Six question sets for hiring a licensed architect: portfolio and design process, code and construction documents, software and coordination, project delivery, and licensure, each with why the question is worth asking and what a strong answer sounds like, plus a 1-to-5 scorecard. Download as DOCX.
The first architecture hire I watched go wrong was not a talent problem. The principal of a five-person studio had interviewed on portfolio alone, twice, and both times the person who produced beautiful concept work could not produce a permit set. The drawings that reached the contractor cost her more in corrections than the design work ever earned.
That is the trap in this hire. The portfolio is the most seductive evidence in the room and the least reliable, because it is a marketing document assembled from team projects. The interview has to test the things the portfolio cannot show: authorship, code method, documentation quality, and how the candidate behaves when a drawing error reaches the field.
At FirstHR, we build for small businesses that hire without an HR department, where the principal runs the interview between deadlines. This page gives you six question sets, each question paired with why it is worth asking and what a strong answer sounds like, plus a 1-to-5 scorecard so the decision rests on evidence.
TL;DR
Interview an architect on five things: design judgment tested through the portfolio, building code and construction documents, software and consultant coordination, project delivery and construction administration, and licensure. Ask the same questions of every candidate, score each area from 1 to 5 right after the conversation, and verify the license on the state board register before you send an offer.
What to Assess in an Architect
Assess an architect on five things: design judgment, technical documentation, software and coordination, project delivery, and licensure. At a small firm the second and third matter more than most principals admit during a portfolio review, because a candidate who cannot produce a coordinated permit set turns every project into rework you personally absorb.
Design judgment at this size is mostly constraint judgment. A strong candidate talks about the program, the zoning envelope, the site, and the cost per square foot before talking about form, and can describe a client rejection they recovered from. That is a different signal from taste, and only questions get at it. Taste is what the images already told you.
The last item, licensure, decides what the role can actually be called. Only a licensed architect may use the protected title in most states and seal construction documents, so the license status sets the title in your job description, the pay band, and who signs. Settle that before the first call, not after a candidate impresses you.
The Six Question Sets
The questions below are grouped into five sets plus a scorecard. Each set targets a different part of the role, and a strong candidate should hold up across all of them rather than only in the portfolio conversation they have rehearsed most.
Portfolio and Design Process
Whose work is it?
Authorship, constraints, and the decisions behind the images. Use it with the portfolio open, and ask which sheets the candidate drew themselves.
Code and Construction Documents
Can they produce a set?
Code research method, occupancy and egress analysis, accessibility, quality control, and what happened when an error reached the field.
Software, BIM, and Coordination
In your tools, week one
Real deliverables in Revit, AutoCAD, or your setup, model standards, consultant coordination, and how they handle redlines.
Delivery and Construction Admin
Fee, schedule, site
For anyone who will run a job: scope creep, requests for information, submittals, substitutions, permit sequencing, and site visits.
Licensure, Client, Behavioral
Seal, clients, character
License status and jurisdictions, responsible control, client communication, and past behavior with contractors and consultants.
Scorecard and Red Flags
Score, do not guess
A 1-to-5 rubric across six areas, a red-flag list, and a pre-offer verification checklist. The asset most question lists skip.
Weight the Sets to the Work You Actually Sell
A residential studio doing custom homes needs client communication, budget conversations, and detail design, so lean on the portfolio and behavioral sets. A firm doing small commercial or tenant improvement work lives on code analysis, accessibility, consultant coordination, and permit sequencing, so lean on the technical and delivery sets. If you sell both, test both. Ask at least two questions from every set regardless, and use the scorecard so a brilliant answer in one area does not paper over a hollow one in another.
Six Question Sets and a Scorecard to Download
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual sets. Each set follows the same structure: when to use it, the questions with a note on why the question is worth asking and what a good answer sounds like, what to listen for, and space for notes. The last file is the scorecard.
Download All 6 Architect Question Sets
Portfolio, code and documents, software and coordination, delivery, licensure and behavioral, plus a scorecard with red flags. All in one DOCX.
Set 1: Portfolio and Design Process
Authorship, constraints, and the decisions behind the images. Use it with the portfolio open, and start by asking which sheets the candidate drew themselves.
Portfolio and Design Process Questions
ARCHITECT INTERVIEW: PORTFOLIO AND DESIGN PROCESS
Candidate: __
Firm: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
WHEN TO USE THIS SET
Use this set in the first interview, with the portfolio open in front of you. The
portfolio shows the result. These questions show the process, the constraints, and
which parts of the work the candidate personally did.
