What Does An IoT Architect Do?

WHAT DOES AN IOT ARCHITECT DO?

Updated: Dec 08, 2025 - The Internet of Things (IoT) Architect designs and delivers scalable AI and IoT solutions aligned with business strategies, supporting transformation to Microsoft Cloud and Intelligent Edge. This position collaborates with Avanade, Accenture, and Microsoft to solve new business challenges, guide delivery teams, and ensure successful outcomes across the full product lifecycle. The architect also provides strategic and technical leadership, helping clients navigate IoT, leverage custom AI, and achieve impactful, data-driven results.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for IoT Architect

1. IoT Architect Duties

IoT Strategy: Spearhead development of the IoT vision and technical strategy
Architecture Design: Be responsible for the design of an end-to-end IoT architecture
Solution Leadership: Lead the overall design and development of Quest IoT Solutions for the Lab instruments and the rest of the enterprise devices
Technical Collaboration: Collaborate with business leads to help develop a technical vision for the entire ecosystem, as well as lead implementation teams all the way through post-production
System Evaluation: Provide input into final decisions regarding hardware, network products, system software and security
Vendor Management: Be responsible for the design discussions with instrument vendors and provide strategic direction that helps the organization gain efficiencies
Solution Development: Build IoT solutions, in a unique combination of web applications (.Net, Java and JavaScript related), databases, machine learning, augmented reality, cloud connectivity (Azure, Amazon), industrial protocols, mobile apps (Android, iOS)
Digital Architecture: Coming up with IoT, Industry 4.0, and Industrial Analytics solution architectures, technologies, and approaches to exploit current competencies and offerings and to evolve a digital strategy that enables end-to-end solutions across a wide variety of use cases in Quest Enterprise
Enterprise Integration: Interacts with enterprise architecture and other engineering, data science and IT teams to get strategy accepted, and with architecture leadership to obtain solution approval
Technology Evaluation: Interact with standards bodies, vendors, and partners in evaluating and selecting the right technology platforms for a given use case

2. Sr. IoT Architect Responsibilities

Customer Engagement: Participate in discussions with customers, along with the product team, to understand their technical requirements
Requirement Translation: Translate the business requirements into technology requirements
Platform Architecture: Design and architect high-performing and scalable IoT platform components (Edge, Data, Analytics)
Data Engineering: Use big data technologies to design and develop distributed, fault-tolerant, scalable data solutions
Architecture Collaboration: Collaborate with the internal architect community and ensure organizational best architectural practices are followed
System Performance: Monitor the system performance of the IoT platform regularly and tune the system accordingly to ensure the best performance
Technology Innovation: Maintain a high level of expertise in the IoT technology landscape and stay current on the latest technology, build PoCs, to evolve the design architecture to benefit from the latest technology
Vendor Assessment: Lead vendor technology assessments
Architecture Documentation: Create and maintain the architecture documents
Technical Guidance: Provide technical guidance to development teams

3. IoT Architect Accountabilities

Solution Architecture: Estimating, solutioning, designing, and developing scalable architecture aligned to a business strategy and benefits case and helping drive AI and IoT deals
Project Delivery: Assist the Project Manager to ensure smooth delivery of the AI and IoT solution and provide continuous advice and best practices to AI and IoT project teams related to the delivery approach and strategy
Cloud Transformation: Play a key role in helping the clients transform their business and maximize the value of their journey to the Microsoft Cloud with the power of Intelligent Edge and Azure
Business Solutioning: Solution new business with the right interlocks with Avanade, Accenture, and Microsoft sellers across various industries
AI Strategy: Understand how to help businesses navigate the landscape of IoT and explore how to leverage custom AI solutions
Technical Strategy: Be responsible for the technical strategy around AI and IoT to bring solutions to life for the clients
Cross-Team Collaboration: Collaborate across the Regional/Area/Technical and Sales teams to support sales and delivery teams through the full life cycle of product development and execution to successful client business outcomes
Partnership Management: Collaborate and maintain successful partnerships with Microsoft and Accenture to help the clients achieve transformational outcomes from AI, IoT, and Data services

