Solutions Architect
When to Use
- Run technical discovery — stakeholders, systems, constraints, success criteria
- Translate needs into requirements — functional, integration, NFRs, assumptions
- Design integration architecture — APIs, events, identity, data flows, boundaries
- Produce reference architectures — logical, deployment, and integration views for review
- Assess security and compliance fit — controls mapping, gaps, mitigations (not legal advice)
- Frame sizing and cost — order-of-magnitude capacity, licensing, cloud spend drivers
- Scope PoC/Pilot — goals, in/out of scope, success metrics, exit criteria
- Draft RFP/RFI technical responses — requirements traceability, solution narrative
- Recommend build vs buy — options, trade-offs, TCO drivers, risks
- Prepare handoff to delivery — backlog, dependencies, open decisions, acceptance criteria
When NOT to Use
- Org landing zones, CCoE, enterprise EA programs →
enterprise-cloud-architect
- Single-product internal ADRs, C4, engineering standards →
senior-system-architecture
- Well-Architected cloud platform design (non-deal) →
cloud-architect
- Production Terraform modules, CI/CD, K8s build →
infrastructure-engineer, devops
- Configure RDS, IAM errors, autoscaling tuning →
cloud-engineer
- Build and demo the PoC in customer environment →
sales-engineer
- Issue trees, operating model, steerCo without technical design →
business-consultant
- MSA/SaaS redlines and legal risk →
commercial-counsel
- SOC 2 evidence packs and control narratives →
compliance-engineer
- Implement cloud guardrails and CSPM →
cloud-security-engineer
- Multi-year NPV/EA economics deep dive →
cloud-economist
- Program RAID, milestones, steering cadence →
technical-program-manager
Related skills
| Need |
Skill |
| Cloud platform and migration architecture |
cloud-architect |
| Enterprise cloud governance at scale |
enterprise-cloud-architect |
| Internal system ADRs and architecture review |
senior-system-architecture |
| IaC modules and delivery implementation |
infrastructure-engineer |
| Cloud service configuration and ops |
cloud-engineer |
| Pre-sales PoC execution and battlecards |
sales-engineer |
| Business case and strategy (non-technical) |
business-consultant |
| Cloud security controls and architecture review |
cloud-security-engineer |
| TCO/NPV and economic option modeling |
cloud-economist |
| Multi-team delivery and launch readiness |
technical-program-manager |
| FinOps dashboards and rightsizing |
finops-analyst |
Core Workflows
1. Scope and engagement framing
Role boundaries, inputs, outputs, stakeholders.
See references/solutions_architect_scope.md.
2. Discovery and requirements
Interviews, current state, requirements pack, assumptions.
See references/discovery_and_requirements.md.
3. Integration and reference architecture
Context, integration patterns, reference diagrams, interfaces.
See references/integration_and_reference_architecture.md.
4. Security and compliance fit
Threat framing, control mapping, gaps, customer questionnaires.
See references/security_compliance_fit.md.
5. Sizing, cost, and options
Capacity, cost drivers, build-vs-buy, option comparison.
See references/sizing_cost_and_options.md.
6. RFP, PoC, and handoff
RFP structure, PoC charter, delivery handoff package.
See references/rfp_poc_and_handoff.md.
Outputs
- Discovery summary — context, constraints, open questions
- Requirements pack — must/should/could, NFRs, traceability matrix
- Solution architecture — context, integration, deployment views
- Security/compliance fit memo — mappings, gaps, mitigations
- Sizing and cost estimate — assumptions, ranges, sensitivities
- Option comparison — build vs buy vs partner, recommendation
- PoC charter — scope, timeline, success criteria, risks
- RFP response sections — compliant narrative with requirement IDs
- Handoff package — backlog seed, dependencies, decisions log
Principles
- Discovery before design — validate problem, constraints, and buyers
- Explicit assumptions — every estimate and diagram states what you assumed
- Fit for purpose — right-size architecture for phase (PoC vs production)
- Traceability — requirements IDs flow through design, RFP, and backlog
- Reversible decisions — call one-way doors; defer until evidence from PoC
- Handoff-ready — delivery teams get scope, risks, and acceptance criteria
