Interview prep
Technology Architect interview questions
13 questions technology architects get asked, grouped by type. Under each one are the skills it is really testing, so you can pick a story from your own work that shows them.
Technical
- Walk me through how you evaluate tradeoffs when designing a system that has to scale.Tests: system design, scalability
- How do you balance security requirements against delivery speed when designing a new system?Tests: system design, delivery risk
- How do you decide whether to build a capability in-house or use a third-party service?Tests: system design, judgment
Situational
- How do you approach modernizing a legacy system without disrupting the business that depends on it?Tests: system design, delivery risk
- A development team pushes back on an architectural decision you made. How do you handle it?Tests: communication, influence
- How do you get multiple teams to adopt a shared architectural standard when they've each built things their own way?Tests: influence, stakeholder management
Behavioral
- How do you explain a complex architectural decision to a non-technical stakeholder?Tests: communication, stakeholder management
- Tell me about a system design decision that didn't hold up in production, and what you did after.Tests: ownership, reflection
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker and how you handled it.Tests: conflict resolution, communication
- Describe a project or task that did not go well and what you did about it.Tests: ownership, reflection
- Give an example of persuading someone to adopt an idea they initially resisted.Tests: influence, communication
- Walk me through how you decided what to work on when you had more requests than time.Tests: prioritisation, judgment
- Tell me about a time you had to learn something new quickly to get a job done.Tests: learning agility, ownership
Getting the resume right first? See resume guidance for Technology Architects, or browse interview questions for every role.