4. Sr IoT Architect Functions

IoT Development: Design and develop IoT and/or robotic solutions for the customers using AWS
Software Engineering: Produce bullet-proof code that is robust, efficient, and maintainable, the primary languages are TypeScript and Python
Innovation Strategy: Continually challenge what exists and explore what should be changed to best meet evolving customer needs
System Design: Possess expert knowledge in large-scale distributed system design and engineering best practices
Solution Vision: Participate in setting a vision and objectives for solutions in alignment with customer needs and market opportunities
AWS Strategy: In partnership with the business development, solution architects, and sales team, formulate and execute a strategy to drive adoption of AWS
Knowledge Sharing: Conduct one-to-few and one-to-many training sessions to transfer knowledge to customers considering or already using AWS
Best Practices: Capture and share best-practice knowledge amongst the AWS community
Technical Writing: Author or otherwise contribute to AWS customer-facing publications such as whitepapers
Customer Engagement: Build deep relationships with senior technical individuals within customers to enable them to be cloud advocates
Technical Liaison: Act as a technical liaison between customers, service engineering teams, and support

5. IoT Architect Job Description

Active Listening: Listens to the ideas and concerns of others and develops an understanding of how their ideas relate to others and acts to address concerns
Risk Management: Identifies risks and develops risk management plans/processes and successfully implements/operates them
Journey Mapping: Develops and communicates member journeys across the organization to improve business outcomes across market segments
Customer Service: Promotes a culture of quality customer service across the organization
Problem Solving: Looks at problems from different points of view and tries to find solutions that meet the needs of those outside of the team, including staff and members
Digital Innovation: Experiments with new digital technologies and tells their colleagues about the benefits
Data Analysis: Utilizes appropriate tools, methods, and technology to analyze and evaluate complex data and draw useful insights
Team Collaboration: Actively participates and contributes to team goals and ensures resources are available to help them succeed in the organization
Feedback Culture: Creates a team environment where members provide each other with constructive feedback regularly and in challenging situations
Performance Management: Sets clear expectations for delivery, standards, and outcomes, and provides timely feedback to team members and assigns tasks to support individuals’ development plans
Team Empowerment: Builds the confidence of others to succeed either in their own capacity or in the future success of their team, unit, or organization, providing guidance, support, and incentives to motivate others
Change Leadership: Advises on and influences change management, supporting and participating in the implementation of organizational changes

6. IoT Architect Overview

Software Leadership: Lead teams in the development of software systems, including Pharma and Medical Devices, Energy and Resources, Steel, etc.
Team Collaboration: Collaborate with team members to determine best practices and requirements for software
Quality Assurance: Oversee and approve all final programs and products before formal launch
Team Training: Oversee and support the coaching and training of team members to ensure all necessary employees are confident in the use of software applications
Process Improvement: Actively seek ways to improve business software processes and interactions
Best Practices: Use a proactive approach to common challenges by continually researching best practices in coding
Software Security: Ensure software security by developing programs to actively monitor the sharing of private information
Problem Solving: Troubleshoot coding problems quickly and efficiently to ensure a productive workplace
Client Delivery: Put in place the delivery engagement for executing the client's needs

7. IoT Architect Details and Accountabilities

IoT Leadership: Assume leadership over the IIoT platform and solutions and define the architectural guardrails for this area
Platform Architecture: Establish a future-proof and component-based platform architecture
Business Alignment: Understand the business model, the needs of the business, and translate this into IIoT solutions, challenging business owners to come to the right solution and focus on business outcomes
Platform Expertise: Be the Unilin IIoT expert of the Cumulocity IIoT platform and work closely with Software AG and the implementation partner
Architecture Definition: Define the IIoT architecture for the solutions and coach the IIoT engineers and developers when they start implementing the solution, providing domain expertise and guidance to project and agile teams
Technology Awareness: Stay up to date with new IIoT trends, technologies, and challenges
Platform Promotion: Promote the Cumulocity IIoT platform and understand its product roadmap
Architecture Consistency: Work closely with other architects (data and analytics, MES, industrial automation, etc.) and the manufacturing domain architect to ensure company-wide architectural consistency
Architecture Integration: Work with newly acquired companies to integrate their architecture into the Unilin IIoT architecture
Team Coaching: Coach IIoT engineers and IIoT developers

