Solutions Architects were you promoted into that role or hired directly?

Perhaps your CV is very focused on technologies or development? I am a freelancer and have at least two major versions of my CV that I use depending on the role.

One of them is very technical and emphasizes on my background as a developer. The other is more business/leadership focused. It is the exact same person, the exactly same experience just a shift of focus.

So I do not think that your profile necessarily miss anything, you sound fully qualified to take on the role as Solutions Architect, but perhaps that does not come across strongly enough from reading your CV, if that is all they have to from their opinion on.

Maybe it's a crappy company giving feedback poorly, maybe you're misunderstanding what the position is. Solution architect (or solution-anything) positions are very often not that technical and focus more on client relationships. So maybe they're seeing software engineering experience on your resume and none of the softer/relationship stuff which is most of the job.

And don't get tripped up by the word architect in the title - solutions architect very often is not a senior role at all. I know many SAs with a couple of years of experience.

So if we're talking about a not-all-that-technical role which doesn't require a lot of experience, the fact that you have 12 years of technical experience doesn't bring all that much.

(Maybe you understand all of this and for some reason you really want such a job but for many people with your background it's almost like switching domains and maybe even taking a step back in seniority depending on what you do now)

It’s risky to hire an engineer to be solutions architect because they deal with large clients. Most engineers don’t have soft skills and could easily offend people without knowing. Try and have an old colleague that is non-technical refer you. I think it’s a great role to do 1-2 years; especially, if you have strong technicals. Lot of C level roles requires interpersonal skills and dealing with external stakeholders. Don’t worry about it being a downlevel unless your goal is to stay technical your entire career. There are plenty of technical people and not many technical people that can communicate well with non-technical. Figure out what your end goal is.

I manage a team of Solution Architects and I've hired many where this is their first "sales" job.

What kind of jobs are you applying to? If this is your first SA role, you should take a look at the technologies you use every day and apply to those vendors (and/or their competitors). You'll be able to speak credibly to their customers about your experiences and it'll make you a very effective SA.

In my experience, to hire a good SA, the sales skills come in a distant second to relevant technical skills. Rewrite your resume to highlight those skills and you'll have success.

My path was: engineer -> consultant -> solutions architect. All at different companies. I think it's more about character/attitude, rathen than only experience.