1. What is a Solutions Architect at Anblicks?

At Anblicks, the Solutions Architect role is a pivotal leadership position that bridges the gap between complex business requirements and cutting-edge technology implementation. You are not just a technical expert; you are a strategic partner to clients, responsible for designing scalable, cloud-native data platforms that drive digital transformation. This role sits at the intersection of data engineering, cloud infrastructure, and business intelligence.

You will be tasked with architecting end-to-end solutions leveraging the modern data stack. Whether it is migrating legacy systems to Azure or AWS, designing a Data Lakehouse using Databricks, or implementing real-time analytics with Snowflake and Kafka, your blueprints will define the future of our clients' data capabilities. You will lead technical Proof of Concepts (POCs), mentor engineering teams, and provide critical pre-sales support to demonstrate the value of our technical proposals.

This position requires a unique blend of deep technical expertise—specifically in data warehousing and cloud architecture—and the soft skills necessary to navigate stakeholder management. You will work on high-impact projects involving Azure Synapse, Power BI, and AI/ML integration, ensuring that Anblicks continues to deliver innovative, enterprise-grade data products.

2. Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparation for the Solutions Architect role requires a shift in mindset from "how do I code this?" to "how do I design this for scale, cost, and maintainability?" You must demonstrate that you can see the big picture while remaining technically grounded.

Key Evaluation Criteria

Cloud Data Architecture Proficiency – You must demonstrate deep expertise in designing cloud-native environments. Interviewers will assess your ability to select the right services (Storage, Compute, Networking) within Azure or AWS ecosystems. You need to articulate why you would choose Azure Synapse over a traditional SQL warehouse or how to implement storage and compute separation effectively.

Data Modeling & Warehousing Strategy – A core component of this role involves structuring data for analytics. You will be evaluated on your command of modeling methodologies like Kimball, Inmon, and Data Vault. Expect to discuss schema design (Star vs. Snowflake) and how to optimize data flows for reporting tools like Power BI.

Modern Data Stack Implementation – Anblicks focuses heavily on modern tools. You need to show familiarity with the ecosystem surrounding data engineering, such as Databricks, Spark, Airflow, and DBT. The ability to discuss orchestration, CI/CD pipelines, and DataOps principles is crucial.

Consulting & Stakeholder Management – As an architect, you are often the face of the technical team. You will be assessed on your ability to gather requirements from non-technical stakeholders, translate them into technical specifications, and defend your architectural decisions. Pre-sales acumen and the ability to "sell" a solution are significant differentiators.

3. Interview Process Overview

The interview process for the Solutions Architect position at Anblicks is rigorous and designed to test both your breadth of knowledge and your depth in specific technologies. The process typically begins with a recruiter screening to align on your background and interest, followed by a series of technical and behavioral rounds.

You should expect a process that prioritizes scenario-based discussions over rote memorization. While you may encounter some specific technical questions, the bulk of your interviews will focus on architectural whiteboarding and case studies. You will likely be asked to design an end-to-end data platform based on a hypothetical client scenario, requiring you to make real-time decisions about technology stacks, data governance, and security.

Interviews generally progress from high-level fit to deep technical dives, culminating in leadership and cultural alignment discussions. Given the consulting nature of the business, expect interviewers to test your communication skills and your ability to simplify complex concepts.

This timeline illustrates the typical flow from initial contact to final offer. Use this to pace your preparation; ensure you have refreshed your core architectural concepts before the technical deep dives, and prepare your "war stories" of past projects for the final behavioral rounds.

4. Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed, you must be prepared to discuss specific technologies and architectural patterns in depth. The following areas are critical for the Solutions Architect role at Anblicks.

Cloud Platforms & Data Lakes (Azure/AWS)

This is the foundation of the role. You must understand the nuances of the primary cloud providers, with a heavy emphasis on Azure. You should be comfortable discussing the lifecycle of data from ingestion to consumption.

Be ready to go over:

• Azure Services – Deep knowledge of Azure Data Factory (ADF), Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS Gen2), and Azure Synapse Analytics.
• Databricks Integration – How to architect a Lakehouse architecture using Databricks Delta Lake.
• Storage vs. Compute – Strategies for decoupling storage and compute to optimize costs and performance.
• Security & Governance – Implementing role-based access control (RBAC), data encryption, and network security (Private Links, VNETs).