QUESTIONS
1. Walk me through one project from the first client conversation to the day it
opened.
Why ask: it separates authorship from participation and shows how the candidate
thinks across phases, not just at concept.
Good answer: names their own scope honestly (concept, design development,
construction documents, construction administration), explains the constraints,
and says what changed and why.
2. Which drawings in this set did you draw yourself?
Why ask: portfolios are usually team work and the honest answer is the useful one.
Good answer: points at specific sheets and says who did the rest without
discomfort.
3. What was the budget and the site telling you before you drew anything?
Why ask: design judgment at a small firm is mostly constraint judgment.
Good answer: talks about program, zoning envelope, site orientation, and cost per
square foot before talking about form.
4. Show me a project where the client rejected your first direction. What did you do?
Why ask: architects who cannot let a favorite idea go are expensive on small jobs.
Good answer: describes what the client actually needed, a second direction that
solved it, and no resentment about the first.
5. What is the most economical detail you have designed, and what did it replace?
Why ask: small firms live on details that a local contractor can build for the
money the client has.
Good answer: a specific detail, a real cost or schedule reason, and no loss of
quality claimed without evidence.
6. Which project in your portfolio would you not put in it today?
Why ask: it reveals how the candidate judges their own work over time.
Good answer: a specific project and a specific reason, ideally technical rather
than stylistic.
7. Describe the kind of work you want more of, and the kind you would rather not do.
Why ask: fit with the work you actually sell matters more than raw talent.
Good answer: honest and specific, and it either matches your project types or it
does not, which is worth knowing now.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Clear ownership of their own scope, without inflating it
•Constraints described before aesthetics
•Design decisions tied to budget, code, and site
•A second and third idea when the first one is rejected
NOTES
__
Set 2: Code, Drawings, and Construction Documents
Code research method, occupancy and egress analysis, accessibility, quality control, and what happened the time a drawing error reached the field. Run this on every candidate.
Code, Drawings, and Construction Documents Questions
ARCHITECT INTERVIEW: CODE, DRAWINGS, AND CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
Candidate: __
Firm: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
WHEN TO USE THIS SET
Use this set for every hire above intern level. It is the set that separates a
strong designer from someone who can produce a permit set your contractor can build
from. Most of the money a bad architecture hire costs a small firm is lost here.
QUESTIONS
1. Walk me through how you research code on a new project.
Why ask: code research method predicts how many surprises arrive at plan review.
Good answer: names the adopted code edition and local amendments, checks
occupancy and construction type early, and calls the jurisdiction when the answer
is unclear.
2. How do you determine occupancy classification, allowable area, and egress on a
project you have never done before?
Why ask: it is the analysis that shapes the whole scheme, and vague answers here
are the reddest of flags.
Good answer: a repeatable order of operations, with a code summary sheet produced
early rather than back-filled at permit.
3. Tell me about a comment you received at plan review and how you resolved it.
Why ask: everyone gets comments. How they are handled is the signal.
Good answer: a specific comment, a direct fix, and a change to their own checklist
afterward.
4. What is on your quality control checklist before a set goes out?
Why ask: a candidate with no checklist has been relying on somebody else.
Good answer: coordination between disciplines, sheet and detail references,
schedules against plans, and a second set of eyes.
5. Describe an accessibility requirement you have designed to and where teams
usually get it wrong.
Why ask: accessibility is one of the most common and most expensive corrections
in small commercial work.
Good answer: concrete requirements (clearances, reach ranges, route continuity)
and a real example of a fix.
6. A drawing error of yours reached the field. What happened next?
Why ask: every practicing architect has one, and the answer shows ownership and
process.
Good answer: told the contractor and the client quickly, priced the fix, and
changed the checklist. Denial that it has ever happened is a warning sign.
7. How do you write a specification, and how much do you rely on the manufacturer?
Why ask: specifications are where liability lives on a small project.
Good answer: understands the difference between a performance and a proprietary
specification, and does not paste a manufacturer document unread.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Names the code edition and the local amendments, not just "the building code"
•Produces a code summary early in the project
•Has a personal quality control checklist and uses it
•Owns errors and changes the process afterward
NOTES
__
Still Using Spreadsheets for Onboarding?
Automate documents, training assignments, task management, and track onboarding progress in real time.
Real deliverables in your tools, model setup and naming standards, coordination with structural and mechanical consultants, and how the candidate handles redlines.
