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I am a software engineer with a decades worth of experience. A software architect in my team, recently handed his resignation with a 30 day notice period.

Since I am interested in progressing my career, what would be the best approach to express my interest and get considered for the software architect role in front of my manager.

As far as I know there is no formal process for this situation in my company.

Points I would be interested in would be: timing, phrasing, approach.

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Go talk to people. Right away. If that works you want as much overlap with the departing person as possible.

The people to start with are your direct manager and the leaving architect. The architect is really good choice, since they have no more personal interest in the game an can you give objective advise and fit assessment.

Your boss is always your first address for all things career related. Ideally you should have regular career development discussions with your boss anyway and this opportunity would just be an extension of this discussion.

If these two discussions go well, next step would be to approach the architect's manager or whoever makes the hiring decision and would be your new boss (if different from your current one).

If the previous discussion do NOT go well, you need to analyze why and adjust accordingly. For example: if both the architect and your boss feel you are missing a key skill (either technical, behavioral, or organizational), then you should probably let this one go and create a plan close the skill gap.

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timing,

Immediately - today. Ideally, it should have been the moment it happened.

phrasing,

"Steve, now that Biff is moving on, I want to take that position."

approach.

For better or worse, as has been said 10000 times on this site. The only way, really, to get a raise, is to get a new job.

Essentially, when you ask for a better position or a raise, you are saying "...or I will leave."

The only concrete step one can take to get a raise / better position, is, aggressively scan the job market and seek a new position.

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    The only way, really, to get out of a situation where you're severely underpaid, is to get a new job. If you're working for a reasonable employer that appreciates you and who's paying you a reasonable salary, and you care about your professional development, you can get quite substantial raises, often even without asking. Whether there's an implicit "I will leave if I don't get what I want right now" very much depends on how you ask.
    – NotThatGuy
    Feb 16, 2021 at 18:06

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