CV Solution Architect: Example and Template
This is how Solution Architects in Switzerland showcase target architectures, decision-making authority and measurable business value on two pages.
Currently 33 open Solution Architect positions in Switzerland, across 10 cantons, 4 of them from the last 7 days. Bühler Group advertises the most.
CV example — two-page template
This template is editable straight away — or upload your existing CV and it is carried into this layout automatically.
What qualifications are expected of Solution Architects in Switzerland?
A university degree in computer science or business information technology (BSc/MSc from a university, ETH/EPFL or a university of applied sciences) is standard, complemented by an architecture certification such as TOGAF, ArchiMate or iSAQB CPSA.
The classic route is a BSc or MSc in computer science or business information technology. Equally recognised is the path via higher vocational education: an apprenticeship as an IT specialist EFZ, followed by the federal diploma of higher education in ICT application development or the federal diploma as ICT manager. If you took this route, state the qualification exactly as it appears on your diploma - Swiss HR professionals know these titles and can place them immediately.
Certificates are more than decoration in this role, because they define the common language used on the architecture board. List TOGAF 10, ArchiMate 3 Practitioner, iSAQB CPSA-Foundation or Advanced, as well as a cloud certification (Azure Solutions Architect Expert, AWS Solutions Architect Professional), with the year obtained. For mandates with the federal government, cantons and cities, HERMES Foundation or Advanced is often a tender requirement; for banks and insurers, knowledge of ISO 27001 and FINMA Circular 2018/3 also counts.
More important than the number of lines in the education section is the link to evidence: note after your CAS in Enterprise Architecture which target model you implemented with it. If you hold a foreign qualification, add the recognition by Swissuniversities or the SERI, together with your residence status (permit B or C), so that HR does not need to ask.
How should I structure my professional experience as a Solution Architect?
For each position, describe the system context, your architecture decisions and their measurable impact - not the task list from the job advertisement.
Add two lines of context under each position: industry, company size, system landscape and programme budget. A sentence such as 'Retail bank with 380,000 customers, e-banking replacement, budget CHF 4.2 million' says more about your calibre than three bullet points listing technology names. Follow this with three to four quantified points: number of services, interfaces, message volumes, latencies, availability, TCO reduction or shortened time-to-market.
Show decision-making authority rather than tool knowledge. HR professionals and line managers want to read which options you assessed (build vs. buy, monolith vs. microservices, public cloud vs. Swiss data centre) and what the decision was based on: regulation, latency, operating costs, availability of skills. A reference to Architecture Decision Records you maintained, fitness functions or architecture reviews comes across as more concrete than listing twelve frameworks.
Separate role components clearly: Solution Architect is not the same as Enterprise Architect or Technical Lead. Make transparent whether you provided functional leadership (number of teams, vendors, architects), whether you built hands-on reference implementations, and how you worked with business analysis and product ownership. For applications in French-speaking Switzerland or with international corporations, it is worth stating language levels according to the CEFR and keeping an English version of the CV ready.
How long should the CV be, and does it need a photo?
Two pages are standard, three are accepted with more than ten years of project experience; a professional photo remains common in Switzerland, but is optional.
Stick to two pages and move details into a project list as an appendix - this is common practice in the architecture field. There, list period, role, industry, volume, methodology (HERMES, SAFe, Scrum) and technology stack used for each project. This keeps the CV readable while still giving staffing agencies the details they need for their clients' skill matrices.
Swiss standard also includes: place of residence with canton, nationality or permit type, year of birth (optional, but common), notice period, and willingness regarding commuting distance or share of home office. Leave out marital status, religion or family details. Mention references with 'available on request', and submit work references later as part of your dossier - complete reference letters matter more here than in many other markets.
A salary range does not belong in the CV, but you should know it: depending on industry and responsibility, Solution Architects in German-speaking Switzerland earn around CHF 130'000 to CHF 175'000 per year, and more in leading roles with programme responsibility. Only state a range in your cover letter or during the interview, and back it up with your documented results, such as the CHF 1.8 million per year TCO reduction.
Where Solution Architect are hired in Switzerland
How the 33 open positions are spread across the cantons.
