Perkins & Will Solutions Architect interview questions & guide 2026

The following questions are representative of what you will face during the hiring process. They are drawn from real reported interview experiences at Perkins & Will and are grouped into key thematic categories to help you identify patterns and structure your preparation.

Portfolio & Design Philosophy

These questions evaluate your architectural background, your design thesis, and your ability to articulate the narrative behind your work.

• Walk us through your portfolio and highlight a project where your technical solutions directly enabled a complex design concept.
• Tell us about your academic thesis and how those foundational concepts influence your approach to architectural technology today.

Preparing for an interview at Perkins & Will requires a balanced approach. You must demonstrate both rigorous technical expertise and a genuine passion for human-centric design. Interviewers want to see that you are not just a technical specialist, but a collaborative partner who can speak the language of design fluently.

Design Technology & Workflow Mastery – You must prove a deep, practical understanding of BIM platforms (primarily Revit), computational design tools, and project delivery methodologies. Be ready to discuss how you structure models, optimize templates, and troubleshoot complex technical bottlenecks.

Portfolio Presentation & Articulation – Your portfolio is the centerpiece of the interview process. You must be able to clearly explain the "why" behind your design and technical decisions, detailing your exact contributions to team projects rather than just showing beautiful finished renderings.

Collaborative Problem-Solving – Interviewers will evaluate how you navigate the tension between creative freedom and technical constraints. Show that you approach challenges with curiosity, patience, and a service-oriented mindset when supporting design teams.

Cultural Alignment & Curiosity – Perkins & Will highly values authenticity, continuous learning, and a passion for sustainable design. Be prepared to ask insightful questions about the firm's current projects, office culture, and their approach to mentoring the next generation of designers.

The interview process for a Solutions Architect at Perkins & Will is generally conversational, welcoming, and deeply focused on understanding you as both a professional and a person. The firm prides itself on creating a non-intimidating, collaborative atmosphere where candidates can genuinely showcase their work and personality. However, because the firm operates as a collection of highly autonomous regional offices, you may experience variations in pacing, scheduling, and the specific sequence of steps depending on your location.

A typical candidate journey begins with an initial screening call with an HR manager to discuss your background, career goals, and basic qualifications. This is followed by one or more technical and behavioral rounds, which often take place in a relaxed panel format with project architects, design leads, and principals. In some locations, particularly international offices, you may also be asked to complete a practical CAD or Revit assessment to verify your technical execution skills.

The visual timeline above outlines the standard progression from your initial application to the final decision phase. Use this roadmap to pace your preparation, ensuring you allocate equal time to refining your portfolio presentation and brushing up on your technical software skills. Keep in mind that local office needs and project schedules can cause the gaps between these stages to stretch from a few days to several weeks.

To succeed as a Solutions Architect at Perkins & Will, you must perform exceptionally well across several core evaluation areas. The hiring team will look for a balanced combination of technical rigor, architectural intuition, and collaborative leadership.

Portfolio Presentation & Technical Narrative

This is the most critical component of your evaluation. You must present a curated portfolio that demonstrates your ability to solve complex technical challenges while preserving design integrity.

Be ready to go over:

• Project Lifecycle Contributions – Clearly explain your specific role in each project, from schematic design through construction administration.
• Thesis & Academic Foundation – Be prepared to discuss your university thesis or academic research, highlighting your foundational problem-solving approach.
• International Experience Context – If you have worked abroad, articulate how navigating different building codes, cultures, and team structures has broadened your perspective.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk us through the most technically challenging project in your portfolio and explain how you resolved the primary conflict between the design intent and the technical constraints."
• "What was your exact day-to-day responsibility on this large-scale commercial project, and how did you manage the coordination of the consultant models?"

BIM Infrastructure & Software Optimization

You will be evaluated on your ability to design, implement, and maintain the digital infrastructure that powers the firm's design process.

Be ready to go over:

• Revit Workflow Customization – Creating and managing complex parametric families, shared parameters, and project templates.
• Interoperability & Data Integration – Managing the clean transfer of geometry and data between Rhino, Grasshopper, Revit, and AutoCAD.
• Model Auditing & Diagnostics – Identifying, troubleshooting, and resolving file corruption, slow processing times, and user coordination errors.

Advanced concepts (less common):

• Custom Dynamo script development to automate repetitive modeling tasks.
• Implementing cloud-based collaboration platforms (such as Autodesk Construction Cloud) across global, multi-office teams.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How would you set up a BIM execution plan for a highly complex, fast-tracked healthcare project with multiple external engineering consultants?"
• "Describe a time when you had to diagnose and fix a severely degraded Revit model that was slowing down an entire project team's daily progress."

Team Integration & Technical Mentorship

As a Solutions Architect, you must act as a trusted advisor and educator, helping design teams leverage technology effectively without stifling their creative process.

