What is a Solutions Architect?

At Glean, the Solutions Architect is a pivotal technical role that bridges the gap between our cutting-edge enterprise search technology and the complex infrastructure of our customers. You are not just a facilitator; you are a builder and a strategist. This role sits at the intersection of engineering, product, and customer success, ensuring that our AI-powered work assistant integrates seamlessly into diverse enterprise environments.

You will be responsible for designing and implementing technical solutions that allow companies to unlock the full potential of their internal knowledge. This involves working with connectors (integrations with tools like Jira, Slack, and Salesforce), managing identity and access protocols, and often writing code to solve unique deployment challenges. Because Glean operates at the forefront of Generative AI and search, your work directly influences how users experience the magic of finding exactly what they need, instantly.

This position requires a unique blend of "hands-on keyboard" technical skills and high-level architectural thinking. You will be working with a team that operates with a relatively flat hierarchy, meaning you have significant autonomy and the opportunity to make a visible impact on our product roadmap and customer satisfaction.

Common Interview Questions

These questions are based on real interview experiences from candidates who interviewed at this company. You can practice answering them interactively on Dataford to better prepare for your interview.

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparing for the Solutions Architect interview at Glean requires a shift in mindset. You must be prepared to demonstrate that you are a technical expert who can code and design systems, not just talk about them. The interview process is designed to test your ability to execute under pressure while maintaining a customer-centric focus.

Your evaluators will be assessing you on the following key criteria:

Technical Proficiency & Coding Unlike some architecture roles that are purely diagrammatic, Glean expects you to be proficient in coding. You will be evaluated on your ability to write functional scripts (typically Python), interact with APIs, and deploy code in cloud environments like AWS. Do not underestimate the technical depth required here; successful candidates are often expected to produce code that is not just theoretical but deployable.

System Design & Cloud Architecture You must demonstrate a strong grasp of how modern SaaS applications are architected. Interviewers will look for your ability to design scalable solutions that handle data ingestion, permissions, and security. Familiarity with cloud services (AWS/GCP) and containerization is critical.

Problem Solving & Adaptability Glean is a high-growth environment where processes are still evolving. You will be evaluated on your ability to navigate ambiguity. Interviewers want to see how you troubleshoot complex integration issues when documentation is scarce or when a customer’s environment is non-standard.

Communication & Stakeholder Management You will frequently interface with both technical engineering teams and non-technical business stakeholders. You must show that you can translate complex technical constraints into clear business value and manage expectations effectively.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process for the Solutions Architect role at Glean is generally streamlined but rigorous. Based on recent candidate data, the process can move quickly—often concluding within two weeks—but it can also be unpredictable due to the company's rapid growth and flat structure. The process typically begins with a recruiter screen to align on logistics and interest, followed by a conversation with a Hiring Manager. This manager screen explores your background and fit but may not fully represent the technical depth of subsequent rounds.

Following the initial screens, you will move into the technical assessment phase. This is the most critical juncture. Candidates have reported a significant jump in difficulty between the Hiring Manager's description of technical requirements and the actual technical interview. You may be told the role is "low code," only to face a technical review requiring an 8/10 proficiency level where you must write and deploy code. The final stage involves a loop of interviews covering culture, deeper technical deep dives, and behavioral questions.

The timeline above illustrates the typical flow from initial contact to final decision. Use this to plan your preparation intensity: use the time before the Technical Screen to sharpen your coding and cloud deployment skills, as this is the primary filter. Be aware that communication between interview stages may sometimes feel disjointed, so you should treat every round as an independent opportunity to prove your technical merit.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed, you must prepare for specific, high-priority evaluation areas. Drawing from candidate experiences, the following sections outline what you must master.

Coding and Scripting

This is the area where most misalignment occurs. While some discussions may frame the role as advisory, the technical interview is hands-on. You are expected to be comfortable writing scripts to manipulate data and connect systems.

Be ready to go over:

• Python Scripting – Writing clean, efficient scripts to parse JSON, handle strings, or automate tasks.
• API Interaction – Making HTTP requests, handling pagination, and managing rate limits.
• Data Transformation – converting data from one format to another to fit Glean’s ingestion requirements.
• Advanced concepts – Asynchronous programming or deploying a small app on a cloud provider during the interview.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Write a script to fetch data from this public API, filter the results based on specific criteria, and save it to a file."
• "How would you debug a Python script that is failing to authenticate with a third-party service?"

Cloud Infrastructure & Deployment

Glean runs on complex infrastructure, and you need to understand where the software lives. Candidates have reported being asked to demonstrate code running on AWS.

Be ready to go over:

• AWS Services – EC2, S3, Lambda, and IAM roles.
• Deployment – How to get a script running in a cloud environment, not just on your local machine.
• Security – Understanding permissions, VPCs, and secure credential management.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Deploy the script you just wrote to an AWS instance and ensure it runs automatically."
• "How would you architect a secure connection between a client's on-premise data center and our cloud tenant?"

Solutioning & Integration

This area tests your "Architect" title. You need to show how you connect disparate systems to create a unified search experience.

Be ready to go over:

• Connectors – How to integrate with SaaS platforms like Salesforce, Jira, or ServiceNow.
• Identity Management – SSO, SAML, and OAuth flows.
• Search Relevance – Basic understanding of how indexing works and how to optimize data for retrieval.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "A customer is complaining that search results from Jira are outdated. How do you troubleshoot this?"
• "Design a solution to ingest documents from a legacy file system into Glean."