HM80: Lead Technical Architect

Location: Remote | Contract until 30/04/2027

Salary: Competitive Day Rate | Inside IR35

Overview:

First Military Recruitment are currently seeking a Lead Technical Architect on behalf of one of our clients.

As a Lead Technical Architect supporting the AI buildout, this role will provide end-to-end technical oversight, strategic perspective, and architectural governance for the department's transition to AI-assisted and agentic workflows. It will be responsible for leading the technical design of AI platforms and cloud infrastructure, evaluating emerging AI capabilities, and steering systems through formal security and governance assurance. From an enterprise perspective, the role will ensure that deliverables align and interoperate with broader departmental architectures and roadmaps.

Our client encourages applications from ex-military personnel however all candidates will be given due consideration.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Define architectural roadmaps and principles for the AI buildout, establishing secure Cloud Landing Zones and technology-agnostic integration layers that bridge enterprise AI software with custom-built tools.
• Create modular, scalable cloud and microservice architectures capable of supporting complex AI workflows, setting technical design standards across the project lifecycle.
• Make high-impact design decisions to manage architectural risk, designing mandatory human-in-the-loop approval gates, identity federation, and AI safety baselines (such as prompt protection and PII masking).
• Lead architectural governance for AI systems, steering solutions through formal Technical Design Authority (TDA), Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and cyber security checkpoints.
• Articulate complex architectural trade-offs, security postures, and risk models to senior leadership (CDIO, TDA Board) while coaching delivery teams and aligning delivery partners.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Significant experience leading cloud platform architecture (GCP/AWS), secure Cloud Landing Zones, Identity and Access Management (IAM) hierarchies and microservices design for complex enterprise environments.
• Hands-on experience designing deterministic AI safety controls, including human-in-the-loop approval gates, VPC Service Controls, identity federation (WIF, Entra ID), and privacy/PII masking baselines.
• Expertise in both strategic and technical design, with a proven track record of designing modular components and services and defining how they interoperate seamlessly to deliver intended end-to-end service outcomes.
• Proven ability to architect modular, vendor-neutral software systems and API layers that seamlessly connect core enterprise platforms into central AI and workflow backbones.
• Strong understanding of central government architectural governance, with proven experience navigating Technical Design Authority (TDA) sign-offs, DPIA assessments, and cyber security/NCSC standards.
• Ability to communicate complex technical designs and risk models to stakeholders, mediate difficult architectural decisions, and provide coaching to engineers and architects.
• SC Security Clearance.

Location: Remote | Contract until 30/04/2027

Salary: Competitive Day Rate | Inside IR35