AWS Tech Lead

Morson Forces; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Morson Group seeks an experienced AWS Technical Lead to drive the migration of a customer services platform to AWS from on-premises, including architecture definition, governance, security and high availability. You will lead cross-team collaboration with UK leadership, partners and operations to deliver phased migration and cutover.

The role requires eight+ years in software engineering, strong Java (Java 17+ preferred) and four+ years AWS expertise, plus proven leadership across distributed

Qualifications

• Eight+ years of software engineering experience.
• Four+ years of AWS architecture experience.
• Proven track record leading large AWS migrations.
• Fluent written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

• Define the programme’s technical scope, target AWS architecture, migration strategy and delivery roadmap.
• Lead architecture and design reviews, validating technology decisions and maintaining clear technical records.
• Assess technical debt, migration complexity, risks and dependencies, and agree mitigation plans.
• Guide multidisciplinary onshore and offshore teams through implementation, testing, deployment, migration cutover and handover.
• Establish engineering, secure development, documentation and code-review standards.
• Drive cloud-native modernization with DevSecOps, automation and IaC.
• Coordinate architecture, development, infrastructure, security and operations workstreams, including third-party deliverables.
• Facilitate technical workshops and communicate recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Validate security, compliance, DR and operational readiness before production releases.
• Support knowledge transfer and sustainable cloud operating model.

Skills

Java

AWS architecture

Leadership

English

Tools

Terraform

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Job description

AWS Technical Lead – 12 month contract - Gloucester

The opportunity

Lead the migration and modernisation of a business-critical Customer Services Platform from on-premises infrastructure to AWS. This is an opportunity for an experienced AWS Technical Lead with a strong enterprise Java background to shape the target architecture and guide delivery from initial discovery and planning through phased migration, cutover and operational handover. The platform supports customer-facing and operational processes through a customer portal, integrated applications and complex enterprise interfaces. Combining legacy and modern technologies, high transaction volumes and demanding availability requirements, the programme will require technical leadership and a practical approach to security, resilience and delivery.

What you’ll be doing

You’ll take end-to-end technical ownership of the migration, working closely with UK-based programme leadership, architects, implementation partners, suppliers, engineers, security specialists, operations teams and business stakeholders. Your responsibilities will include:

• Defining the programme’s technical scope, target AWS architecture, migration strategy and delivery roadmap.
• Leading architecture and design reviews, validating technology decisions and maintaining clear technical records.
• Assessing technical debt, migration complexity, risks and dependencies, and agreeing mitigation plans.
• Guiding multidisciplinary onshore and offshore teams through implementation, testing, deployment, migration cutover and operational handover.
• Establishing engineering, secure development, documentation and code-review standards.
• Driving cloud-native modernisation where appropriate, alongside DevSecOps, automation and Infrastructure as Code.
• Coordinating architecture, development, infrastructure, security and operations workstreams, including third-party supplier deliverables.
• Facilitating technical workshops, resolving cross-team dependencies and communicating recommendations to senior stakeholders and governance boards.
• Validating security, compliance, disaster recovery and operational readiness before production releases.
• Supporting knowledge transfer and establishing a sustainable cloud operating and support model.

What you’ll bring

Essential experience

• At least eight years’ experience in software engineering.
• At least four years’ experience in AWS architecture.
• A proven track record of leading large-scale AWS migration programmes.
• A strong enterprise Java background, including Java 17 or later; Java 21 is preferred.
• Significant technical leadership experience across multidisciplinary and distributed teams.
• Fluent written and spoken English.

Technical expertise

AWS architecture:

• AWS Well-Architected Framework, multi-account environments, landing zones, cloud governance, secure-by-design principles and disaster recovery.

AWS services:

• EC2, ECS and/or EKS, Lambda, API Gateway, S3, RDS, DynamoDB, EventBridge, SNS, SQS, IAM, CloudWatch, Systems Manager, Secrets Manager and Route 53.

Software and integration architecture:

• Java, REST APIs, event-driven architecture, microservices, distributed systems, enterprise integration patterns and Domain-Driven Design.

Architecture disciplines:

• Enterprise, solution, API and security architecture, alongside cloud migration strategy.

Engineering and DevOps:

• CI/CD pipelines, Git, GitHub, GitLab and/or Azure DevOps, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Infrastructure as Code and automated testing.

Leadership and delivery skills

• Translating business objectives into practical technical solutions.
• Explaining complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Presenting recommendations, risks and dependencies to senior leaders and steering committees.
• Coordinating suppliers and resolving cross-supplier dependencies.
• Planning and prioritising technical workstreams, forecasting delivery and managing risks, issues and escalations.
• Coaching engineers and promoting collaborative problem-solving and knowledge sharing.

Desirable experience and qualifications

• Knowledge of ISO 27001, NIST, Cyber Essentials, GDPR and AWS security frameworks.
• Relevant certifications, such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional, AWS Certified Security – Specialty, TOGAF, SAFe Agilist or Certified ScrumMaster.