Solutions Architect
A solutions architect designs the technology that solves a particular business problem, deciding how the platforms, applications and data involved should fit together.
- Median salary*
- $137,800
4.2%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 11,500
0.9%vs last year
- Projected growth*
- +8.2%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- 6 out of 10
- Average hours*
- 40/wk
matches all-jobs average
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
- Solutions architects sit between the technical teams building a system and the executives funding it, turning a business problem into a workable technical design.
- The role is often confused with software architecture, which focuses on the structure of a single application, while a solutions architect's brief usually spans several systems, vendors and teams at once.
- Most work inside consulting firms, banks, insurers, telcos or government agencies, on programs such as migrating a core system to the cloud or connecting it to a dozen others.
How much do solutions architects earn?
The median full-time salary for a solutions architect is $137,800 per annum, before tax, up $29,000 since 2018.
Pay moves with the sector and with how you are engaged. Consulting firms, banks and insurers pay more than government and universities for the same title, and experienced architects often contract through their own company, which lifts gross earnings but gives up paid leave and job security. Vendor certifications and a current security clearance both raise what employers will offer, particularly for defence and federal government work.
What does a solutions architect do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Sitting in discovery workshops to work out what the business actually needs the system to do
- Sketching architecture options on a whiteboard before committing anything to a diagram
- Weighing vendor platforms and licensing costs against the skills the team already has
- Writing design documents detailed enough for delivery teams to build from
- Reviewing what has been built against the agreed design and signing off the deviations
What skills do solutions architects need?
Employers look for cloud infrastructure, business requirements analysis, strategy development, backed by AWS, Azure, GCP fluency and strong stakeholder management.
Specialist skills
- Cloud infrastructure
- Business requirements analysis
- Strategy development
- Project management
- Risk and internal controls
Software and tools
- AWS, Azure, GCP
- Lucidchart, Draw.io, Visio
- TOGAF, ArchiMate
- Jira, Confluence
- Data modelling tools (ERDPlus, dbdiagram.io)
General skills
- Stakeholder management
- Problem solving
- Written communication
Is the job growing?
About 11,500 people work as solutions architects in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 8.2% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a solutions architect?
Here's the path most solutions architects take, step by step.
- 1Complete a degree in computing or a related field
Around 52% of solutions architects hold a bachelor degree, usually in computer science, software engineering or information systems. A postgraduate qualification is common later in the career rather than at the start, and a small share come through a diploma and a long technical apprenticeship instead.
- 2Spend several years in a hands-on technical role
Most architects arrive from software engineering, cloud engineering or systems analysis, and the design work depends on knowing what building the thing actually involves. Three to five years of delivery experience is the usual base before anyone is trusted with a design.
- 3Add vendor certifications
The major cloud providers run architect-level certifications, such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional and Microsoft's Azure Solutions Architect Expert, and employers ask for them by name. Enterprise architecture frameworks such as TOGAF are useful in larger organisations where governance and standards matter.
- 4Move into architecture on a live program
The step up usually happens internally, by taking on the design for a project the team is already delivering, or by moving to a consulting firm that puts you on client work with a more senior architect reviewing it. Titles such as technical lead or integration lead are common staging posts.
Study that can help
No set qualification is needed for this role in our data. These qualifications are not required, but the study can help.
- Diploma of Information TechnologyDiploma
Teaches how to match technology needs to an organisation's strategic direction, which design decisions depend on.
- Bachelor of Information SystemsBachelor degree
Teaches systems analysis and design and how technology fits business needs, which discovery and design work use.
- Bachelor of Software EngineeringBachelor degree
Covers systems and architecture and requirements, useful for reviewing what teams build against a design.
Prefer something shorter?
A short course can build some of these skills without a full qualification. These aren't accredited, and we don't rank or recommend providers: compare a few before you commit.
