How to hire a senior application architect

How to hire a senior application architect, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior application 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 senior application architect job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior application architect
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior application architect do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior application architect you need to hire. Certain senior application architect roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a senior application architect to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a senior application architect that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of senior application architects.

   Type of Senior Application Architect	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Application Architect	Software developers are the creative minds behind computer programs. Some develop the applications that allow people to do specific tasks on a computer or another device... Show more	$44-75
   Lead Developer	A lead developer is responsible for creating software programs and applications, following the client and the business's software quality standards and design specifications. Lead developers assist a team of developers in implementing strategic procedures, managing system codes, debugging applications, running diagnostic tests, and troubleshooting defects to ensure its smooth performance... Show more	$39-77
   Lead Software Developer	A lead software developer is responsible for creating and designing software applications and systems to support business functions and client requirements. Lead software developers analyze specifications to build efficient applications, conduct multiple quality testing, and enhance the user's interface... Show more	$41-72

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Cloud
   • Java
   • API
   • Application Development
   • Azure
   • Application Architecture
   • JavaScript
   • Web Application
   • C++
   • Emerging Technologies
   • Ruby
   • SDLC
   • Enterprise Architecture
   • Debugging

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead all enterprise security and privacy designs for complex SOA base applications involving multiple lines of business.
   • Design and manage the LDAP database which, are used by the various applications in the OpenLoop platform for authentication.
   • Involve in developing and standardizing GUI using HTML and CSS.
   • Create partnership web service exporting registration data serialize as XML and JSON.
   • Create MVC Web-API to fetch and send data from the stored procedure and serialize it as JSON for the client.
   • Establish coding standards for Java, JEE, ExtJS, etc.

   More senior application architect duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, senior application architects' average salary in arkansas is 33% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior application architects 40% less than senior-level senior application architects.
   • Certifications. A senior application 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 senior application architect's salary.

   Average senior application architect salary

   $121,139yearly

   $58.24 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior application architect salary

   $93,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average senior application architect salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$153,924	$74
   2	Oregon	$136,078	$65
   3	Washington	$135,271	$65
   4	Nevada	$129,592	$62
   5	Rhode Island	$123,870	$60
   6	New Jersey	$122,499	$59
   7	Arizona	$121,520	$58
   8	New York	$121,112	$58
   9	New Hampshire	$120,310	$58
   10	North Carolina	$118,493	$57
   11	Pennsylvania	$118,312	$57
   12	Massachusetts	$118,034	$57
   13	Texas	$117,732	$57
   14	Georgia	$115,706	$56
   15	Virginia	$114,540	$55
   16	District of Columbia	$114,357	$55
   17	Maine	$114,271	$55
   18	Maryland	$113,633	$55
   19	Florida	$112,303	$54
   20	Ohio	$111,772	$54

   Average senior application architect salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	NVIDIA	$153,065	$73.59	382
   2	ViacomCBS	$144,778	$69.60
   3	NetApp	$144,275	$69.36	34
   4	Citi	$144,040	$69.25	47
   5	LendingClub	$142,583	$68.55	3
   6	Nike	$142,356	$68.44	13
   7	Gillette	$141,973	$68.26
   8	Fox News	$140,332	$67.47
   9	Electronic Arts	$140,305	$67.45	4
   10	Amazon	$139,767	$67.20	710
   11	CDW	$138,044	$66.37	19
   12	Molina Healthcare	$135,894	$65.33	192
   13	Edwards Lifesciences	$135,598	$65.19	90
   14	Nordstrom	$135,406	$65.10	6
   15	Bridgepoint Consulting	$135,126	$64.96
   16	Swinerton	$134,629	$64.73
   17	FHLBank Chicago	$134,551	$64.69
   18	NBCUniversal	$134,155	$64.50	15
   19	Novo Nordisk	$133,872	$64.36
   20	Beckman Coulter	$133,299	$64.09

4. Writing a senior application architect job description

   A good senior application architect job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a senior application architect job description:

   Senior application architect job description example

   Huntington Bank is seeking a senior-level Application Architect to design strategic solutions related to Consumer Digital applications. As a leader within our Application Development team, you will be a technical leader who partners with business stakeholders and works with agile product development teams to design and implement architecture that enables quality of highly integrated applications. You will be part of a highly collaborative, cross-functional scrum team, aligned with one or more product workstreams to develop and deliver digital solutions that push the limits of continuous improvement and innovation of our technology stack. The Senior Architect will also work with business and IT leadership to develop and maintain product-level roadmaps supporting business and technology strategies.Detailed Description:
   
   Work with Experience Owners and IT leadership to understand and capture business outcome goals and collaborate with other product, domain, and application architects to define the solution approach to support the business outcomes Conduct technical assessment of business ideas and concepts to support business value and prioritization Develop product-level roadmaps Design and present architectural designs and flow diagrams Mentor other architects, tech leads, and developers Update and create Enterprise Architecture positions and patterns Deliver business value through key solution architecture decisions, including transformation of ecosystems, lifecycle, and processes.Assist business areas to evaluate emerging technology products and services Analyze technology industry and market trends to determine their potential impact on the enterprise Support the strategic goals of the bank, including alignment with strategic capabilities, target architectures & technology standards Lead the evolution of the architecture practice Facilitate enterprise governance and assurance activities and outcomes
   Basic Qualifications:
   Bachelor's degree Minimum of 7 yrs IT experience designing architectures and delivering information systems including data/information architecture, technical infrastructure architecture, and application architecture.
   Preferred Qualifications:
   Highly motivated with strong organizational, analytical, decision making, and problem-solving skills Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, handle multiple priorities and effectively prioritize them Willingness and drive to learn and understand detailed software solutions High level of professionalism and confidence with the ability to build credibility with leadership, team members, and business partners and establish effective working relationships Ability to problem-solve, plan, scope, and provide estimates for work effort, producing quality deliverables on time and on budget Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a proven ability to interact effectively across all organizational levels, and explain technical concepts clearly and concisely to multiple layers of peers and leadership Work effectively in teams as well as independently across multiple tasks while meeting aggressive timelines High level understanding of Dev Sec Ops, continuous integration, container based applications, cloud deployment architectures
   
   #LI-Remote
   #LI-AB2
   
   Workplace Type:
   Remote
   
   Compensation Range:
   $140,000-$150,000 Annual Salary
   
   The compensation range represents the low and high end of the base compensation range for this position. Actual compensation will vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. Colleagues in this position are also eligible to participate in an applicable incentive compensation plan. In addition, Huntington provides a variety of benefits to colleagues, including health insurance coverage, wellness program, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plan, paid leave programs, paid holidays and paid time off (PTO).
   
   Huntington is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity and expression, genetic information, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law.
   
   Tobacco-Free Hiring Practice: Visit Huntington's Career Web Site for more details.
   
   Agency Statement: Huntington does not accept solicitation from Third Party Recruiters for any position

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior application 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.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior application architect job on Zippia to find and attract quality senior application architect candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit senior application architects, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview senior application architect candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • 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 senior application architect

   Once you've decided on a perfect senior application 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 also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new senior application 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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