Head of Technical Architecture (AI) - 6 months - London, Bristol or Manchester - £900pd Inside

Project overview

Head of Technical Architecture (AI) - 6 months - London, Bristol or Manchester - £900pd Inside

A central government digital organisation is building a programme of AI-powered products that will change how citizens interact with government. The programme already has a live AI chat product in a national government app, helping people navigate childcare, tax and benefits. It is now moving towards agentic experiences that could transform how people use government services. The successful candidate will lead the technical architecture effort across the whole programme.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You will head the line management tree for the programme's architects, set the technical strategy for its AI products, and keep it aligned with wider government digital standards. You will work with the Deputy Director, Engineering, the Head of Cyber Security and counterparts in other departments and agencies. The work involves a fair amount of ambiguity, and the team wants someone who is confident challenging the status quo and explaining the reasoning behind their decisions.

This is a technical or solutions architecture role, not an enterprise architecture one. Please include specific examples in your CV of AI products you have designed and launched to the public, the scale they ran at, and the architects you have led.

Responsibilities

Ideal Candidate:

Desirable Experience:

TL;DR

Job Title: Head of Technical Architecture (AI)

Contract Length: 6 months (extension likely)

• Lead the architects within the programme, including line management, development and the health of the technical architecture community
• Design and drive the technical strategy for the programme's AI digital products
• Own the architectural strategy for products and services, including languages, frameworks, integration, CI/CD, hosting and monitoring
• Work with the Head of Cyber Security and with colleagues in other government departments and agencies to develop and align technical standards and governance
• Define and shape how technical governance works, so decisions are made at the right moments
• Review technical roadmaps, looking ahead for opportunities and blockers, and make sure team decisions align with the strategy
• Work with other discipline heads to make sure products are built around user needs, with an effective operating model for ongoing support
• Communicate technical decisions to technical and non-technical audiences alike
• Share good practice, for example through blog posts and talks
• Experience designing and launching technical architectures for AI products used directly by the public, at national scale and with high concurrent usage (tens of thousands of users)
• Has led a team of architects, and is a technical or solutions architect rather than an enterprise architect
• Hands-on experience of AI safety: guardrails, red teaming and threat assessment
• Strong AWS experience, including serverless and Amazon Bedrock
• Several major releases of real applications or websites, which you describe in depth on your CV
• Strong software development and application architecture experience, with open-source technologies and testing
• Practical knowledge of modern serverless stacks, from Front End code down to infrastructure and networking
• A deep understanding of TDD, continuous integration and delivery, and DevOps
• Good knowledge of cloud security architecture, including threat modelling
• Experience defining and refining technical governance in multidisciplinary agile teams
• Strong communicator who can influence and challenge senior stakeholders
• No specific qualifications are required
• A degree or postgraduate qualification in computer science
• Recent AWS qualifications
• Experience working in government or the wider public sector (not essential)
• Suitable backgrounds include Head of Architecture, Principal Architect, Lead Solutions Architect or Head of Engineering, provided you have shipped AI products and led architects

Project details

London, Bristol or Manchester (two days a week onsite, with some flexibility; London preferred, and candidates based elsewhere travel to London about once a quarter)

£900

IR35 Status: Inside IR35

Clearance: BPSS and SC eligible (SC must be held before starting)

• Start: flexible
• Location: London, UK, GB
• Rate: 113-113 EUR/h