[badpun]

> I am having a hard time even getting an interview for these types of roles because people just seem to instantly reject a software engineering background for solutions architect positions.

It's easier to do this transition within the company. Just show enough leadership and big picture qualities, signal that you want to move into that direction. Of course, depends on the actual political configuration of your team, your manager etc. If you're doing all the work for them, they might just want to keep you in your place. So, in practice, you might say that, if things won't change within the next year, you'll start looking for opportunities elsewhere.