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How AI is shaping the Solution Architect role

A guide to the Solution Architect role as AI reshapes it: the skills employers ask for, the AI skills worth learning next, how the role is evolving, and what it pays.

job postings analysed
620
median of 48 postings quoting pay per month, Netherlands
€6,800
most common skill gap
AI Governance Frameworks

The Solution Architect role today

This guide draws on 620 Solution Architect postings from 358 companies, published from March to September 2026.

In 3% of Solution Architect postings, building or applying AI is the job itself.

AI Tools Literacy appears in 36% of Solution Architect postings, and AI Governance Frameworks in 14%.

Automation exposure averages 36 out of 100 across these postings, which is moderate: parts of the routine work can be automated, which makes AI skills more valuable in the role.

Senior positions make up 55% of postings, entry-level 20%. The most common way of working is hybrid, in 55% of postings.

Common skill gaps

The AI skills our analysis of Solution Architect job descriptions most often flags as a gap, with the share of postings where each one comes up.

  • AI Governance Frameworks32%
  • Prompt Engineering26%
  • AI Risk Assessment26%
  • AI Architecture Patterns16%
  • AI Cost Optimization16%
  • Generative AI Fundamentals13%

Solution Architect salary

Pay comes only from postings that quote it: 48 of the 620 Solution Architect postings. Each country uses the pay period its employers quote most.

Netherlands

based on 48 postings quoting pay per month

€6,800

median per month

€6,000€8,000

The middle half of advertised salaries, with the line at the median.

Essential Solution Architect skills

The skills employers ask for in Solution Architect job descriptions, from the most requested down.

Core skills

  • AI Tools Literacy
  • Data Analysis
  • Cloud Architecture

Also valued

  • Stakeholder Management
  • AI Governance Frameworks
  • Cloud AI Services
  • Prompt Engineering
  • Data Architecture
  • Solution Architecture
  • AI Architecture Patterns

AI skills to learn next

The AI skills employers most often want to add to this role, beyond the ones above.

  • AI Governance
  • AI Solution Architecture
  • AI Integration Patterns
  • LLM Integration Patterns

How the Solution Architect role is evolving

The directions employers are taking this role as they adopt AI, with the skills and responsibilities each one adds.

Most common direction

Toward AI transformation

Skills to add

  • AI Strategy
  • AI Change Management
  • AI Transformation Strategy

New responsibilities

  • Ensure AI solutions comply with ethical and regulatory standards
  • Lead AI transformation initiatives for clients, from strategy to implementation
  • Lead the design and execution of enterprise AI transformation roadmaps for key clients
  • Assess and mitigate AI-related risks in solution designs

Other directions

Toward AI engineering

Typical focus

AI & cloud, AI platforms and AI-enabled systems

Skills to add

  • AI Security
  • MLOps
  • LLM Integration
  • LLM Ops

New responsibilities

  • Collaborate with data science teams to operationalize AI models
  • Ensure AI solutions are scalable, secure, and compliant with enterprise standards
  • Ensure AI solutions comply with security and data privacy standards
  • Collaborate with data scientists and engineers to operationalize AI models
Toward data & machine learning

Typical focus

Data & AI platforms, AI & data platforms and Data & AI

Skills to add

  • AI Model Deployment
  • MLOps Fundamentals
  • AI Data Pipelines
  • AI Data Governance
  • Data Governance

New responsibilities

  • Architect data pipelines that support AI model training and inference for planning applications
  • Collaborate with data science teams to ensure architectural alignment for AI initiatives
  • Collaborate with data scientists to operationalize AI models in production
  • Define data governance and quality standards for AI-ready data
Toward AI governance

Typical focus

AI governance & assurance and AI governance & compliance

Skills to add

  • AI Risk Management
  • AI Compliance
  • AI Ethics
  • AI Audit

New responsibilities

  • Conduct AI risk assessments and ensure compliance with emerging AI regulations
  • Advise on ethical AI implementation and oversight mechanisms
  • Advise clients on responsible AI practices and ethical considerations

Solution Architect FAQ

Will AI replace Solution Architect jobs?

Automation exposure averages 36 out of 100 across these postings, which is moderate: parts of the routine work can be automated, which makes AI skills more valuable in the role. Employers are mostly reshaping the role toward AI transformation, adding skills such as AI Governance and AI Governance Frameworks.

What skills do Solution Architect roles require?

The skills employers ask for most are AI Tools Literacy, Data Analysis, Cloud Architecture, Stakeholder Management and AI Governance Frameworks.

Which AI skills should Solution Architect candidates learn next?

AI Governance Frameworks, AI Governance and AI Tools Literacy are the AI skills employers most often want to add. The most common skill gaps are AI Governance Frameworks and Prompt Engineering.

How is the Solution Architect role changing?

The most common direction is AI transformation. Other directions include AI engineering, data & machine learning and AI governance.

How much do Solution Architect roles pay in the Netherlands?

Advertised salaries typically range from €6,000 to €8,000 per month, with the median around €6,800, based on 48 postings that quote pay per month.

Find your next Solution Architect role

Browse open AI roles, updated daily.

This guide is built from public job descriptions for Solution Architect roles classified as Core AI or AI-enabled. Skills, automation exposure and career directions are extracted from each job description and compared across the market. Postings are deduplicated, so a job listed on several boards or by several agencies counts once. Salaries are advertised ranges from the Netherlands, taken only from the 48 postings that quote pay. How we collect and deduplicate postings.