8. IoT Architect Roles

IoT Vision: Build and clearly articulate the organization-wide IoT vision and reference architecture, setting the technical direction for each solution
Business Alignment: Ensure goals are clear and that the vision is aligned with long-term business objectives (i.e., personalization, data monetization)
Technical Research: Accelerate development, research, and create technical briefs/whitepapers, set hypotheses, and define standards and components to improve time to market with proven solutions
Community Leadership: Provide coaching and stewardship of a global community of practice
Architecture Management: Own and manage the architecture blueprint (logical architecture, data flow diagram, deployment architecture, etc.) and successfully transition to engineering teams for delivery
Technical Coaching: Provide consultation and coaching to delivery teams
Reference Design: Identify, develop, and manage reference architecture and designs for value propositions
Technology Innovation: Identify new disruptive technologies to provide business value
Solution Architecture: Partner with engineering teams to develop high-level architecture and detailed designs for solutions and features
IoT Solutions: Be responsible for IoT solutions and data management practices
Communication Standards: Recommend the latest standards in IoT communication
Data Security: Keep information safe by maintaining up-to-date knowledge of potential vulnerabilities and performing frequent assessments (together with IT)
Cybersecurity Practices: Leverage tools such as public key infrastructure (PKI) security, ethical hacking, and wireless network security
Data Compliance: Be responsible for ensuring legal data capture and data use

9. IoT Architect Additional Details

Customer Engagement: Work with customers to explore their business issues and understand how AWS IoT can help address and resolve these issues
Customer Education: Educate customers on the value proposition of AWS IoT and participate in deep architectural discussions to ensure solutions are designed for successful deployment in the cloud
Technical Writing: Author or contribute to AWS customer-facing publications such as white papers, presentations, demos, and reference architectures
Best Practices: Capture and share best practices from customer engagements and share across the AWS Solutions Architect community
Consulting Support: Provide consulting support to customers and customer service teams, driving complex interactions between customers, AWS service teams, internal teams, and third-party partners
Business Case Development: Create or otherwise contribute to business cases for customer projects
Trusted Advisory: Act as a trusted advisor to customers and a technical liaison between customers, service engineering teams, and partners
Solution Collaboration: Collaborate with relevant experts to develop, evaluate, select, and promote solutions (concepts, architectures, dependencies, effort estimates)
Testing Coordination: Cooperate with the test department regarding integration and verification

10. IoT Architect Essential Functions

IoT Management: Manage IoT device communication, data collection, rules/permissions, functionalities, and applications (web/native)
Data Engineering: Develop data and product-based organization structures, implement engineering practices, and manage configuration, code, and orchestration
Architecture Documentation: Develop and maintain application and/or technical architecture documents depicting current and target states of business or technical capabilities
System Design: Ensure business technical requirements are well understood and properly translated into system designs consistent with established frameworks and standards
Roadmap Planning: Consult with stakeholders to develop roadmaps that depict movement from the current state to the target state
Project Proposal: Propose projects that contribute to the development of roadmap components
Business Alignment: Provide support to business representatives during feasibility studies and act as the focal point for ensuring designs align with business needs
Client Communication: Report to the lead technical contact for the client, driving work and understanding requirements and constraints
Team Management: Manage an individual team in their delivery tasks, including implementing DevOps practices

11. IoT Architect Role Purpose

IoT Architecture: Work on international projects focused on defining and implementing IoT architectures
Architecture Governance: Participate and lead projects in the area of architecture and governance
Transformation Management: Manage transformation projects by designing and implementing organizational and process changes and driving convergence between technologies
IIoT Operations: Establish and improve client operations in the area of industrial control systems (IIoT)
Thought Leadership: Provide thought leadership in the area of architecture, governance, and target operating models
Business Development: Support business development activities, including methodology development, proposal writing, and direct support for presentations to potential clients
Feature Development: Design, develop, and transfer to engineering new functionalities such as disruptive features and larger architectural changes
Code Quality: Work with engineering and technology team members to conduct code reviews, ensuring code quality, security, and reuse

