Hiring software architects

Over the decades that software architecture has developed as a field, certain principles have come to be recognized as best practices. While almost every candidate will be familiar with these principles, the strongest candidates will be able to explain why they’re necessary and point to specific examples of their past work that reflect their depth of understanding.

The CAP theorem states that it’s not possible for a distributed computer system to simultaneously provide consistency, availability, and partition tolerance. It’s one of the fundamental rules of software architecture. A strong candidate understands the CAP theorem and its implications, and can put it into practice in their work.

This question tests the candidate’s understanding of the principles of software architecture and allows them to demonstrate their understanding of complex program design. Strong candidates will show they understand the rationale behind the principle and might even describe programs where they’ve put it into action.

The development of software architecture can feel like the ultimate puzzle, requiring the ability to think laterally and approach a problem from multiple angles. Every software architect occasionally faces challenges in their work, and strong candidates can explain how they met and surpassed those challenges in order to deliver an excellent finished product.

Ideal candidates demonstrate a hunger for knowledge and enjoy taking on new challenges. Whether the skills they cultivate are directly related to their work or not, the ability to develop mastery on their own shows that a candidate possesses a growth mindset and will be an active contributor to the company culture.

Software architects never operate entirely on their own. But it takes time for new members of the team to get up to speed on how your company operates — and much of the responsibility to help them falls on their fellow software architects. An ideal candidate has experience as a teacher and mentor and looks forward to helping others develop their skills.

Even in a company where tech is the main product, not every member of the team will have a background in software engineering. This is where the ability to break down software architecture concepts in straightforward language comes into play. In doing so, the best candidates enable greater collaboration between technical and nontechnical staff.

Bugs are a common headache for software architects, but top candidates don’t let glitches in their code interfere with their work: they focus on using the best tools available to identify and correct errors. They ensure their code operates at the highest level, and provide thorough documentation to help others make additions and adjustments in the future.

The world of software architecture is constantly changing. As new technologies and practices emerge, an ideal candidate knows how to keep up with these exciting innovations. For example, they may be involved directly with open source projects to develop superior APIs or other tools, or they may be subscribers to journals showcasing new discoveries in computer science.