Information systems
Search on CourseraSearch on UdemySearch on LinkedIn Learning
Information technology
Search on CourseraSearch on UdemySearch on LinkedIn Learning
Programming and software development
Search on CourseraSearch on UdemySearch on LinkedIn Learning
These are ordinary links to each provider's own site. We don't currently earn anything from them.
Ready to apply as a solutions architect?
Whether you're working toward becoming a solutions architect or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a solutions architect move to?
Moving into Chief Technology Officer typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $62,400 a year more on average.
- Chief Technology OfficerSuggested move$200,200+$62,400
- Chief Information OfficerSuggested move$172,100+$34,300
- Project DirectorSuggested move$148,200+$10,400
- Cyber Security ArchitectSuggested move$135,200−$2,600
Thick lines are moves people were recorded making in Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility (income tax records, 2011-12 to 2020-21). Thin lines are moves we suggest from skill overlap and entry requirements.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
Chief Technology Officer Solutions architects bring system design and business alignment to technology leadership, guiding technical strategy across the organisation. | +$62,400 | 50% | short course |
Chief Information Officer Solutions architects bring architecture oversight and delivery context to information leadership, aligning technology with business goals. | +$34,300 | 53% | short course |
Project Director Solutions architects bring solution design and governance experience, stepping into project direction to lead major technology programs. | +$10,400 | 55% | short course |
Cyber Security Architect Solutions architects bring broad system design and risk awareness, specialising in security architecture to protect integrated solutions. | −$2,600 | 41% | reskill |
Network Architect Solutions architects bring end-to-end design thinking and infrastructure knowledge, focusing on network architecture for complex environments. | −$13,000 | 44% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a solutions architect?
The typical solutions architect is 43 years old; 87% are men, 95% work full-time, and full-timers average 40 hours a week.
- 43
- Median age
- 13%
- Female share
- 95%
- Full-time
- +0h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a solutions architect?
The work runs in projects, so the rhythm shifts between discovery, when you are in meetings all day working out what is needed, and design, when you are writing and drawing on your own. Much of the value you add is in conversations: explaining a trade-off to a finance manager, talking a delivery lead out of a shortcut, or convincing a security team that a design is defensible. People who enjoy the role tend to like solving the puzzle at the whole-system level more than they like writing code, and are comfortable holding a position in a room full of people with different priorities.
What people like
- You see the whole system, not one piece of it. Architects get the view across applications, infrastructure, data and vendors, which is a broader picture than most engineers or analysts ever work with.
- Your designs turn into something real. A design document that a delivery team picks up and builds from, and that survives contact with production, is the clearest measure of whether the work was any good.
- Seniority without managing people. The role carries influence over budget and direction without the line management and performance reviews that come with a head of engineering job, which suits people who would rather persuade than manage.
- Every project brings a different industry. A solutions architect might work on a claims platform one year and a hospital records system the next, so the domain knowledge keeps changing even when the technical problems rhyme.
What people find hard
- You hand the design over and lose control of it. Delivery teams under time pressure cut corners on a design, and the architect often finds out at a review rather than when the decision was made.
- The hard limits are rarely technical. A design that is technically sound can still be rejected because of a licence renewal date, an outsourcing contract or a director's preference, and those constraints arrive late in the process.
- You are often the one saying no. Architects frequently have to tell a stakeholder that their preferred platform will not work within the budget or the timeline, which is a conversation people do not always take well.
- The documentation load is real. Design documents, decision records, governance papers and diagrams take up a substantial part of a week, and they have to be kept current as the project changes.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ solutions architects?
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs the largest share of solutions architects, followed by Financial and Insurance Services.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- 2Financial and Insurance Services
- 3Information Media and Telecommunications
- 4Public Administration and Safety
- 5Wholesale Trade
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 52% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 26% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 13% | |
| Other | 9% |
Will AI replace solutions architects?
Moderate exposure. Not replaced, but changed. AI is taking on some tasks and the rest of the job shifts around them.