12. IoT Architect General Responsibilities

Architecture Collaboration: Work in a team of architects across a business area, delivering tangible business value
IoT Solutions: Understand the end-to-end technologies of IoT to develop solution architectures for automation projects
Reference Architecture: Contribute to the development of common IoT patterns and reference architectures
Business Alignment: Understand business objectives and key technology platforms to align solutions effectively
Cross-Team Collaboration: Build strong relationships with delivery teams, including Product, Data, and IoT Platform teams
Technology Assessment: Rapidly assess new technologies and vendor offerings within the IoT architecture landscape with a commercial mindset
Operational Security: Advocate and ensure architectures, designs, and processes enhance operational safety and digital security
Platform Development: Research, develop, and pre-develop key IoT platforms for Fire and Security Business Units
Platform Architecture: Develop and build platform architectures for embedded systems and software
Cloud Integration: Partner with the Digital team to integrate solutions into Carrier’s Cloud platform

13. IoT Architect Roles and Details

Roadmap Alignment: Combine roadmaps from multiple functional groups to align with goals, business plans, and business processes
Project Coordination: Coordinate functional architects to develop project plans encompassing all technical tasks that meet enterprise and business schedules
Technical Design: Develop technical designs to support solution delivery and oversee multiple projects within the project portfolio
Standards Management: Maintain standards on cross-functional initiatives to ensure alignment with enterprise standards
Technology Evaluation: Evaluate the impacts of new technology on multiple connected systems
Process Documentation: Document the implementation of business processes across technical systems
Technology Research: Initiate research in emerging technologies to keep the development stack current and make innovation a regular engineering activity
Innovation Evangelism: Evangelize cloud, IoT, and innovations within the organization and represent the company at conferences and customer events as a key expert

14. Lead IoT Architect Responsibilities and Key Tasks

Cloud Architecture: Define and build out the cloud architecture for IoT sensors, including interconnectivity of embedded devices, user interfaces (web and mobile applications), and backend services
Team Leadership: Lead and mentor a team of software developers and testers to implement a highly scalable, high-performance cloud solution and API framework
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work collaboratively with device, AI, database leads, product managers, and partners to deliver continuous improvements to the cloud architecture
Code Review: Conduct code and design reviews and define acceptance criteria for upcoming release cycles
Agile Practices: Apply Agile methodology within the team to adapt to a fast-paced startup environment
Technical Guidance: Provide guidance and feedback to other software developers
Infrastructure Coordination: Coordinate with the development team to ensure the infrastructure is in place and meets project needs
Architecture Planning: Plan and lead technical architecture analysis and design for projects, architect integration across application teams and infrastructure, and ensure alignment with project requirements
Client Engagement: Manage end-to-end client engagement, from shaping opportunities through sales and providing technical leadership during delivery
Client Leadership: Serve as the lead technical contact for clients, driving project execution and understanding requirements and constraints
Team Management: Manage technical teams in their delivery tasks, including implementing DevOps practices

15. IoT Architect Duties and Roles

Team Collaboration: Work together with developers, designers, data scientists, and clients to clarify ambiguous requirements, define the best course of action, and shape the end result
Cloud Development: Design and implement cloud data platforms, choosing the right technologies and delivering continuously with teammates
Code Quality: Commit working code, perform peer code reviews, and help improve team workflows and practices
Ownership Mindset: Take responsibility for team and project outcomes, contributing beyond coding tasks with vision and initiative
Data Solutions: Help clients enhance their data and analytics platforms by implementing advanced data platforms, IoT architectures, AI, and Machine Learning models
Enterprise IoT: Design large-scale enterprise IoT solutions integrating heterogeneous devices, enabling real-time and batch analytics, and delivering engaging user experiences using Azure services
Platform Architecture: Architect and design IoT platforms with other architects and lead engineers across teams and disciplines
Technical Decision-Making: Make and evaluate technical decisions (make or buy) and trade-offs with broad understanding of coding, testing, deployment, and operations
Platform Governance: Govern platform evolution and empower engineering teams to maintain a future-proof, high-velocity development environment
Innovation Leadership: Shape the evolution of the IoT platform through creativity, experience, and technological insight
Requirements Engineering: Conduct requirements engineering focused on use case description and elaboration
Release Planning: Collaborate with the technical product management team on release planning