Security Architect

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); Lancashire; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is seeking a Security Architect to lead the design and delivery of secure architectures across government digital services. You will embed secure-by-design principles, provide guidance on risk assessment and cloud security, and mentor the architecture community.

You will collaborate with agile teams, influence senior stakeholders, and ensure alignment with Digital Blueprint and Enterprise Architecture standards throughout the product lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Security Architect in complex, government-scale environments.
• Strong secure-by-design principles and enterprise security mindset.
• Experience working in agile, multidisciplinary teams delivering user-centric services.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and communicate complex security concepts clearly.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and delivery of secure architectures with secure controls from product start.
• Develop secure options during discovery and inception to inform design decisions.
• Collaborate with Solution Architects and agile teams to produce secure, value-for-money designs.
• Create security architecture artefacts and governance documentation to support secure engineering.
• Ensure all designs comply with Digital Blueprint, EA standards, and product roadmaps.
• Provide expert security guidance across the full product lifecycle, including assurance activities.
• Own and evolve security product roadmaps and contribute to reusable security patterns.
• Mentor and grow the Architecture community within the organisation.

Skills

Security Architect

Enterprise architecture

Cloud security

Stakeholder influence

Education

CISSP certification

Master's in Information Security

Job description

As our Security Architect, you will use your technical knowledge, architecture design knowledge and development skills to help secure services used by millions of people against cyber threats. DWP is a huge and complex organisation. We have unique architectural and security challenges that you won't find in other roles. The reason for this vacancy is for a security architect to provide advice and guidance to this team. This role will involve our Corporate Centre Services function. We also welcome applications from candidates from a range of backgrounds including those with academic, consultancy and military experience, who hold a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification or a Master's degree in Information Security or willing to work towards obtaining either qualification as this will support your career development. The Security Architect will provide guidance and advice ranging from scoping IT Health Checks, providing guidance in risk assessment, providing security guidance, checking the cloud posture management platform for vulnerabilities. Each team is made up of a number of architects, so relationships will need to be built with other teams, the security community and the design authority. Key responsibilities include:

• Leading the design and delivery of secure architectures, ensuring security controls are embedded from the outset of product development.
• Developing and recommending secure solution options during discovery and inception to inform design decisions.
• Collaborating with Solution Architects and agile teams to produce secure, value-for-money designs aligned to user needs.
• Creating clear security architecture artefacts and documentation to support governance and enable secure engineering practices.
• Ensuring all designs comply with the Digital Blueprint, Enterprise Architecture standards, and agreed product roadmaps.
• Providing expert security guidance across the full product lifecycle, including assurance activities such as control self-assessments.
• Owning and evolving security product roadmaps, contributing to Digital Blueprint improvements and reusable security patterns.
• Build organisational security capability through mentoring, sharing best practice, and supporting the growth of the Architecture community.

Qualifications

• Has proven experience as a Security Architect within complex, large-scale digital or government environments.
• Has a strong understanding of secure-by-design principles, enterprise architecture and cloud-native security.
• Has experience working in agile, multidisciplinary teams delivering user-centric services.
• Has the ability to influence senior stakeholders and communicate complex security concepts clearly.
• Can demonstrate experience of shaping architecture standards, roadmaps and governance frameworks.
• Has a passion for mentoring others and developing organisational capability.