What do you think of software architects? Do you believe that this role is needed in software development? Any good or bad examples?

What do you consider a software architect? Someone who “architects” the system but doesn’t code at all?

Yes, someone who gives the solution blueprint but is not involved in the implementation. He is there though to answer any questions.

I think it is a must for large systems that have hundreds of developers but even smaller projects I have seen systems built by junior developers who make a complete mess of it. It can be useful to have juniors working with a senior developer or software architect.

At my job I am in a team of three developers all with the job title of software architect. If we didn't code at all nothing would get done!

@spacem I had good and bad experiences with TAs. Bad ones were mainly with the ones that are trying to be good at everything and apply backend architecture to frontend and vice versa. But I agree. Junior and sometimes senior devs can make a mess and you need someone to overview.