Location: Remote
Contract: Inside IR35, 6 Months Initially
Clearance: Candidates should be eligible to work within a secure government environment with current SC
Overview
We are seeking an experienced Lead Technical Architect to play a pivotal role in a major AI transformation programme within a central government environment. This is a highly strategic and hands-on position, responsible for identifying, designing and delivering AI-driven solutions that enable the transition towards AI-assisted and agentic workflows.
The successful candidate will combine deep cloud architecture expertise with a strong understanding of AI platforms, security controls and governance frameworks. You will be expected to identify AI opportunities, shape the technical vision, and lead the end-to-end execution of solutions from concept through to delivery and assurance.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the architectural strategy and technical direction for AI platform development and adoption.
- Identify high-value AI opportunities and translate them into scalable, secure, production-ready solutions.
- Design and implement cloud-native architectures that support complex AI workflows and services.
- Establish secure Cloud Landing Zones and technology-agnostic integration frameworks.
- Develop modular architectures and AI platforms that integrate enterprise software with custom-built applications.
- Define and implement AI guardrails, human-in-the-loop controls, privacy protections and security baselines.
- Lead architectural governance, ensuring solutions meet security, compliance and assurance requirements.
- Guide systems through technical design reviews, security assessments and approval processes.
- Provide technical leadership across architecture, engineering and delivery teams.
- Communicate architectural decisions, risks and trade-offs to both technical and senior business stakeholders.
- Drive alignment with wider enterprise technology strategies and roadmaps.
Essential Skills & Experience
Cloud Architecture
- Proven track record delivering enterprise-scale cloud architecture solutions.
- Strong multi-cloud architecture experience, particularly across:
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Expertise in designing secure cloud landing zones and enterprise cloud environments.
- Strong understanding of cloud networking, identity management and security best practices.
Google Cloud Security
- Hands-on experience configuring and managing:
- VPC Service Controls
- Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Workload Identity Federation (WIF)
- Security perimeter controls
- Experience implementing secure-by-design cloud architectures within regulated environments.
AI Architecture & Delivery
- Demonstrable experience identifying AI opportunities and delivering practical AI solutions.
- Experience designing architectures for AI-assisted workflows, automation and agentic capabilities.
- Knowledge of AI governance, model risk management, prompt protection and data privacy controls.
- Strong understanding of AI integration patterns and API-led architecture.
Enterprise Architecture
- Expertise designing:
- Microservices architectures
- Event-driven platforms
- API-driven integration layers
- Modular and vendor-neutral systems
- Ability to design solutions that integrate seamlessly across large enterprise environments.
Governance & Stakeholder Management
- Experience navigating complex governance and assurance processes.
- Ability to present technical strategy, risks and architectural decisions to senior stakeholders and governance boards.
- Strong leadership skills with experience mentoring architects, engineers and delivery teams.
What We're Looking For
We are looking for a strategic thinker who can operate comfortably at both enterprise and technical depth. You'll have a proven ability to define architecture roadmaps while remaining capable of making detailed technical decisions and guiding delivery teams through implementation.
The ideal candidate will bring:
- A security-first mindset.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
- Strong leadership and influencing abilities.
- The confidence to challenge, innovate and drive AI adoption in a complex environment.
- A proven record of delivering large-scale cloud transformation programmes.
Desirable Experience
- Central Government or public sector experience.
- Experience working within highly regulated or security-conscious environments.
- Familiarity with AI governance frameworks and emerging AI technologies.
- Experience supporting architectural approval boards and security assurance processes.
Keywords: AI Architect, Lead Architect, Enterprise Architect, Cloud Architect, Google Cloud, GCP, AWS, Multi-Cloud, AI Platforms, AI Governance, VPC Service Controls, Cloud Security, Enterprise Integration, Government, Digital Transformation, Technical Architecture.