Figures as a table
| Canton | postings |
|---|---|
| Zürich | 8 |
| Aargau | 4 |
| St. Gallen | 2 |
| Schwyz | 2 |
| Waadt | 1 |
| Graubünden | 1 |
| Genf | 1 |
| Bern | 1 |
Which languages the postings require
Of 26 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| English | 19 (18) |
| German | 15 (12) |
| French | 1 (1) |
Who hires Solution Architect in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| Bühler Group | 2 |
| Octapharma | 2 |
| Expleo Group | 1 |
| Canon EMEA | 1 |
| Lengacher & Partner GmbH | 1 |
| Sonio AG | 1 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 26 |
| Teilzeit / partiel | 1 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Marc Aebischer
Lead Solution Architect, MSc ETH Computer Science, TOGAF 10 Certified
Solution Architect with 12 years of experience in regulated Swiss industries (insurance, retail banking, public administration). I translate business capabilities into viable target architectures, maintain clean Architecture Decision Records (ADR) and take responsibility for cloud migrations with budgets of up to CHF 4.2 million. My focus areas are Domain-Driven Design, event-driven integration according to ISO 20022, and FINMA- and revDSG-compliant cloud target models.
What sets me apart
Regulation as an architecture driver: I design target models in line with FINMA Circular 2018/3 (Outsourcing), revDSG and ISO 27001 - including exit strategy, data localisation in Swiss regions and documented criticality classification.
Architecture that actually gets delivered: Instead of slideware architecture, I deliver working reference implementations: landing zone as code, golden-path pipelines and C4 models that development teams can adopt without loss of translation.
Depth of integration in Swiss payment transactions: Hands-on experience with ISO 20022 (pain.001, camt.053), QR-bill, SIX bLink and eCH standards (eCH-0058, eCH-0147) - from interface specification through to productive replacement.
Cost and vendor transparency: I calculate architecture options using five-year TCO, conduct build-vs-buy assessments and support tenders according to HERMES, including evaluation grids for vendors.
Key achievements
Core system migration without service interruption. Designed target architecture and migration split for a core insurance system with 42 services; cutover in 11 waves, total downtime of 47 minutes instead of the planned 8 hours.
TCO reduced by 28 percent. Consolidated 7 integration platforms down to 3, retired 14 legacy interfaces; reduced recurring operating costs from CHF 6.4 million to CHF 4.6 million per year.
Time-to-market halved. Introduced an API gateway with 120 standardised interfaces and self-service onboarding; reduced lead time for new integrations from 14 to 3 working days.
Experience
Lead Solution Architect — Limmatpuls Versicherungen AG, Zurich, since 03/2020
Property and accident insurer with 1,400 employees; programme to replace the core system and build an Azure landing zone.
- Responsible for the target architecture of the policy and claims system with 42 microservices; increased release frequency from 4 to 26 production deployments per year.
- Created a FINMA-compliant cloud target model including exit plan; passed internal audit and external audit 2023 with no material findings.
- Introduced an event streaming layer (Kafka, ISO 20022): 6.2 million messages per month, reduced median latency from 800 to 120 ms.
- Built an architecture board of 14 architects, established ADR and review standards; shortened architecture approval lead time by 40 percent.
Solution Architect Digital Channels — Rheinsteg Bank AG, Basel, 08/2016 - 02/2020
Retail bank with 380,000 customers; modernisation of e-banking and payment transactions.
- Specified the target architecture for the new e-banking platform and implemented it with 3 vendor teams; budget CHF 4.2 million, completed 6 weeks ahead of schedule.
- Introduced QR-bill and ISO 20022 into production; migrated 2.1 million transactions per month, reduced rejection rate from 2.9 to 0.4 percent.
- Established an API strategy with 120 interfaces and SIX bLink connection; shortened third-party onboarding from 14 to 3 days.
- Led platform consolidation from 7 to 3 systems, reducing recurring costs by CHF 1.8 million per year.
Software Engineer and Technical Lead — Solvaris IT Services AG, Bern, 09/2012 - 07/2016
IT service provider for cantonal administrations; specialist applications and register interfaces according to HERMES 5.1.
- Technical lead for 6 developers across 4 HERMES projects with volumes of CHF 0.6 to 1.4 million each.
- Implemented eCH-0058 and eCH-0147 interfaces to 3 cantonal registers; reduced manual follow-up processing by 65 percent.
- Introduced a CI/CD pipeline and increased test coverage from 38 to 82 percent; reduced production defects per release by 54 percent.
Education
MSc ETH, Computer Science, specialisation in Software Engineering — ETH Zurich · 2012
BSc, Business Information Technology — Bern University of Applied Sciences · 2009
CAS, Enterprise and Solution Architecture — Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Computer Science · 2018
TOGAF 10 Certified (Enterprise Architecture) · ArchiMate 3 Practitioner · Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert · HERMES 2022 Advanced