How to hire a lead solution architect

How to hire a lead solution architect, step by step

Here's a step-by-step lead solution architect hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a lead solution architect job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new lead solution architect
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a lead solution architect do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your lead solution architect job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a lead solution architect for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A lead solution architect's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, lead solution architects from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of lead solution architects and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Lead Solution Architect	Description	Hourly rate
   Lead Solution Architect		$42-75
   Architect And Developer	An Architect And Developer is focused on the technical design, architecture, and development of products. They generally work as a part of the development team.	$40-69
   Infrastructure Architect	An infrastructure architect specializes in designing and establishing information systems to optimize business procedures and company operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and assessments to identify company needs, evaluate existing systems to determine its strengths and weaknesses, and present recommendations to senior officers or executives... Show more	$45-73

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Java
   • Digital Transformation
   • Cloud Computing
   • Cloud
   • Emerging Technologies
   • Analytics
   • Infrastructure
   • AWS
   • Client Facing
   • Apex
   • Pre Sales
   • Project Management
   • Lifecycle Management
   • Azure

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Set up and manage windows and web sites users' permissions.
   • Lead and manage a team of functional consultants across the supply chain and CRM modules.
   • Implement a manage SDP solution for global strategic outsourcing using existing remote infrastructure and application resource capability from India.
   • Lead a team to produce comprehensive, phase development plan to transition from current infrastructure to consolidate data warehouse architecture.
   • Create proof of concept environment and prototypes on cloud infrastructure for envision solution.
   • Implement inventory search with Cassandra and Redis on AWS.

   More lead solution architect duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your lead solution architect job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A lead solution architect can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, lead solution architects' average salary in hawaii is 33% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level lead solution architects 43% less than senior-level lead solution architects.
   • Certifications. A lead solution architect with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a lead solution architect's salary.

   Average lead solution architect salary

   $118,052yearly

   $56.76 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level lead solution architect salary

   $89,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average lead solution architect salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$143,982	$69
   2	Washington	$130,254	$63
   3	District of Columbia	$117,015	$56
   4	Massachusetts	$116,971	$56
   5	New York	$116,340	$56
   6	Maryland	$114,817	$55
   7	New Jersey	$113,847	$55
   8	North Carolina	$111,707	$54
   9	Arizona	$111,418	$54
   10	Virginia	$110,635	$53
   11	Texas	$110,634	$53
   12	Michigan	$109,977	$53
   13	Illinois	$109,906	$53
   14	Georgia	$109,425	$53
   15	Colorado	$109,271	$53
   16	Minnesota	$108,146	$52
   17	Connecticut	$107,078	$51
   18	Florida	$107,046	$51
   19	Indiana	$105,022	$50
   20	Wisconsin	$103,368	$50

   Average lead solution architect salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$178,055	$85.60	60
   2	Apple	$158,916	$76.40	73
   3	Google	$158,863	$76.38	91
   4	Levi Strauss & Co.	$156,713	$75.34	1
   5	Pinterest	$153,838	$73.96
   6	Atlassian	$151,265	$72.72	6
   7	Databricks	$147,857	$71.09	31
   8	Automation Anywhere	$144,604	$69.52	1
   9	F5	$144,459	$69.45	14
   10	Citi	$143,925	$69.19	7
   11	Nike	$143,438	$68.96
   12	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$142,613	$68.56	196
   13	McKinsey & Company Inc	$142,349	$68.44	6
   14	Microsoft	$141,545	$68.05	89
   15	Cargill	$141,310	$67.94	2
   16	Twilio	$140,987	$67.78
   17	Barclays	$140,624	$67.61
   18	Amazon	$140,544	$67.57	311
   19	Slalom	$140,225	$67.42	404
   20	iHeartMedia	$139,864	$67.24	5

4. Writing a lead solution architect job description

   A job description for a lead solution architect role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a lead solution architect job description:

   Lead solution architect job description example

   Minimum qualifications:
   
   + Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
   
   + 7 years of experience working with and managing executive stakeholders to create and align tools and technology solutions strategies.
   
   + 7 years of experience working in compliance, information security, IT auditing, and/or risk management.
   
   Preferred qualifications:
   
   + Experience creating and delivering presentations at the executive level with stakeholders.
   
   + Experience working with technical and business stakeholders and users.
   
   + Experience gathering, interpreting, and presenting data to identify business needs and propose solutions.
   
   + Ability to influence others, fostering and maintaining key relationships over time.
   
   + Excellent communication and discussion skills with the ability to influence.
   
   The mission of Global Affairs is to help people around the world by promoting responsible innovation, building trust in the potential of technology, and playing a part in shaping its future. Global Affairs operates on the front lines of the unknown and at the forefront of many of Google's biggest issues and includes the organizations that are responsible for the company's government affairs, public policy, legal, trust and safety, compliance, health, and charitable functions.
   
   As a Global Solutions Enablement Lead, you are responsible for helping to set the goal and strategy of our Global Affairs scaled solutions and tools. You will work with cross-functional partner teams to identify top user pain points, translate them into business requirements, help prioritize competing business needs, align executive audiences to gain buy-in, and influence the product roadmap to ensure governance across Google's global suite of hardware and software products. You will balance Google's legal and compliance requirements with our user's needs, and our company's values. You will be responsible for interfacing directly with Product, Engineering, Executives, and other cross-functional teams continuously which will allow you to shape the future of the Global Affairs solutions enablement ecosystem. You are a strategic thinker with a bias to action, and an agile and tactical problem solver with experience in getting complex things done at the executive level to drive organizational-wide impact.
   
   + Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders and external partners to implement solutions and tools to ensure a sustainable compliance quality program.
   
   + Partner with stakeholders to understand key business and user needs, identify strategic solutions, and set the direction and strategy for Global Affairs scaled solutions and tools.
   
   + Manage the delivery, performance, and user satisfaction of tool components and features.
   
   + Articulate prioritized business needs to product teams and influence their roadmap. Help prioritize competing business needs and clearly articulate them to influence the product roadmap to address stakeholder needs and enable business strategy.
   
   + Ensure transparency around systems development, providing key information to communicate and educate the business on capabilities and investments. Identify, assess, and advise stakeholders and customers on compliance risks and controls and track and communicate progress and gain leadership support for problem-solving.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find lead solution architects for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   To find lead solution architect candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit lead solution architects, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a lead solution architect applicant. In those cases, having candidates complete a test project can go a long way in figuring out who's the most likely to succeed in the role. If you aren't a technical person and don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new lead solution architect

   Once you've decided on a perfect lead solution architect candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new lead solution architect. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a lead solution architect?