Principal Technical Architect

Government Digital Service; West of England; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Government Digital Service (GDS) leads the UK's digital government agenda from OCTO, shaping technology strategies and interoperable services across central government. This principal role drives architectural excellence, sets long-term roadmaps, and advances public sector technology capabilities at scale.

You will mentor teams, engage with senior stakeholders, and guide high-risk, complex tech programmes to deliver safer, more efficient digital services for citizens and government users.

Qualifications

• Experience setting a vision and leading digital and data change across complex and decentralised organisations.
• Experience designing and building technology characterised by high risk and complexity and embedding it at scale.
• Experience engaging with suppliers both formally and informally.
• Ability to communicate with technical stakeholders like CTOs/CDOs across government, as well as ministers and permanent secretaries.
• Ability to share learning and mentor others, adapting feedback for lasting impact.
• Experience driving efficiency and lowering costs.
• Security clearance: role requires SC clearance; may require 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years.

Responsibilities

• Building a decade-long strategy in your field / specialism that’s truly yours.
• Identifying and promoting best practice across government and the public sector.
• Delivering technologies that have a positive impact on users.
• Developing a network of peers, building credibility and improving communication.
• Maximising the offer from vendors to the public sector.

Skills

Vision leadership

Digital change

Complex systems

Supplier engagement

Stakeholder communication

Mentoring

Cost efficiency

Job description

Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We set, lead and deliver the vision for a modern digital government, harnessing technologies and talent to make a serious impact across the public sector. We employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol. We’re home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI) and the world-leading GOV.UK website.

Where you'll be working

You'll join the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), the directorate responsible for delivering key government technology strategies and initiatives, like the market-shaping Cloud Challenge Book and public sector technology learning through Get Tech Certified.

Led by the Government Chief Technology Officer, OCTO sets cross-government technology strategy, technical standards, and shared architectural patterns to drive digital transformation and interoperability across public services.

We lead the Engineering, Architecture and IT Operations professions across the public sector. We provide the guidance, tools, methodologies, communities, events and research that thousands of technology professionals rely on to do their jobs throughout their careers.

The problems we're solving

Government runs on technology the public relies on every day, but much of it is ageing, fragmented, and at risk.

While government technology has real strengths, its maturity varies significantly across teams, services, and organisations. Some areas are modern, well-run and highly capable; others are still dependent on old systems, fragile infrastructure, and accumulated legacy and technical debt.

That's where we come in: our mission is to build Firmer Foundations for Government, a core pillar of the Government's Blueprint for Modern Digital Government. We're working with leaders across government and the wider public sector to mitigate the risks of legacy and ageing technology.

New and emerging technologies are part of the answer. They offer better ways to design, build and run services and improve resilience for the public. But they also make the need to act more urgent: government needs stronger foundations now if it is to adopt new technologies safely, responsibly and at scale.

Join OCTO, and you'll help shape how government tackles the challenge of legacy technology and harnesses the power of emerging technologies. You will also have the opportunity to support and influence thousands of technology professionals across the public sector who are building the services the public relies on every day.

Please Note - Former DSIT recruitment campaigns are continuing as usual, but candidates should be aware that following the Government’s announcement on the changes to some civil service departments, roles will be subject to the machinery of government moves and will ultimately be in one of the new departments. We will provide more information if you are selected for a role. This work remains of high importance to the civil service, and we thank you for your continued interest.

What you’ll do as a Principal Technical Architect

This is not your normal Architecture role; it offers the opportunity to make an impact at a serious scale. You may be asked to work across a range of technical disciplines and opportunities, and be responsible for solving some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges. You will help millions of people in government and the public sector to access services they need.

Our teams in OCTO are routinely involved in critical, flagship activities such as:

• the creation of market shaping material like the Cloud Challenge Book
• providing free digital, data and technology learning and certification opportunities for the whole public sector through Get Tech Certified
• authoring assessments into how effectively the public sector uses digital technology such as the State of Digital Government Review
• enabling the government and public sector to harness the power of AI technology safely, effectively and responsibly through the AI Playbook for the UK Government
• supporting commercial engagements worth billions of pounds
• providing policy decisions and advice based on the most current market trends, such as guidance on AI, open code and vulnerabiity risk in the public sector
• providing advice and thought leadership to other international governments, our suppliers and other policy areas across government
• responding to pan-government technology questions from ministers and support committee hearings

This is a role with unlimited space to grow and make a major impact on the UK’s digital strategy.

Your responsibilities include:

• building a decade-long strategy in your field / specialism that’s truly yours
• identifying and promoting best practice across government and the public sector
• delivering technologies that have a positive impact on users
• developing a network of peers, building credibility and improving communication
• maximising the offer from vendors to the public sector

You may also have the opportunity to manage and mentor a Lead Technical Architect who will support you in your role and develop their own processes and technologies.

Person specification

You should work in a technical profession aligned to the Architecture, Data, IT Operations or Software Development specialisms, either within the Government Digital and Data Framework, or in a similar large-scale digital-first commercial environment. You should also hold relevant industry certifications for your technical specialism.

• you must have experience setting a vision and leading digital and data change across complex and decentralised organisations
• you must have experience designing and building technology characterised by high levels of risk and complexity and embedding it at scale
• you should have experience engaging with suppliers both formally and informally
• you should be comfortable communicating with technical stakeholders such as Chief Technology Officers / Chief Digital Officers across government, as well as non-technical stakeholders, including ministers and permanent secretaries
• you should be able to share learning and mentor others, adapting feedback to ensure its effective and lasting
• you should have experience in driving efficiency and lowering costs

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

We are holding a Townhall event for this role, please find the joining details through the link to the job description.