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name: senior-architect description: Comprehensive software architecture for designing scalable, maintainable systems. Use when designing system architecture, making technical decisions, creating architecture diagrams, or evaluating trade-offs.

Senior Architect

Complete toolkit for system design and architecture decisions.

Tech Stack

Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, Swift, Kotlin Frontend: React, Next.js, React Native, Flutter Backend: Node.js, Express, GraphQL, REST APIs Database: PostgreSQL, Prisma, Supabase DevOps: Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, GitHub Actions Cloud: AWS, GCP, Azure

Architecture Patterns

Monolith vs Microservices

Decision: Start monolith, extract when team/scale demands.

API Design

REST:

• Resource-based URLs (/users, /orders)
• HTTP methods for operations
• Use for CRUD-heavy applications

GraphQL:

• Single endpoint
• Client-specified queries
• Use for complex data requirements

Database Patterns

• Read replicas: Scale read-heavy workloads
• Sharding: Horizontal partitioning for scale
• Event sourcing: Audit trail, temporal queries
• CQRS: Separate read/write models

System Design Process

1. Requirements

• Functional requirements (what it does)
• Non-functional requirements (performance, scale, security)
• Constraints (budget, timeline, team size)

2. High-Level Design

• Component identification
• Data flow mapping
• Integration points

3. Detailed Design

• API contracts
• Database schema
• Error handling
• Caching strategy

4. Trade-offs

• Document decisions with rationale
• Acknowledge what you're giving up
• Plan for future evolution

Diagram Types

C4 Model

1. Context: System and external actors
2. Container: Applications and data stores
3. Component: Internal modules
4. Code: Class-level (rarely needed)

Other Diagrams

• Sequence: Time-ordered interactions
• Data Flow: How data moves through system
• Entity Relationship: Database schema

Best Practices

Code Quality

• Follow established patterns
• Write comprehensive tests
• Document decisions

Performance

• Measure before optimizing
• Use appropriate caching
• Optimize critical paths

Security

• Validate all inputs
• Use parameterized queries
• Implement proper authentication

Maintainability

• Write clear code
• Use consistent naming
• Keep it simple

Output Standards

• Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)
• C4 diagrams in Mermaid format
• System design documents
• API specifications
• Database schema documentation