to date with the latest technologies
Software Architect definition
Software Architects are highly experienced and technical individuals who create high level designs of software systems and components using industry principles and practices. Software architects will assist developers on a day-to-day basis interrupt their design choices to ensure a continuity between implementation and design.
HIRING PROCESS
Software Architect Hiring Process
Build the ideal candidate profile
Skills needed for a Software Architect
A Software Architect pairs their skills in communication, technical prowess and design in order to create scalable, manageable and reliable software systems for organisations in order to carry out different functions of business.
- Stakeholder Management
- UML
- Software Architecture
Pro Tip
You’re likely to receive a lot of applications for software architects, a good place to start is understanding their technical knowledge and their experience and then their critical thinking skills as this will help you understand their thought process when problem solving.
WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS
How to write a Software Architect job description
Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Software Architect job description:
Job Title: What position are you hiring for?
Summary: What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
Responsibilities: An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
Requirements: Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
Benefits: Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer
Pro Tip
In building your candidate profile, remember you’ve already identified what skills are needed to succeed in the role. Here’s where to list your “must-have” skills and maybe a couple of “nice-to-have” skills. For example, a Software Architect should have a lot of experience creating UML in PlantUML.
SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sample skill tests for a Software Architect
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Question 1
Stakeholder Management
Question Type: Video
What’s an example of a time you had to collect information from a range of stakeholders to solve a problem. How did you do it?
Question 2
Software Architecture
Question Type: Multiple Choice
Object-oriented analysis focuses on finding and describing the _______ or concepts in the problem domain.
Question 3
UML
Question Type: Text
What do the << >> symbols in UML represent?
INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS
How to interview a Software Architect
Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.
Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.
Making An Offer
How much does it cost to hire a Software Architect?
Payscale.com reports that the lowest ten percent of Software Architects who reside in the will have a salary of $89,000 and ninety percent will have a salary of $167,000. Similarly Indeed.com reports the annual median salary as $135,626 with a cash bonus of $10,000 and on Glassdoor.com the average salary is $128,976.
Software Architect Salary United States
In the USA a software architect can expect a salary between $89,000 – $167,000 (USD). This salary will be heavily dependent on different components the architect will be working on and the location of the organisation.
Software Architect Salary United Kingdom
Software architects based in the United Kingdom will receive a salary from £44,000 – £111,000 (GBP). There are few major factors that affect this, including the location, the seniority and experience of the individual.
Software Architect Salary Australia
Software Architects in Australia have salaries ranging between $95,000 and $186,000 (AUD). This salary will be affected by seniority, experience and location of the individual.
