What is a Software Architect?

A people-oriented, software expert responsible for understanding strategic goals, making high-level design choices, deciding technical standards, and ensuring that decisions are communicated, understood, and ultimately implemented.

An architect is a technical driving force, focused on the delivery of tangible results while also mentoring, coaching and directing the day-to-day activities of other team members. A successful architect manages the quality of the team through both internal development, and the identification of outside resources and new team members.

What do Software Architects Do?

• Technical leader on projects with the authority to make technical decisions
• Understands and guides developers through the software development process and life cycle
• Understanding of the business domain and aids in defining product requirements with stakeholders
• Applies design patterns, and makes architectural recommendations to accelerate development and avoid or reduce technical debt
• Experience with multiple high-level languages and implementation frameworks
• Effective language skills: speaking, writing, and presentation abilities to communicate with stakeholders
• Ability to make decisions in an environment of imperfect information, tight time frames and pressure to deliver results
• Awareness of organizational politics to ensure communication with the right stakeholders at the right time
• Negotiation skills to minimize architectural risk and decide mutually agreeable requirements
• Advocate for non-functional requirements to ensure success, performance, scalability, security and maintainability