Be ready to go over:

• Mentorship & Training – Your approach to teaching technical workflows to designers of varying skill levels.
• Stakeholder Management – Communicating complex technical limitations to design principals and clients in a clear, non-technical manner.
• Conflict Resolution – Navigating disagreements regarding modeling standards, software choices, or workflow changes.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you handle a situation where a design lead insists on using a workflow that violates established office BIM standards?"
• "Tell me about a time you had to onboard a team of designers to a new software tool or workflow. How did you ensure adoption and minimize frustration?"

On a day-to-day basis, a Solutions Architect at Perkins & Will acts as the technical backbone of active design projects. You will spend your time translating complex architectural concepts into highly structured, efficient, and constructible digital models. This involves working directly alongside design teams to establish BIM execution plans, resolve geometric conflicts, and ensure that digital deliverables meet both firm standards and client requirements.

Collaboration is central to this role. You will regularly meet with Design Directors and Project Architects to understand their creative vision and proactively design the workflows, custom scripts, or templates needed to realize that vision. You will also coordinate directly with external engineering and construction partners, ensuring that structural, MEP, and specialty models integrate seamlessly with the architectural model to minimize clashes and field errors.

Beyond project-specific work, you will drive continuous improvement across the office. This includes auditing active models for health and performance, developing custom automation tools, and conducting formal and informal training sessions to elevate the team's technical capabilities. You will play a key role in mentoring junior designers, helping them build their technical confidence and navigate complex software challenges.

To be competitive for the Solutions Architect position, you must demonstrate a strong alignment of technical expertise, practical project experience, and soft skills.

• Must-Have Technical Skills – Expert-level proficiency in Revit and BIM management, strong working knowledge of AutoCAD, and a solid understanding of model coordination tools like Navisworks.
• Nice-to-Have Technical Skills – Experience with computational design tools (Rhino, Grasshopper, Dynamo), visualization software (Enscape, V-Ray), or basic programming/scripting languages (Python, C#) for custom tool development.
• Experience Level – Typically 5+ years of professional experience in an architectural practice or design technology support role, with a proven track record of delivering complex projects.
• Educational Background – A professional degree in Architecture (B.Arch or M.Arch) or a closely related field is highly preferred, as it ensures you understand the fundamental principles of building design and construction.
• Soft Skills – Exceptional patience, strong verbal and visual communication skills, a service-oriented mindset, and the ability to remain calm and structured in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments.

Q: How technically difficult is the interview process? A: The technical questions are generally practical and highly relevant to daily project work rather than highly abstract or theoretical. If you have genuine, hands-on experience managing complex Revit models and coordinating multidisciplinary projects, you will find the technical discussions straightforward and highly engaging.

Q: What is the firm looking for during the portfolio review? A: They want to see the technical story behind the design. Be prepared to explain how you structured your digital models, how you resolved coordination challenges, and the specific workflows you developed to deliver the projects shown in your portfolio.

Q: Should I expect a practical software or CAD test? A: While some locations have deprecated formal CAD tests in favor of deep portfolio discussions, some regional and international offices still include a brief practical exercise to verify your modeling efficiency, attention to detail, and software proficiency. Ask your HR contact early in the process so you can prepare accordingly.

Q: How collaborative is the working culture for this role? A: The culture at Perkins & Will is highly collaborative, supportive, and mentoring-focused. You will not be isolated in an IT department; you will sit with the design teams, participate in project pin-ups, and work side-by-side with designers and principals to solve creative and technical problems together.

Prepare for shifting panel sizes. The interview process is highly collaborative, and it is very common for additional team members or principals to join your interview halfway through. Do not let this throw you off. Remain calm, welcoming, and prepared to summarize or repeat key points of your background for the new arrivals.

Demonstrate your passion for mentorship. Perkins & Will is a firm that deeply values continuous learning and professional development. Highlight instances where you have mentored junior colleagues, taught a software tool, or helped establish a culture of knowledge-sharing in your previous offices.

Be ready to discuss your salary expectations early. Because the firm values transparency and efficiency, recruiters often ask about your compensation expectations and software proficiency ratings during the initial screening call. Research local industry standards beforehand so you can provide confident, realistic answers.

The Solutions Architect position at Perkins & Will is an exceptional opportunity for a technically minded design professional to make a profound impact on landmark projects worldwide. By combining your deep mastery of design technology with a collaborative, user-focused approach, you will empower creative teams to push the limits of sustainable, human-centric architecture.

As you prepare for your interviews, focus on crafting a clear, compelling narrative around your portfolio, highlighting not just the final aesthetic results, but the elegant technical solutions and workflows you designed to make those projects successful. Approach the conversational interview process with confidence, authenticity, and a genuine curiosity about the firm's work and culture.

The compensation data above reflects the competitive salary ranges and benefits packages typical for this level of technical leadership. When evaluating an offer, consider not only the base salary but also the firm's robust commitment to professional development, licensure support, and opportunities to work on highly prestigious, award-winning projects globally. For more detailed interview insights, candidate reviews, and preparation resources, visit Dataford.