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Design a data ingestion pipeline that moves 10TB of daily logs from an on-premise server to Azure Data Lake. How do you handle failures?"
• "Compare the architectural differences between Azure Synapse and Snowflake. When would you recommend one over the other?"

Data Modeling & Warehousing

Anblicks expects strong fundamentals in data warehousing. You need to show that you can structure data in a way that is performant for business intelligence dashboards.

Be ready to go over:

• Dimensional Modeling – Designing Fact and Dimension tables using Kimball methodologies.
• Schema Design – The trade-offs between Star Schema, Snowflake Schema, and Constellation Schema.
• ETL vs. ELT – explaining when to transform data and how modern tools like DBT fit into this workflow.
• Performance Tuning – Partitioning strategies, indexing, and optimizing SQL queries for large datasets.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How would you model a sales database for a global retailer that needs real-time inventory tracking?"
• "Explain how you handle Slowly Changing Dimensions (SCD Type 2) in a Delta Lake environment."

Analytics & Visualization Architecture

The end goal of your architecture is often business insight. You must understand how data is consumed.

Be ready to go over:

• Power BI Architecture – Dataflows, datasets, and optimizing DAX queries.
• Serving Layers – Preparing data for high-concurrency reporting.
• Semantic Layers – Creating a unified business logic layer (e.g., using Azure Analysis Services or Looker).

DevOps & Data Engineering Best Practices

A modern architect must also be a practitioner of DevOps.

Be ready to go over:

• CI/CD – implementing pipelines for data infrastructure using Github Actions or Azure DevOps.
• Orchestration – Managing complex dependencies using Apache Airflow or ADF.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) – Using Terraform or ARM templates to provision resources.

5. Key Responsibilities

As a Solutions Architect at Anblicks, your day-to-day work is dynamic and heavily client-focused. You are the technical visionary for your projects.

Your primary responsibility is to lead the design and delivery of enterprise-grade data solutions. This involves working closely with functional and technical stakeholders to understand business requirements and translating them into a robust technology proposal. You will create architectural diagrams, define technical standards, and select the appropriate technology stack (e.g., Azure, AWS, Snowflake, Databricks).

Beyond design, you are a hands-on leader. You will conduct Technical POCs to validate new technologies like AI/ML models or real-time streaming with Kafka. You will guide the implementation team, helping to resolve complex technical blockers and ensuring that the final delivery matches the architectural vision.

Collaboration is key. You will work with the Data Analytics Centre of Excellence to standardize best practices. You will also provide Pre-Sales Support, partnering with sales teams to lend subject matter expertise during the proposal phase. This includes estimating effort, defining scope, and presenting solutions to prospective clients. Mentorship is also a significant part of the role; you will train junior architects and developers, fostering a culture of technical excellence.

6. Role Requirements & Qualifications

Candidates for this role are expected to be seasoned professionals with a strong mix of legacy data knowledge and modern cloud expertise.

Must-Have Technical Skills

• Experience: 10+ years developing data solutions, with at least 2–4 years dedicated to end-to-end cloud-native platforms.
• Cloud Platforms: Deep proficiency in Azure (Synapse, ADF, SQL) or AWS. Experience with Databricks is often cited as a mandatory requirement.
• Data Engineering: Strong SQL and T-SQL skills; experience with Python or Scala for data processing (Spark).
• Warehousing: Proven track record in data modeling (Kimball/Inmon) and working with warehouses like Snowflake or Azure Synapse.

Strategic & Soft Skills

• Stakeholder Management: Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical business leaders.
• Pre-Sales: Experience contributing to proposals and technology evaluations.
• Leadership: Experience mentoring teams and leading technical implementations.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Visualization: Hands-on experience with Power BI (DAX, Dataflows) or Tableau.
• Advanced Tech: Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, Kafka, or AI/ML integration.
• Certifications: Azure Solutions Architect Expert or Databricks Certified Data Engineer.

7. Common Interview Questions

The questions below are representative of the Anblicks interview process for architecture roles. They are not a script, but rather a guide to the types of discussions you will have. Expect a mix of high-level design questions and specific technical inquiries.

Data Architecture & System Design

These questions test your ability to build scalable systems from scratch.