Software, BIM, and Consultant Coordination Questions
ARCHITECT INTERVIEW: SOFTWARE, BIM, AND CONSULTANT COORDINATION
Candidate: __
Firm: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
WHEN TO USE THIS SET
Use this set whenever the hire has to produce documents in your tools from week
one. At a small firm nobody has time to teach the software, so proficiency in your
exact setup is a central filter rather than a detail.
QUESTIONS
1. Which tools are you strongest in, and what have you actually produced in them?
Why ask: tool lists are easy to claim, produced sheets are not.
Good answer: names the software (Revit, AutoCAD, SketchUp, Rhino, Bluebeam or
similar) and describes real deliverables made in each.
2. How do you set up a model at the start of a project?
Why ask: model setup decides whether the set stays coordinated for the next year.
Good answer: templates, levels and grids, worksets or file structure, naming
standards, and a view and sheet system agreed before production starts.
3. How do you keep the model and the printed set consistent when the design changes
late?
Why ask: late changes are where small sets fall apart.
Good answer: schedules and tags driven by the model, a change log, and a
coordination review before every issue.
4. How do you coordinate with structural, mechanical, electrical, and civil
consultants?
Why ask: coordination failures are the most common cause of change orders.
Good answer: a set exchange rhythm, clash review, and written follow up on open
items rather than hallway agreements.
5. Tell me about a coordination conflict you caught before it reached the site, and
one you did not.
Why ask: it tests both diligence and honesty.
Good answer: a specific catch, a specific miss, and what changed in their process.
6. What are your standards for redlines and markups?
Why ask: at a small firm the principal marks up and the hire turns it around.
Good answer: takes markups without defensiveness, asks questions once rather than
guessing, and returns clean revisions.
7. How would you get up to speed on our templates and standards in your first month?
Why ask: it tests self direction, which is the whole job at a small firm.
Good answer: a concrete plan involving reading past sets and asking early
questions, not waiting to be trained.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Specific deliverables produced in your specific tools
•Model setup discipline and naming standards
•Written coordination habits with consultants
•Comfort with markups and fast, clean revisions
NOTES
__
Set 4: Project Delivery and Construction Administration
For anyone who will run a job rather than draw on one: scope creep, requests for information, submittals, substitutions, permit sequencing, and site visits.
Project Delivery and Construction Administration Questions
ARCHITECT INTERVIEW: PROJECT DELIVERY AND CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
Candidate: __
Firm: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
WHEN TO USE THIS SET
Use this set for project architects and for anyone who will run a job rather than
draw on one. It covers fee, schedule, contractors, and the construction phase, which
is where a small firm makes or loses its margin.
QUESTIONS
1. How do you keep a project inside the fee once design development starts to grow?
Why ask: an architect who cannot see scope creep will spend your fee on
somebody else’s wish list.
Good answer: tracks hours against phase, raises additional services early, and
puts scope changes in writing before doing the work.
2. Walk me through how you handle a request for information from a contractor.
Why ask: response speed and clarity during construction protects the schedule and
the relationship.
Good answer: logs it, answers within a stated turnaround, and answers the question
asked rather than redesigning.
3. How do you review a submittal, and what do you refuse to approve?
Why ask: submittal review is a liability moment that juniors often rush.
Good answer: reviews for conformance with the design intent, does not certify
dimensions and quantities that belong to the contractor, and documents the
response.
4. Describe a site visit that changed the project.
Why ask: it shows whether the candidate treats construction administration as real
work or as a formality.
Good answer: a specific observation, a specific decision, and a written field
report afterward.
5. A contractor proposes a substitution that saves money and weakens the detail.
How do you handle it?
Why ask: it tests judgment between client budget and design integrity.
Good answer: prices the difference, explains the tradeoff to the client, and lets
the client decide with the consequences stated.
6. How do you sequence a project so permit review does not stall the schedule?
Why ask: schedule control at a small firm is mostly permit control.
Good answer: early pre-application meetings, a realistic review duration in the
schedule, and a complete first submission.
7. Tell me about a project that went over schedule. What was the actual cause?
Why ask: the diagnosis matters more than the story.
Good answer: a real root cause, including their own contribution, and a process
change that followed.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Tracks hours and raises additional services before the fee is gone
•Fast, documented responses to requests for information
•Understands the limits of submittal review
•Diagnoses schedule problems honestly, including their own part
NOTES
__
Companies Using FirstHR Onboard 3x Faster
Join hundreds of small businesses who transformed their new hire experience.