Solutions architects sit at moderate exposure. Drafting design documents, turning requirements into diagrams and comparing vendor options are all tasks that generative tools now handle a first pass at, and the cloud vendors are building much of that guidance into their own platform tooling. What holds the exposure down is that the hard part of the job is choosing between constraints that are specific to one organisation, then persuading its people to accept the choice.
How a typical week splits
- Producing architecture diagrams and design documents25% of the week
Given a written requirement, generative tools will produce a usable first draft of a context diagram or interface list, so the drafting time falls and the review time grows.
- Comparing platforms, vendors and integration options30% of the week
A tool can pull together feature comparisons and licence models quickly, but weighting them against the skills the team already has and the contracts already signed is your call.
- Design governance and delivery reviews20% of the week
Checking built work against the agreed design, and deciding whether a deviation is acceptable or has to be unwound, depends on knowing what the organisation will live with.
- Discovery and requirements workshops25% of the week
Working out what a business unit actually needs is mostly listening and asking the follow-up question, and the answer often contradicts what was written in the project brief.
How we work this out
We break each job into its main tasks, estimate the share of a typical week each one takes, and judge how far current AI and automation tools reach into it. The score out of 10 starts from the job's overall rating (low is 1 to 3, moderate 4 to 6, high 7 to 10) and the task split places it within that range. Source: Career Tips analysis of each role's main tasks.
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from solutions architect work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Cyber Security Architect
Solid skill overlap (41%), reskill to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a solutions architect
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do solutions architects earn in Australia?
The median is $137,800 per year before tax, which puts the role among the better-paid technical jobs. Pay varies with the sector, since consulting, banking and insurance pay above government and education for comparable work, and with whether you are a permanent employee or contracting on a day rate.
How do you become a solutions architect?
Most people get there after several years in a hands-on technical role, usually software engineering, cloud engineering or systems analysis, then move into design. A computing degree and a vendor architect certification help you get shortlisted, but employers are mainly looking for delivery experience and evidence you have owned a design end to end.
Are solutions architects in demand in Australia?
Solutions architects are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 8.2% over the decade to 2035. Demand follows large system replacement and cloud migration programs, so most openings sit with consulting firms and big in-house technology teams in the capital cities.
Will AI replace solutions architects?
Not the role itself, though it is changing parts of it. Generative tools are already useful for drafting design documents, summarising requirements and producing a first version of a diagram, but deciding between competing constraints and getting an organisation to accept the answer still depends on a person who knows its history.
Do solutions architects write code?
Usually not as part of the job, though most have written plenty before. You may build a proof of concept or configure a platform to test whether an approach holds up, but the day-to-day work is design, documentation and review rather than production code.
What can a solutions architect move into?
Technology leadership is the common direction: a chief technology officer role pays around $62,400 more and a chief information officer role $34,300 more, both drawing on the same mix of system design and business alignment. Moving into project direction is another route, leading major technology programs rather than designing them, and it pays around $10,400 more. Some experienced solutions architects also set up as independent consultants through their own company, which is often where earnings grow.
Related roles
- Chief Technology Officer
- Chief Information Officer
- Cyber Security Architect
- Network Architect
- Project Director
- Software Engineer
Not sure this is you? Take the career quiz and get a ranked shortlist of roles that fit how you like to work.
Career advice
- How to change careers, and which moves are realisticData on 1,573 career moves across 350 Australian occupations shows 63.3% need no more than a short course, though skill overlap alone won't tell you which ones. Six worked examples, and how to check your own move.
- Skills to put on your resume (with skills finder)A resume skills section built for the job you're applying for. Search your occupation to see the specialist skills, tools and general skills it calls for, with worked examples and what to write if you have no work history yet.
- How to prepare for a job interviewWhat to work through before a job interview: a prep sheet built from the job ad, the stories that cover most questions, and the questions an interviewer can't lawfully ask in Australia.