• "Design a real-time fraud detection system for a banking client. What technologies would you use for ingestion, processing, and storage?"
• "We have a client migrating from an on-premise SQL Server to Azure. Walk me through your migration strategy, specifically regarding downtime and data validation."
• "How do you design for multi-tenancy in a data lake environment? How do you ensure data isolation?"
• "Explain the concept of a 'Lakehouse' architecture. What are the pros and cons compared to a traditional Data Warehouse?"

Technical Proficiency (Azure/Databricks/SQL)

These questions verify your hands-on expertise.

• "What are the performance bottlenecks you have encountered in Azure Data Factory, and how did you resolve them?"
• "Explain the difference between a broadcast join and a shuffle join in Apache Spark."
• "How would you optimize a Power BI dashboard that is running slowly due to large data volume?"
• "Describe a scenario where you implemented storage and compute separation. What was the impact on cost?"

Behavioral & Consulting

These questions assess your fit for a client-facing role.

• "Tell me about a time you had to disagree with a client's technical requirement because you knew it was the wrong architectural choice. How did you handle it?"
• "Describe a situation where a project was behind schedule due to technical debt. How did you get it back on track?"
• "How do you explain technical debt to a non-technical CFO?"

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How technical is this role compared to a Data Engineer? This is a "hands-on architect" role. While you won't be writing ETL pipelines all day, you are expected to know how they work, perform code reviews, and step in to solve complex coding challenges in Python, SQL, or Spark when necessary. You cannot purely be a "diagram architect."

Q: Is this role remote? Job descriptions for Anblicks often mention specific locations (e.g., Dallas, TX; Addison, IL) and the possibility of travel to unanticipated work locations. Candidates should be prepared for a hybrid model or potential travel to client sites, which is standard for consulting roles.

Q: What is the primary tech stack I should focus on? Azure appears to be the dominant cloud platform in Anblicks' recent requirements, often paired with Databricks and Power BI. However, knowledge of AWS and Snowflake is also highly valued and often required for specific client engagements.

Q: How important is Pre-Sales experience? It is significant. Because Anblicks is a services company, Architects often assist in winning new business. Being able to create a "Technology Proposal" and evaluate requirements before a project starts is a key deliverable mentioned in the job descriptions.

9. Other General Tips

Think "Business First, Technology Second" In your interviews, always start your answers by identifying the business problem. Don't just say "I used Kafka because it's fast." Say, "The client needed sub-second latency for fraud detection to prevent financial loss, so we selected Kafka for real-time ingestion."

Highlight Your "Builder" Mentality Anblicks values architects who build accelerators and "Centers of Excellence." If you have created reusable code libraries, design patterns, or internal tools that helped previous teams move faster, make sure to highlight these.

Brush Up on Modern Governance Data Governance is a hot topic. Be prepared to discuss how you handle data quality, lineage, and cataloging (using tools like Azure Purview or Alation). This shows you are thinking about the long-term maintainability of your solution.

Know the "Why" Behind Databricks Since Databricks is listed as a "must" in several descriptions, be ready to articulate its specific value proposition—unified analytics, support for unstructured data, and the Delta Lake format—rather than just treating it as a managed Spark service.

10. Summary & Next Steps

The Solutions Architect role at Anblicks is a challenging yet rewarding opportunity for a data-centric leader. It offers the chance to work with a diverse portfolio of clients, leveraging the latest in cloud and AI technology to solve real-world business problems. If you are passionate about data modeling, cloud architecture, and guiding teams toward technical excellence, this role is a strong fit.

To succeed, focus your preparation on Azure and Databricks architecture, data modeling fundamentals, and consulting soft skills. Review your past projects and be ready to explain not just what you built, but why you made those specific architectural choices. Confidence in your design decisions, backed by deep technical knowledge, will set you apart.

The salary data above provides a baseline for expectations. Note that compensation for Solutions Architects can vary significantly based on experience level (e.g., Principal vs. Senior), location, and specific technical certifications. In consulting roles, performance bonuses and billable utilization often play a role in the total compensation package.

You have the expertise to drive significant impact at Anblicks. Approach the process with confidence, demonstrate your ability to bridge the gap between data and business value, and you will be well-positioned for an offer. Good luck!