License status and jurisdictions, what responsible control means in practice, client communication, and past behavior with contractors and consultants.
Licensure, Client, and Behavioral Questions
ARCHITECT INTERVIEW: LICENSURE, CLIENT, AND BEHAVIORAL
Candidate: __
Firm: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
WHEN TO USE THIS SET
Use this set in every architect interview. Licensure decides what title the person
can hold and whose seal goes on the drawings, and behavioral answers predict how the
candidate will act on your projects. Verify the license itself on the state board
register rather than relying on the resume.
QUESTIONS
1. What is your current licensure status, and in which states are you registered?
Why ask: the title architect and the authority to seal drawings are regulated by
the state, so this changes the role and the pay.
Good answer: a plain answer with license numbers, plus which reciprocal
registrations exist or are in progress.
2. If you are not yet licensed, where are you in the experience program and the
exams?
Why ask: a designer on a clear path is often the better value hire for a small
firm.
Good answer: specific hours logged, specific divisions passed, and a target date.
3. What does responsible control mean to you in practice?
Why ask: it tests whether the candidate understands what sealing a drawing
actually commits them to.
Good answer: personal involvement in the work sealed, not a signature on a set
they did not direct.
4. How do you explain a design decision to a client who is not technical?
Why ask: at a small firm the architect is also the account manager.
Good answer: plain language, options with prices, and a recommendation rather than
a lecture.
5. Tell me about a disagreement with a contractor or a consultant and how it ended.
Why ask: past behavior predicts future behavior better than a stated philosophy.
Good answer: the disagreement, the resolution, and a working relationship intact
afterward.
6. Describe a time you had to tell a client something they did not want to hear.
Why ask: bad news delivered late is the most expensive habit in this profession.
Good answer: told them early, in writing, with options attached.
7. What are you not good at yet, and what are you doing about it?
Why ask: a small firm needs people who can name a gap and close it.
Good answer: a specific, credible gap and a specific action, not a strength in
disguise.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Straightforward answers about license status and jurisdictions
•A correct understanding of responsible control and sealing
•Bad news delivered early and in writing
•Named gaps with real actions behind them
NOTES
__
Set 6: Architect Interview Scorecard and Red Flags
A 1-to-5 rubric across six areas, a red-flag list, and a pre-offer verification checklist covering the license, references, and portfolio authorship.
Architect Interview Scorecard and Red Flags
ARCHITECT INTERVIEW SCORECARD AND RED-FLAG CHECKLIST
Candidate: __
Firm: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
HOW TO SCORE
Score each area from 1 to 5 immediately after the interview, while the answers are
fresh, and anchor every score to something the candidate actually said. If more than
one person interviews, each scores independently before the group talks. Use the
same rubric for every candidate for the same role.
Rating scale:
5 = Strong, specific evidence 4 = Solid evidence 3 = Some evidence
2 = Weak or mixed evidence 1 = No evidence or red flags
SCORING AREAS
Design judgment: constraints before form, real authorship in the portfolio
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
Code and documents: code research method, permit sets, quality control checklist
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
Software and coordination: your tools, model setup, consultant coordination
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
Project delivery: fee and schedule control, requests for information, site visits
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
Client communication: plain language, options with prices, early bad news
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
Licensure and fit: status verified, seniority matches the role and the pay
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
RED FLAGS (WEIGH CAREFULLY)
[ ] Cannot say which drawings in the portfolio are their own
[ ] Talks only about form and never about budget, code, or site
[ ] No method for code research and no code summary early in a project
[ ] Claims no drawing error has ever reached the field
[ ] Vague about license status, jurisdictions, or exam progress
[ ] Dismisses construction administration as somebody else’s job
[ ] Defensive about markups and redlines
PRE-OFFER VERIFICATION CHECKLIST
[ ] License verified on the state board register, not on the resume
[ ] Jurisdictions confirmed for the states where you actually work
[ ] References called, with one question about drawing accuracy
[ ] Portfolio authorship confirmed with at least one reference
[ ] Software proficiency confirmed with a short paid exercise if in doubt
Run the portfolio review as a structured interview rather than a presentation. Let the candidate choose one project, then ask the same three questions of every candidate: what did you personally draw, what did the budget and the site demand, and what changed between the first scheme and the built result.
Walk me through one project from the first client conversation to the day it opened.
Why ask it: The portfolio shows the result. This question shows the process, the constraints, and which parts of the work the candidate personally did.
Strong answer: Names their own scope honestly across concept, design development, construction documents, and construction administration, explains what the site and the budget demanded, and says what changed and why.
