Exemplary methods for distributed multi-component service placement in a resource pool include utilizing a hierarchy of agents associated with computing resources of a cloud architecture. A root agent in the hierarchy can receive service requests specifying resource requirements and optionally location or affinity constraints, transform these into service request descriptions, and pass the service request descriptions down through the hierarchy to arrive at leaf nodes. The leaf nodes can each, perhaps in parallel, generate solution encodings indicating possible placements of some or all of the components of the service request that one or more computing devices associated with each agent can locally provide while still satisfying the resource requirements. The generated solution encodings can be passed back up and be consolidated as they flow through the hierarchy, allowing the root agent to quickly and accurately determine whether the service request may be fulfilled, and optionally place the service.