Lead Security Architect

UK Home Office; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

UK Home Office is seeking a Lead Security Architect to lead security architecture across critical government projects. This role involves engaging with senior stakeholders to ensure secure by design systems, mentoring architects, and applying risk-based decision-making to security controls. It offers the opportunity to impact services that protect national interests.

Benefits

Exceptional pension

Generous leave

Flexible working

Learning and development

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Qualifications

• Expert in ISO 27001 / NIST / CIS controls.
• Hands-on knowledge of cloud security and DevSecOps toolchains.
• Experience in scoping and overseeing pen-testing / threat-modelling.

Responsibilities

• Drive secure architecture for a major portfolio ensuring compliance with Home Office standards.
• Engage stakeholders, balancing risk and usability effectively.
• Mentor SEO architects to enhance security capabilities across programs.

Skills

Risk-based decision-making

Technical depth

Pen-testing

Influential communication

Mentoring & governance

Job description

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Strategic Capability Lead (Government Digital & Data) - Product, Delivery, Architecture & IT Ops at UK Home Office

Join the Home Office as a Lead Security Architect and steer the secure‑by‑design delivery of critical systems that protect citizens and national interests. Working with the Principal Security Architect, you will own security architecture for a major portfolio, translate business goals and threat intelligence into practical controls, and mentor SEO‑level architects to raise capability across multiple programmes.

You will engage senior stakeholders, balance risk against usability and cost, and shape patterns that let teams adopt cloud, DevSecOps, IoT and zero‑trust approaches safely. If you can blend deep technical insight with clear, influential communication and enjoy turning complex risks into elegant proportionate solutions, this role offers the chance to make a tangible impact on services millions rely on every day.

As Lead Security Architect you will direct secure architecture across a portfolio worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Working with product owners, delivery managers and enterprise architects, you will ensure every new or changed service conforms to Home Office and NCSC standards while enabling rapid, user‑centred delivery.

You will analyse emerging threats, advise on proportional mitigations, and produce or tailor reference patterns covering identity, network segmentation, container security, data protection, and monitoring. By modelling risks with frameworks such as ISO 27005, NIST, or STRIDE, you will justify design choices to technical and non‑technical audiences and document them for re‑use.

You will champion “secure‑by‑default” in agile pipelines embedding IaC scanning, SAST/DAST, SBOM and cloud‑native guardrails so security becomes a quality attribute owned by delivery teams. Through communities of practice and one‑to‑one coaching, you will nurture SEO architects and engineers, acting as escalation point for complex design decisions.

Finally, you will cultivate relationships with external suppliers, government peers and industry forums to import good practice and influence future standards, ensuring Home Office services remain resilient, cost‑effective and compliant.

What You’ll Do:

• Set portfolio‑level vision & patterns in line with Principal Security Architect strategy, translating them into reusable templates and guardrails.
• Lead architecture reviews for high‑risk projects, providing actionable recommendations and tracking remediation through to closure.
• Perform and interpret threat‑modelling / pen‑test results, converting findings into road‑mapped improvements and measurable risk reductions.
• Advise on security controls for hybrid and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, serverless), balancing usability, cost and compliance.
• Mentor and quality‑assure SEO Security Architects’ work, fostering a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
• Engage senior stakeholders across technology, policy and operations, presenting security trade‑offs in business terms and gaining consensus.
• Scan the horizon for emerging threats, tooling and regulatory change, recommending timely adoption or mitigation strategies.
• Oversee vendor and SaaS evaluations, ensuring contracts include appropriate security clauses and ongoing assurance.

Essential skills:

• Risk‑based decision‑making: expert in ISO 27001 / NIST / CIS controls, able to quantify and articulate risk, then select proportionate, cost‑effective controls.
• Technical depth: hands‑on knowledge of cloud security, IAM, container & API security, network segmentation, encryption and DevSecOps toolchains; capable of explaining exploitability of complex vulnerabilities.
• Pen‑testing & threat‑modelling: scoping, overseeing and translating results into enforceable patterns and backlog items.
• Influential communication: proven ability to engage C‑suite and delivery squads alike, adapting style to gain agreement and drive secure‑by‑design culture.
• Mentoring & governance: experience line‑managing or coaching security architects/engineers and running architecture assurance or design‑review boards.

At the Home Office, your work has real-world impact, shaping the safety and security of millions. We offer:

• Meaningful Work: Contribute to critical national security and public service initiatives.
• Career Growth: Benefit from tailored development frameworks and professional communities.
• Flexible Working: Balance your professional and personal life with hybrid work options.
• Diversity and Inclusion: Join a workplace where your unique background and talents are celebrated.

Benefits include:

• Exceptional pension: Employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Generous leave: 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 with service), 8 public holidays, and 1 day for the King’s Birthday.
• Flexible working: Options include full-time, part-time, compressed hours, job sharing, and a hybrid model (minimum 60% on-site).
• Learning and development: Access to training, technical accreditations, and funded qualifications (subject to approval).
• Recognition and inclusion: A culture that champions diversity, enhanced parental leave schemes, annual bonuses, and recognition awards.

Learn more about our benefits: Benefits - Home Office Careers

Additional Information:

• This role requires SC clearance. To meet national security vetting requirements, you must typically have been resident in the UK for at least five years. Unfortunately, we cannot sponsor visas.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Information Technology, Strategy/Planning, and Consulting

• Industries

  Technology, Information and Media, Computer and Network Security, and Government Administration

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