Weak answer: A tour of the images with we and the team throughout, no constraints named, and no explanation of what the candidate personally decided.
Which drawings in this set did you draw yourself?
Why ask it: Portfolios are almost always team work. The honest answer is the useful one, and the discomfort around it is itself information.
Strong answer: Points at specific sheets, says plainly who did the rest, and does not inflate a supporting role into authorship.
Weak answer: Deflection, a change of subject, or an answer that quietly claims the whole set. Check it against a reference before the offer.
A drawing error of yours reached the field. What happened next?
Why ask it: Every practicing architect has one. The answer reveals ownership, speed of disclosure, and whether the process changed afterward.
Strong answer: Told the contractor and the client quickly, priced the fix, absorbed the part that was theirs, and added a check to the quality control list.
Weak answer: Claims it has never happened, or blames the contractor and the consultant without naming any of their own contribution.
The single most useful follow-up is some version of what did that cost. A strong candidate has a number, a square foot rate, or a schedule impact ready. A weaker one retreats to intent. Keep the conversation inside your question structure, because portfolio reviews drift into personal taste faster than any other kind of interview.
The Technical Questions That Decide the Hire
The technical set is where a strong designer separates from someone who can deliver a set your contractor can build from. Ask these of every candidate, including the ones whose portfolio already impressed you, and score them before you talk yourself into anything.
Ask
Why it is worth asking
What a strong answer includes
How do you research code on a new project?
Method predicts how many surprises arrive at plan review
Names the adopted edition and local amendments, calls the jurisdiction when unclear
How do you set occupancy, allowable area, and egress?
It shapes the whole scheme, and vagueness here is expensive
A repeatable order of operations and a code summary produced early
What is on your quality control checklist?
No checklist means somebody else was catching the errors
Discipline coordination, sheet references, schedules checked against plans
Where do teams get accessibility wrong?
The most common and costly correction in small commercial work
Concrete clearances and route continuity, plus a real fix they made
A drawing error of yours reached the field. Then what?
Every practicing architect has one; the answer shows ownership
Fast disclosure, a priced fix, and a change to their own checklist
Two answers deserve extra weight. A candidate who cannot describe a code research method has been working behind someone who did it for them, which is fine for a junior role and disqualifying for a project architect. A candidate who claims no error has ever reached the field is telling you they have not run a job or will not admit it.
Design judgment signals
Constraints described before form
Owns a specific scope in the portfolio
A second direction ready when the first is rejected
Technical signals
Names the code edition and local amendments
Produces a code summary early, not at permit
Has a personal quality control checklist
Delivery signals
Tracks hours against phase and raises scope early
Answers requests for information fast and in writing
Treats site visits as real work
Red flags
Cannot name which sheets are their own
No method for code research
Claims no error has ever reached the field
Licensure, Sealing, and What to Verify
Only a licensed architect may use the protected title in most states and seal construction documents, so licensure sets the title, the pay band, and who signs. Licensure generally requires a professional degree, the NCARB experience program, and the Architect Registration Examination, after which the state board issues the license.
What the role can do
Licensed Architect
Architectural Designer
Uses the protected title architect
Seals and signs construction documents
Produces drawings and construction documents
Runs client meetings and construction administration
Works under the responsible control of another architect
Verify the License Before the Offer, Not After
Every state board publishes a searchable register of licensees with status, license number, and disciplinary history, and the check takes minutes. California, for example, publishes architect licenses through the state license search. Confirm the license is active and unrestricted, that it covers every state where the role will actually work, and that the name matches. If the candidate is licensed elsewhere and plans to register by reciprocity, put the expectation and the timeline in the offer in writing.
If the candidate is not yet licensed, ask where they are in the experience program and which exam divisions they have passed, then title the role architectural designer. A designer on a clear path is often the better value hire for a small firm, but the title on your contracts and correspondence has to match reality.
Scoring and Red Flags
Score each candidate on a rubric immediately after the interview, while the answers are fresh, and anchor every score to something the candidate actually said. The same six areas, scored the same way for everyone, is what lets you compare a strong portfolio against a strong technical interview without guessing.
