Senior Technical Architect - Cloud Solutions

Job summary

We are MHCLG

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people's lives. Whether it is through the homes we live in, the work of our local councils, or the communities we are all part of, our work is at the top of the political agenda. We have ambitious and far-reaching outcomes to achieve this year and, if you are thinking of joining us, there has never been a more exciting time.

This role acts as MHCLG’s architectural front door for new technical demand, helping the department turn early ideas, one-line ServiceNow requests and emerging project needs into clear requirements, solution options and proportionate technical design approaches. We are seeking a Senior Technical Architect with broad architecture experience across cloud services, Microsoft 365, SaaS, integration, security, data, identity and digital platforms. As a Senior Technical Architect, you will assess new requirements across a range of technologies, services and platforms, not limited to a single cloud provider. You will work with delivery teams, policy, programmes, suppliers, and platform owners to understand the problem being solved. You will identify whether an existing departmental tool, application, platform capability, or reusable service can meet the need, and shape appropriate technical solutions that align with strategy, target architecture, governance, and security expectations.

The role also includes line management responsibility for engineers, supporting technical development, consistent ways of working, and the quality of engineering and documentation outputs across the team. This role is aligned to the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework, drawing primarily on Technical Architect capabilities at Grade 7 level. Please note that MHCLG does not offer visa sponsorship, and applicants will need a valid visa for the duration of their employment.

Find out more about our Digital teams and what they are working on through our MHCLG Digital blog. Please note that MHCLG do not offer visa sponsorship and applicants will need a valid visa for the duration of your employment.

Job description

• Act as the architectural front door for new requirements and projects, engaging with delivery teams, programmes, policy, operational teams and suppliers to shape early demand, define requirements and develop appropriate technical solution options
• Lead and coordinate the development of solution architectures across cloud services, Microsoft 365, SaaS platforms, integration services and departmental applications, ensuring solutions are secure, resilient, supportable, compliant and aligned with departmental strategy and target architecture
• Provide strategic architectural advice and option appraisals to senior stakeholders, assessing costs, risks, benefits, delivery approaches and opportunities for service reuse, standardisation and consolidation to support informed decision-making
• Shape and oversee proofs of concept, pilots and technology evaluations to validate architectural approaches, technologies and integration patterns, working with engineers and delivery teams to support successful implementation where appropriate
• Own the architectural direction for software development and engineering tooling, including source control, CI/CD pipelines, automation, development environments and related engineering platforms, enabling teams to build, test and release services securely, efficiently and consistently
• Lead architectural oversight of major transformation and migration activities, including service transitions, organisational restructuring, mergers, acquisitions and data migration programmes, ensuring dependencies, security, governance, access controls, validation and transition arrangements are fully addressed
• Drive the rationalisation, standardisation and governance of departmental technology capabilities, identifying opportunities to reduce duplication, improve reuse, strengthen controls and increase value for money across platforms, services and tooling
• Provide design assurance and implementation oversight, working closely with Enterprise Architects, Platform Architects, Cyber Security, Engineering and Delivery teams to validate designs, confirm implementation approaches and ensure solutions are technically feasible, supportable and operationally ready
• Own the architectural direction for DNS-related services and dependencies, including Cloudflare DNS and Zscaler network access patterns, establishing design standards, assuring solution implementations and ensuring changes are secure, resilient, governed and aligned with departmental architecture, security and operational requirements
• Ensure solutions successfully progress through governance and operational transition, securing appropriate approvals through Technical Design Authority and security review processes, whilst establishing clear ownership, support models, documentation and handover arrangements before transition to BAU support

Person specification

As a Cloud Technical Architect you'll have:

• Significant experience operating as a Technical Architect or closely related architecture role in a complex enterprise environment, shaping, designing and assuring enterprise-scale solutions across cloud services, SaaS, Microsoft 365, integration, identity, networking, security and governance
• Strong understanding of solution and cloud architecture principles, including automation, resilience, operational models, data flow, integration, reuse of existing services and secure-by-design patterns
• Proven experience taking early, incomplete or one-line business requests and turning them into clear requirements, high-level options analysis and scalable, cost-effective and compliant technical architectures aligned to organisational strategy and target architecture
• Experience leading or assuring proofs of concept, pilots or experimental services to validate architectural approaches, de-risk technical decisions and test integration patterns before wider delivery
• Experience defining, governing or enabling software development lifecycle tooling and engineering platforms, including source control, CI/CD pipelines, automation and development environments, enabling teams to build, test and release digital services securely and consistently
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to work across delivery, policy, programme, supplier, enterprise architecture, platform architecture and cyber security teams to translate business problems into clear architectural options and recommendations
• Knowledge of identity and access management, Zero Trust networking, Entra ID, authorisation patterns, encryption