Platform Architect

IBM SiXworks; Farnborough; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Private medical cover

Life assurance

Pension

Bonus

Professional development

Job summary

SiXworks is seeking a seasoned Platform Architect to define and evolve the strategic direction of our platforms, automation capabilities, and engineering practices. This role sits at the intersection of architecture, platform engineering, and reliability, ensuring secure, scalable solutions that empower development teams to deliver high-quality software.

You will lead platform strategy, drive automation-first initiatives, champion secure-by-design principles, and collaborate across engineering,

Qualifications

• Extensive experience designing platform architectures in Agile/DevOps environments.
• Strong knowledge of Infrastructure as Code and automation patterns.
• Proficiency with CI/CD tooling and container orchestration.

Responsibilities

• Define the platform architecture strategy aligned with business and technology objectives.
• Lead CI/CD and automation framework design and implementation.
• Oversee architecture governance and artefact production (diagrams, standards, reference architectures).
• Mentor Platform Engineers and promote DevOps/SRE practices across teams.
• Collaborate with security, operations, and development teams to ensure secure, scalable platforms.

Skills

Platform architecture

DevOps / SRE

IaC

CI/CD tooling

Cloud & hybrid

Scripting

Security by design

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

ARM

DSC

Docker

Kubernetes

GitLab CI/CD

Jenkins

GitHub Actions

Job description

Work on Technology That Protects What Matters

At SiXworks, we build secure digital solutions that support Defence and National Security missions. Our teams work on complex problems where reliability, security, and speed of innovation matter.

What You’ll Do

We are seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Platform Architect to define and evolve the strategic direction of our platforms, automation capabilities, and engineering practices. This role sits at the intersection of architecture, platform engineering, and reliability, ensuring that our platforms are secure, scalable, and designed to enable development teams to deliver high-quality solutions efficiently.

Platform Strategy & Architecture

• Define and own the platform architecture strategy, ensuring alignment with business and technology objectives.
• Design end-to-end platform solutions covering infrastructure, automation, CI/CD, and operational tooling.
• Establish architectural principles, patterns, and standards (e.g., IaC, GitOps, immutable infrastructure).
• Drive consistency, reuse, and standardisation across platforms and environments.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and guide their adoption through proof of concepts and strategic roadmaps.
• Work with architects and principle architects across practices and to define roadmaps and architecture

Platform Engineering & Automation Leadership

• Provide technical direction for CI/CD pipeline design, automation frameworks, and Infrastructure as Code practices.
• Ensure platforms are designed for scalability, resilience, and operational efficiency.
• Champion automation-first approaches to reduce manual effort and increase reliability.
• Oversee the design and implementation of reusable platform components and shared services.

Architecture Governance & Design Authority

• Act as a design authority for platform-related initiatives, reviewing and approving architectural decisions.
• Ensure solutions meet non-functional requirements including performance, scalability, security, and maintainability.
• Produce and govern high-quality architectural artefacts (diagrams, standards, reference architectures).
• Lead design workshops and contribute to technical decision-making across projects.

Collaboration & Technical Leadership

• Work closely with engineering, development, operations, and security teams to ensure alignment and successful delivery.
• Provide mentorship and technical leadership to Platform Engineers and wider engineering teams.
• Promote DevOps and SRE best practices across the organisation.
• Enable teams by defining clear platform capabilities, usage patterns, and self-service models.
• Ensure secure-by-design principles are embedded in all platform architectures.
• Guide platform-level security controls, identity management, and compliance requirements.
• Oversee vulnerability management strategies and platform hardening approaches.
• Align platform design with regulatory and organisational compliance standards.

What We’re Looking For

We value people who take ownership, think critically, and enjoy working as part of a collaborative team tackling complex challenges, we’re particularly interested in people with skills/experience in:

• Extensive experience designing and implementing platform architectures in Agile/DevOps environments.
• Strong expertise in Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible, ARM, DSC, or equivalent).
• Deep knowledge of CI/CD tooling and delivery patterns (GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, GitHub Actions).
• Experience with containerisation and orchestration platforms (Docker, Kubernetes, Podman).
• Strong understanding of cloud and hybrid infrastructure (Azure, Azure Stack Hub, or similar).
• Proficiency in scripting and automation (e.g., Python, PowerShell, Bash).
• Experience designing secure, scalable, and highly available systems.
• Strong documentation and communication skills, with the ability to produce clear architectural artefacts.
• Ability to influence, guide, and align multiple teams and stakeholders.

About SiXworks

SiXworks is a specialist digital innovation partner delivering secure, mission-critical technology to Defence and National Security organisations. We focus on digital experimentation, secure-by-design architecture, cloud technologies, and rapid application development to help our customers move faster and stay ahead of evolving challenges.

Our team combines expertise from across technology, business, and operational backgrounds including the armed forces creating a collaborative environment where practical thinking and innovation thrive.

Why Join Us

Our culture is guided by six principles: Agility, Security, Innovation, Quality, Collaboration and Inclusivity our North Star for how we work. SiXworks is a leading provider of secure digital solutions, specialising in digital experimentation and focused on fail-safe-fast cutting-edge technology solutions deployed in highly secure environments.

As an end-to-end digital innovation and delivery partner, we turn complex challenges into mission-critical digital advantages. This is a thrilling time for us, with ambitious plans for growth. We are looking for brilliant, experienced, driven and self-motivated people to join the team on our journey.

We offer competitive salaries and a package that supports your wellbeing and development, including

• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
• free Private Medical cover and Life Assurance
• Generous pension (10% employer, 5% employee contribution)
• Bonus
• Professional development and training support

In addition to secure parking, gym, café & restaurant on site and lots of open break out spaces.

A word on UK Security Clearance

Due to the secure nature of the position and working environment, you must have or be eligible to obtain Security Clearance. More details relating to UK Security Clearance can be found here:

United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Interested?