Scoring area
What a 5 looks like
Design judgment
Constraints before form, honest authorship, a second direction ready
Code and documents
A named code edition, an early code summary, a real checklist
Software and coordination
Produced sheets in your tools, model standards, written coordination
Project delivery
Tracks hours against phase, fast responses, real site visit examples
Client communication
Plain language, options with prices, bad news delivered early
Licensure and fit
Status verified on the register, seniority matched to the role
If more than one person interviews, each should score independently before the group talks, so the loudest opinion does not anchor everyone else. Compare written evidence first. The scores then feed a clean interview feedback step, and a reference call that asks specifically about drawing accuracy and portfolio authorship.
What Architects Are Paid
Architect pay varies by role, licensure, region, and firm type, so use federal data as the baseline and adjust to your market. The band that matters for most small firm hires sits between the quartiles rather than at the median, because seniority in this profession spreads pay widely.
Median $99,280 a Year (BLS, May 2025)
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), architects had a median annual wage of $99,280, about $47.73 an hour, with the lowest 10 percent under $62,300 and the highest 10 percent over $161,420. The occupation held about 123,600 jobs, with roughly 7,800 openings projected each year on average over the decade (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Percentile
Annual wage
Who typically sits here
10th
$62,300
Architectural designers early in the experience program
25th
$77,960
Recently licensed architects and strong designers
50th (median)
$99,280
Licensed architects producing and running smaller jobs
75th
$126,550
Project architects who own delivery end to end
90th
$161,420
Senior and principal-level architects
Position the range against the role rather than the title alone, and state it in the posting. Many states now require a pay range in job advertisements, so check your own pay transparency obligations before you publish, and keep the same range in front of every candidate you interview.
Fair, Legal, and Structured Interviewing
A good architect interview is fair, legal, and structured, and the three reinforce each other. Asking the same job-related questions of everyone keeps you compliant, reduces bias, and produces better hires, which matters here because portfolio reviews drift toward taste unless a structure holds them.
Ask about the work, not the person
Federal anti-discrimination law, enforced by the EEOC, prohibits basing hiring decisions on protected characteristics, and questions that touch them create risk even when they are asked as small talk. In an architecture interview the traps are specific: do not ask which school year the candidate graduated in as a way of estimating age, do not ask where the candidate is originally from after hearing an accent on a project walk-through, and do not ask about family plans when discussing site travel. Ask instead whether the candidate can perform the essential functions of the role, including site visits, with or without reasonable accommodation. Every question in the sets on this page is written to stay on the work. This is general information, not legal advice.
Same questions, same order, every candidate
A structured interview, where every candidate answers the same job-related questions and is scored against the same rubric, predicts on-the-job performance better than a free-flowing conversation and leaves you with a defensible record of why you chose one architect over another. This matters more in architecture than in most fields, because portfolio reviews drift naturally into personal taste, and taste is exactly where an unstructured interview stops measuring skill. Write the questions before you meet anyone, ask them in the same order, and let the portfolio conversation happen inside that structure rather than instead of it.
Verify the license, do not take it on trust
The title architect is regulated by each state, and so is the authority to seal drawings. A resume line is not verification. Before the offer, look the candidate up on the register of the board in every state where you actually practice, confirm the license is active and unrestricted, and confirm any reciprocal registration the role depends on. If the candidate is not yet licensed, confirm where they are in the experience program and the exams, and title the role architectural designer rather than architect so your own marketing and correspondence stay accurate. Boards publish this data publicly and the check takes minutes.
Match the questions to the work you sell
A residential studio doing custom homes and a firm doing small commercial tenant improvements need different architects, so weight the sets accordingly. Residential work leans on client communication, budget conversations, and detail design, so push hardest on the portfolio and behavioral sets. Commercial and institutional work leans on code analysis, accessibility, consultant coordination, and permit sequencing, so push hardest on the technical and delivery sets. If you sell both, say so in the interview and test both rather than hiring a specialist and hoping they stretch. Decide what the role must deliver in its first 90 days and interview for exactly that.
Same Questions, Scored on a Rubric, Predict Better Hires
A structured interview, where every candidate answers the same questions scored against a consistent rubric, predicts on-the-job performance more reliably than an unstructured conversation, and asking the same job-related questions of everyone also keeps you within the EEOC rules against basing decisions on protected characteristics. The SHRM interview question library makes the same point about job-relatedness.
Keep every question tied to the work, and watch the small-talk traps specific to this field: graduation years used to estimate age, questions about origin prompted by an accent during a project walk-through, and family plans raised while discussing site travel. Ask instead about the essential functions of the role, including site visits, with or without reasonable accommodation. This is general information, not legal advice.
