IAM Architect - DV Cleared

Sanderson Government & Defence; Farnborough; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Sanderson Government & Defence seeks an experienced IAM Architect (DV Cleared) to lead enterprise identity design and delivery in highly regulated environments. The role covers governance, security, and modernisation across on-prem and cloud services, with strong emphasis on zero-trust and integration across major platforms.

You will provide technical leadership, architect modern IDAM solutions (Azure AD/Entra ID, Okta, Ping, ForgeRock) and guide cross-functional teams while ensuring

Qualifications

• 12+ years in Identity and Access Management
• ≥5 years in Architecture role
• Proven experience delivering enterprise IDAM solutions
• Experience in secure, regulated or government environments
• Knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID / Azure AD
• Experience with Okta, Ping Identity and ForgeRock
• Strong AD/LDAP, OAuth 2.0, SAML, OpenID Connect
• Experience with PAM, RBAC/ABAC and IGA
• Hybrid/cloud identity architectures
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management

Responsibilities

• Design enterprise-scale Identity and Access Management architectures.
• Develop secure authentication, authorisation and MFA frameworks.
• Design and implement RBAC, ABAC and PAM solutions.
• Define identity governance, access lifecycle and entitlement strategies.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and support platform selection activities.
• Ensure identity architectures align with government/security standards.
• Conduct security risk assessments and mitigation strategies.
• Design secure audit, logging and monitoring capabilities.
• Lead modernization of IDAM platforms including Azure AD/Entra ID, Okta, Ping, ForgeRock.
• Provide architectural leadership and mentoring to technical teams.
• Design identity integrations across enterprise apps and cloud platforms.
• Architect SSO, federation and cross-domain authentication capabilities.
• Facilitate workshops and present architecture recommendations to leadership.

Skills

IAM expertise

Architectural leadership

IDAM governance

Govt/regulatory domain

Azure Entra ID

Azure AD

Okta

Ping Identity

ForgeRock

Active Directory

LDAP

OAuth 2.0

SAML

OIDC

Federation

PAM

RBAC/ABAC

IGA

Encryption principles

Stakeholder mgmt

Job description

IAM Architect (DV Cleared)

Location: Farnborough, Hampshire (Onsite)
Employment Type: Permanent, Full-Time
Security Clearance: DV Cleared or Active DV Clearance

Shape the Future of Secure Digital Identity

We are seeking an experienced Identity and Access Management (IDAM) Architect to join a growing cybersecurity and digital identity practice supporting some of the UK's most critical and secure environments.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the design and delivery of enterprise-scale identity solutions within highly regulated sectors. You will play a key role in defining identity strategies, modernising IDAM platforms, and ensuring robust security, governance and compliance across complex environments.

If you are passionate about identity security, zero trust architecture, cloud transformation and secure access management, we'd love to hear from you.

The Role

As an IDAM Architect, you will be responsible for the design, governance and implementation of enterprise identity and access management solutions. You will provide technical leadership across large-scale programmes, helping organisations strengthen their security posture while enabling secure digital transformation.

Working closely with technical teams, stakeholders and programme leadership, you will architect modern identity solutions that support both on-premises and cloud-based services.

Key Responsibilities

Identity Architecture & Strategy

• Design enterprise-scale Identity and Access Management architectures
• Develop secure authentication, authorisation and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) frameworks
• Design and implement RBAC, ABAC and Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions
• Define identity governance, access lifecycle and entitlement management strategies
• Evaluate emerging technologies and support platform selection activities

Security & Compliance

• Ensure identity architectures align with government and industry security standards
• Conduct security risk assessments and provide mitigation strategies
• Design secure audit, logging and monitoring capabilities
• Develop data protection and encryption approaches for identity platforms
• Support regulatory and security compliance requirements

Modernisation & Transformation

• Lead the design and implementation of modern IDAM platforms including Azure AD, Entra ID, Okta, Ping and ForgeRock
• Architect cloud-native and hybrid identity solutions
• Support API-driven identity services and microservices-based authentication models
• Lead identity migrations and transformation programmes

Technical Leadership

• Provide architectural leadership and mentoring to technical teams
• Define architecture standards, patterns and governance frameworks
• Lead technical design reviews and architecture assurance activities
• Produce and maintain high-quality architecture documentation

Integration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Design identity integrations across enterprise applications and cloud platforms
• Architect SSO, federation and cross-domain authentication capabilities
• Facilitate workshops and stakeholder engagements
• Present architecture recommendations to senior technical and business leaders

Essential Skills & Experience

• Minimum 12 years of experience in Identity and Access Management
• At least 5 years operating in an Architecture role
• Proven experience designing and delivering enterprise-scale IDAM solutions
• Strong experience within secure, regulated or government-focused environments
• Expertise in modern identity platforms including:
  • Microsoft Entra ID / Azure AD
  • Okta
  • Ping Identity
  • ForgeRock
• Strong knowledge of:
  • Active Directory and LDAP
  • OAuth 2.0
  • SAML
  • OpenID Connect
  • Identity Federation
• Experience with:
  • Privileged Access Management (PAM)
  • Role-Based and Attribute-Based Access Control
  • Identity Governance and Administration (IGA)
  • Access Certification and Entitlement Management
• Understanding of cloud identity and hybrid identity architectures
• Strong knowledge of security architecture, cryptography and secure authentication principles
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

Desirable Qualifications

• CISSP, CISM or equivalent security certification
• Microsoft Entra ID / Azure certifications
• Okta certifications
• Experience delivering Zero Trust security architectures
• Experience within Defence, Aerospace or Central Government programmes
• Previous DV or SC clearance

Reasonable Adjustments:

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.