Technical Architect - SC

Technical Architect (Active SC) – Andover (2 days PW onsite) – £800-£900 per day (Inside IR35)

Role Overview
The Technical Architect will play a vital role in shaping and delivering sophisticated technical solutions aligned with government priorities. This key position has been created to support the organisation’s expanding digital initiatives, ensuring strategic, secure, and scalable architectures are in place to meet evolving operational demands. As a senior figure within the team, you will influence both current projects and future innovation strategies, making this role both challenging and rewarding.
Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate across teams and disciplines to embed architecture considerations at every stage of project lifecycle, ensuring advice and guidance reflect organisational needs.
• Lead the design of large-scale, complex systems, ensuring solutions adhere to best practices, security protocols, and regulatory standards.
• Review technical designs, apply appropriate methodologies and tools, and assess associated risks to inform informed decision-making.
• Define and specify architecture components, software applications, and modules, providing technical guidance from conception through deployment.
• Evaluate change requests, perform impact analyses, and recommend solutions to optimise system performance and security.
• Drive the development of prototypes or simulations to support informed choices and mitigate risks.
• Conduct reviews of implemented solutions, recommending enhancements to optimise functionality and compliance.
• Maintain awareness of emerging technologies and industry trends, recommending innovative approaches that add strategic value.
• Provide expertise and mentorship to project teams, fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
• Support business development initiatives by contributing architectural insights during bid processes and client engagements.
• Lead or contribute to governance forums, ensuring architecture strategies align with regulatory and organisational policies.
• Promote technical excellence, facilitating knowledge sharing and best practice dissemination across teams.
• Act as a technical authority during stakeholder meetings, communicating complex concepts clearly to diverse audiences.
• Identify and translate technical problems into accessible language, ensuring effective stakeholder understanding.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven experience in enterprise and solution architecture within secure government or defence environments.
• A degree or equivalent qualification in relevant discipline.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to design and communicate complex technical strategies.
• Extensive knowledge of cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services.
• Practical experience in secure software development, particularly with Java or .NET frameworks.
• Solid understanding of secure development lifecycle practices and industry security standards (e.g., GDPR, OWASP, NCSC cloud security principles).
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams and influence at senior levels.
• Proficiency in modern technologies such as microservices, REST, SOAP, OAuth, SAML, and API integration.
• Relevant industry certifications such as Microsoft or AWS cloud certifications are highly desirable.
• Hold active SC clearance.

Nice-to-Have Skills & Experience

• Experience working specifically within the UK Central Government or Defence sectors.
• Knowledge of data architecture, real-time data streaming, and AI solutions.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and tools for CI/CD pipelines.
• Proven track record in delivering secure, large-scale technical solutions in regulated environments.