Interviewing an Architect Without an HR Department
A large office puts an architect candidate in front of a panel, a technical reviewer, and a recruiter who keeps the scorecards straight. A small firm puts them in front of the principal, who is still drawing this week. That reality is where gut feel takes over, and it is where the avoidable mistakes in this hire live.
The portfolio is doing all the talking, and it is the least reliable evidence you have
A portfolio is a marketing document assembled from team projects, and at a small firm it usually arrives with nobody around to check it. The fix is not to distrust it, it is to interrogate it: ask which sheets the candidate drew, what the budget was, what the site demanded, and what changed between the first scheme and the built result. Then confirm one project with a reference. Images tell you about taste, and taste is easy to fake for the length of an interview. Authorship, constraints, and the decisions in between are what you are actually buying, and they only come out when you ask.
One hire is a large share of your capacity, so a miss is not recoverable in a quarter
At a five-person studio, one architect is a fifth of your output and often the only person who knows a live project in detail. A miss does not average out the way it does in a large office with a documentation department behind it. That is why the technical set matters more at your size than at a big firm: you cannot absorb a designer who cannot produce a permit set, and you cannot afford to find out during plan review. Run the technical questions on every candidate, including the ones whose portfolio impressed you, and score them before you talk yourself into anything.
You are the principal, the interviewer, and the person still drawing this week
In a large office an architect candidate meets a panel, a technical reviewer, and a recruiter who keeps the scorecards straight. At a small firm the principal runs the whole thing between deadlines, which is exactly how gut feel takes over. The sets on this page are built for that: pick the ones that match the role, ask the same questions of everyone, and score right after each conversation. Once you choose someone, FirstHR handles the people side, meaning the offer for e-signature, the new hire paperwork, and a structured first 90 days with the license and software checks as onboarding tasks. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not design or project management software, so keep those separate. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
The practical version is four habits. Write the questions before you meet anyone, ask the technical set even when the portfolio impressed you, put a score on paper before you discuss the candidate with your partner, and make one reference call specifically about drawing accuracy and authorship. None of that requires an HR department. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
From Interview to Offer and Onboarding
The interview is step one. Once you choose, the work shifts to hiring well: a clear offer letter with the correct title for the license status, the new hire paperwork, and a first week that puts the new architect on a live project with your standards in hand.
Run the same sets
Pick the question sets that match the role, ask them of every candidate, and keep the portfolio conversation inside that structure.
Score before you discuss
Rate the six areas from 1 to 5 with evidence, independently, so a strong portfolio does not carry a weak technical interview.
Verify and check references
Confirm the license on the state board register and ask one reference specifically about drawing accuracy and authorship.
Offer and onboard
Put the role, seniority, and pay in writing, then give the new architect templates, standards, and a live project in the first week.
Onboarding an architect has two steps most templates miss: the license verification stored with the hiring record, and a standards handover before the first sheet is drawn. Templates, family and layer standards, the code summary format, and the quality control checklist should reach the new hire in week one, not in month two after the first set comes back marked up.
Offer with the title exactly right
Architect or architectural designer, matching the license status, so your contracts, correspondence, and marketing stay accurate from day one.
Store the verification
Keep the license verification, the scorecards, and the reference notes with the signed offer, so the hiring record is in one place.
Hand over standards first
Templates, layer and family standards, the code summary format, and the quality control checklist before the first sheet is drawn.
Give a live project in week one
Architects ramp on real work. Pair the new hire on an active job with a defined scope and a review point at the end of the week.
FirstHR connects the offer, e-signature, paperwork, and onboarding workflow in one place, and keeps the signed offer, the scorecards, and the license verification on the employee profile, so a small firm can run hiring through onboarding from a single system with the standards handover tracked as onboarding tasks. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not design or project management software, so connect those separately. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR. For other roles in the same trade, see the hiring templates library.
Key Takeaways
Assess an architect on five areas: design judgment, code and documents, software and coordination, project delivery, and licensure.
Treat the portfolio as a claim to test: ask which sheets the candidate drew, what the budget demanded, and what changed by the end.
Run the technical set on every candidate, because at a small firm a set that cannot be built lands on you.
A candidate who claims no drawing error has ever reached the field is either inexperienced or not telling you the truth.
Verify the license on the state board register before the offer, and title the role architectural designer if there is no license yet.
Score the six areas from 1 to 5 with evidence, independently, before anyone discusses the candidate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What questions should I ask when hiring an architect?
