Introduction
Structuring an architecture practice is as much about process as it is about people. Whether you’re a 10-person startup or a 10,000-employee enterprise, the blend of architect roles and the governance you wrap around them will determine how gracefully you scale. Based on hard-won lessons from the field, this article lays out a practical playbook for aligning Enterprise Architect (EA), Solution Architect (SA) and Team Architect (TA) roles to your company’s stage of growth, while keeping governance lightweight enough not to smother innovation.
1. Startups (1 – 50 employees) — Survive through Agility
In the earliest days, titles matter less than velocity. Your CTO or lead developer is typically a player-coach: setting the long-term vision (EA), shaping the initial system design (SA) and writing code alongside the team (TA).
Governance must be just enough to prevent accidental complexity:
- Architecture Decision Records (ADRs). One-pager “why” documents for irreversible calls—e.g., “Why we chose serverless.”
- Ad-hoc Architecture Review Board (ARB). Five-minute check-ins during daily stand-ups.
- Guiding Principles. Formalize three to five north-stars such as “Speed over perfection” or “Bias for managed services.”
Culture mantra: “Everyone codes, everyone architects.”
Pro-tip: Hire T-shaped engineers who can wear multiple hats and learn on the fly.
2. Mid-Scale (50 – 500 employees) — Balance Autonomy with Alignment
As product–market fit solidifies, entropy creeps in. You now need dedicated Solution Architects who own cross-team initiatives—think “migrating to microservices” or “lifting to Kubernetes.” Critical teams (DevOps, data, security) benefit from embedded Team Architects who stay close to code yet guard the technical runway. A small central architecture team begins to emerge, acting as proto-Enterprise Architects that steward standards and roadmaps.
Governance grows up—but stays nimble:
- ADRs with peer review. Use a template and require sign-off when a decision affects two or more teams.
- Monthly ARB. SAs, security and product leads hash out cross-cutting concerns; decisions are logged in the wiki.
- Guiding Principles 2.0. Shift emphasis to scalability, standardization and risk mitigation; reinforce via workshops.
- Tech Radar. Track approved, trial and deprecated tools; refresh quarterly.
Tools that scale: Lucidchart for diagrams, lightweight OKRs to align architecture outcomes with business goals.
Pro-tip: Coach SAs to be diplomats—equally fluent in business goals and engineering realities.
3. Large Enterprises (500 + employees) — Global Coherence without Stifling Innovation
When org charts sprawl across continents, you need clear architectural layers:
- Enterprise Architects set org-wide standards, roadmaps and KPIs.
- Solution Architects orchestrate large, cross-business-unit programs—modernizing an ERP, for instance.
- Team Architects sit inside product teams, translating guardrails into working code.
- Domain Architects (cloud, data, security) provide deep subject-matter muscle and advise EAs.
Governance becomes a genuine operating system:
- ADRs integrated with tooling (LeanIX, ServiceNow) for enterprise-grade traceability.
- Weekly ARB featuring EAs, Domain Architects, compliance and legal—decisions tie back to risk registers.
- Enterprise Guiding Principles. Hard-wired into audit checklists, onboarding and annual training.
- Central Tech Radar. Lifecycle status (adopt, trial, assess, sunset) plus deprecation timelines to prevent zombie tech.
Culture mantra: “Think globally, act locally.” Empower TAs to adapt standards to context.
Pro-tip: Rotate seasoned SAs into EA roles to bridge strategy and execution—and keep ivory towers at bay.
The Evolution of Architect Roles
- Startup: No formal roles—architects are player-coaches.
- Mid-Scale: Specialize SAs and TAs to tame complexity.
- Enterprise: Layer EAs → SAs → TAs for sustainable scale.
The Golden Rule
- EAs own the “Why” (strategy).
- SAs own the “What” (solution design).
- TAs own the “How” (execution).
Gen AI | Cloud | Microservices 