1---2name: solutions-architect3description: Guides customer-facing and internal technical solution design—discovery and requirements, integration and reference architecture, security/compliance fit, sizing and cost framing, RFP/RFI responses, PoC scoping, build-vs-buy, and handoff to delivery. Use when scoping a customer or partner solution, designing integration architecture for a deal, drafting RFP/RFI technical responses, planning a proof-of-concept, framing security and compliance fit, or preparing solution decks for stakeholders—not for org-wide landing zones and Well-Architected programs (cloud-architect, enterprise-cloud-architect), internal product ADRs and C4 (senior-system-architecture), production Terraform/IaC (infrastructure-engineer), hands-on cloud resource config (cloud-engineer), live PoC execution and competitive demos (sales-engineer), business strategy without technical design (business-consultant), contract redlines (commercial-counsel), or deep FinOps/GL (finops-analyst, compute-accounting-manager).4---56# Solutions Architect78## When to Use910- Run **technical discovery** — stakeholders, systems, constraints, success criteria11- Translate needs into **requirements** — functional, integration, NFRs, assumptions12- Design **integration architecture** — APIs, events, identity, data flows, boundaries13- Produce **reference architectures** — logical, deployment, and integration views for review14- Assess **security and compliance fit** — controls mapping, gaps, mitigations (not legal advice)15- Frame **sizing and cost** — order-of-magnitude capacity, licensing, cloud spend drivers16- Scope **PoC/Pilot** — goals, in/out of scope, success metrics, exit criteria17- Draft **RFP/RFI** technical responses — requirements traceability, solution narrative18- Recommend **build vs buy** — options, trade-offs, TCO drivers, risks19- Prepare **handoff** to delivery — backlog, dependencies, open decisions, acceptance criteria2021## When NOT to Use2223- Org landing zones, CCoE, enterprise EA programs → `enterprise-cloud-architect`24- Single-product internal ADRs, C4, engineering standards → `senior-system-architecture`25- Well-Architected cloud platform design (non-deal) → `cloud-architect`26- Production Terraform modules, CI/CD, K8s build → `infrastructure-engineer`, `devops`27- Configure RDS, IAM errors, autoscaling tuning → `cloud-engineer`28- Build and demo the PoC in customer environment → `sales-engineer`29- Issue trees, operating model, steerCo without technical design → `business-consultant`30- MSA/SaaS redlines and legal risk → `commercial-counsel`31- SOC 2 evidence packs and control narratives → `compliance-engineer`32- Implement cloud guardrails and CSPM → `cloud-security-engineer`33- Multi-year NPV/EA economics deep dive → `cloud-economist`34- Program RAID, milestones, steering cadence → `technical-program-manager`3536## Related skills3738| Need | Skill |39|---|---|40| Cloud platform and migration architecture | `cloud-architect` |41| Enterprise cloud governance at scale | `enterprise-cloud-architect` |42| Internal system ADRs and architecture review | `senior-system-architecture` |43| IaC modules and delivery implementation | `infrastructure-engineer` |44| Cloud service configuration and ops | `cloud-engineer` |45| Pre-sales PoC execution and battlecards | `sales-engineer` |46| Business case and strategy (non-technical) | `business-consultant` |47| Cloud security controls and architecture review | `cloud-security-engineer` |48| TCO/NPV and economic option modeling | `cloud-economist` |49| Multi-team delivery and launch readiness | `technical-program-manager` |50| FinOps dashboards and rightsizing | `finops-analyst` |5152## Core Workflows5354### 1. Scope and engagement framing5556Role boundaries, inputs, outputs, stakeholders.5758**See `references/solutions_architect_scope.md`.**5960### 2. Discovery and requirements6162Interviews, current state, requirements pack, assumptions.6364**See `references/discovery_and_requirements.md`.**6566### 3. Integration and reference architecture6768Context, integration patterns, reference diagrams, interfaces.6970**See `references/integration_and_reference_architecture.md`.**7172### 4. Security and compliance fit7374Threat framing, control mapping, gaps, customer questionnaires.7576**See `references/security_compliance_fit.md`.**7778### 5. Sizing, cost, and options7980Capacity, cost drivers, build-vs-buy, option comparison.8182**See `references/sizing_cost_and_options.md`.**8384### 6. RFP, PoC, and handoff8586RFP structure, PoC charter, delivery handoff package.8788**See `references/rfp_poc_and_handoff.md`.**8990## Outputs9192- **Discovery summary** — context, constraints, open questions93- **Requirements pack** — must/should/could, NFRs, traceability matrix94- **Solution architecture** — context, integration, deployment views95- **Security/compliance fit memo** — mappings, gaps, mitigations96- **Sizing and cost estimate** — assumptions, ranges, sensitivities97- **Option comparison** — build vs buy vs partner, recommendation98- **PoC charter** — scope, timeline, success criteria, risks99- **RFP response sections** — compliant narrative with requirement IDs100- **Handoff package** — backlog seed, dependencies, decisions log101102## Principles103104- **Discovery before design** — validate problem, constraints, and buyers105- **Explicit assumptions** — every estimate and diagram states what you assumed106- **Fit for purpose** — right-size architecture for phase (PoC vs production)107- **Traceability** — requirements IDs flow through design, RFP, and backlog108- **Reversible decisions** — call one-way doors; defer until evidence from PoC109- **Handoff-ready** — delivery teams get scope, risks, and acceptance criteria
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