Ask questions in five areas: design judgment, technical documentation, software and coordination, project delivery, and licensure. Strong openers include walk me through one project from the first client conversation to the day it opened, which drawings in this set did you draw yourself, how do you research code on a new project, how do you determine occupancy classification and egress, how do you coordinate with structural and mechanical consultants, and how do you keep a project inside the fee once the design starts to grow. Add one behavioral question about a drawing error that reached the field, because every practicing architect has one and the answer shows ownership. Ask the same core questions of every candidate for the same role, and score each area before you discuss the candidate with anyone else.
How do I judge an architect’s portfolio in an interview?
Treat the portfolio as a claim to be tested rather than as evidence on its own. It is a marketing document assembled from team projects, so the first question is which parts the candidate personally drew and decided. Then ask what the budget was, what the site and the zoning envelope demanded, and what changed between the first scheme and the built result. A strong candidate names constraints before aesthetics, points at specific sheets, and describes a client rejection they recovered from. A weak one narrates images, says we throughout, and never mentions cost or code. Confirm authorship on at least one project with a reference before the offer, because authorship is the single easiest thing to overstate and the hardest to check afterward.
What is the difference between an architect and an architectural designer?
An architect holds a state license and may use the protected title and seal construction documents; an architectural designer does not. Licensure in the United States generally requires a professional degree in architecture, completing the experience requirement through the NCARB Architectural Experience Program, and passing the Architect Registration Examination, after which each state board issues the license. Unlicensed staff commonly work as architectural designers or job captains and produce drawings under the responsible control of a licensed architect who seals them. The distinction shapes the title in your offer letter, the pay band, and what the person can sign. Decide which the role needs before you interview, and title it accurately in your posting and your contracts. This is general information, not legal advice.
Should I give an architect candidate a design test?
A short paid exercise is reasonable, and it should test documentation rather than a fresh design. Asking for speculative design work on a real project is widely resented in the profession and gives you little that the portfolio does not. A better exercise takes two to three hours and is paid at the candidate’s rate: mark up a partial set you already have and ask them to redline it, ask them to produce a code summary for a small hypothetical project, or ask them to model one detail in your software so you can see their standards. Tell candidates in advance how long it should take, pay for it, and score it with the same rubric you use for the interview. Skip the exercise entirely if references and the technical questions already answered your doubts.
How do I verify an architect’s license?
Look the candidate up on the register published by the licensing board in each state where your firm practices, and do it before the offer rather than after. Every state board publishes a searchable list of licensees with status, license number, and any disciplinary history, and the check takes a few minutes. Confirm three things: the license is active and unrestricted, it covers the states where the role will actually work, and the name matches the candidate. If the candidate is licensed elsewhere and plans to register in your state by reciprocity, confirm where that application stands and put the expectation in writing in the offer. If the candidate is not yet licensed, confirm progress in the experience program and the exams, and title the role architectural designer instead.
What are the biggest red flags in an architect interview?
The clearest red flags are an inability to say which drawings in the portfolio are their own, a design conversation that never touches budget, code, or site, and no method at all for code research. Add three more: a claim that no drawing error of theirs has ever reached the field, which is either inexperience or dishonesty; vagueness about license status or jurisdictions, which is easy to check and therefore strange to dodge; and defensiveness about markups, which predicts an expensive relationship at a small firm where the principal redlines daily. Weigh the technical red flags heavily even when the portfolio is impressive, because at a small firm the cost of a set that cannot be built lands on you rather than on a documentation department.
How much do architects earn in the United States?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), architects had a median annual wage of $99,280, about $47.73 an hour, with the lowest 10 percent under $62,300 and the highest 10 percent over $161,420. The quartiles sit at $77,960 and $126,550, which is the practical band for most small firm hires. The occupation held about 123,600 jobs, and federal projections show roughly 7,800 openings a year on average over the decade. Position your range by role rather than by title alone: designers and recently licensed architects sit in the lower quartile, while project architects who run jobs and seal drawings sit above the median. Many states now require a pay range in the posting, so check your own state rules before you publish.
How long should an architect interview take?
Plan 60 to 90 minutes, which is longer than most interviews because the portfolio review needs real time. A sensible split is 30 minutes on the portfolio and design process, 20 minutes on code, documents, and software, 15 minutes on delivery and behavioral questions, and the rest for the candidate’s own questions, which reveal how they think about practice. Resist covering all six sets in one sitting for a senior role; run a second conversation instead and use the technical set there, with someone who produces drawings in the room. Score immediately after each session while answers are fresh. Most small firms run two rounds plus reference calls, and a paid documentation exercise only when a specific doubt remains.
