Senior Data Architect - GDS - G7

Manchester Digital; Greater London, Manchester, Bristol; On-site; GBP 56,000 - 71,000; Full time

Job summary

A government digital service organization is seeking a Senior Data Architect to develop and publish data security standards. In this role, you will collaborate with government departments to ensure data security for various services. Ideal candidates will have experience in data governance, effective communication skills, and the ability to work in agile teams. This position will offer the opportunity to work on high-priority digital challenges that impact millions of users.

Qualifications

• Experience in developing data security standards for government.
• Ability to design data architecture addressing data security challenges.
• Strong understanding of data governance and compliance responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop data security standards for government.
• Advise on data security for government services.
• Define government API data and technical standards.

Skills

Data governance

Data security standards

Effective communication

Agile methodologies

Data modeling

Tools

Github

Job description

£56,070 - £70,219 based on location and capability
Published on

Full-time (Permanent) £56,070 - £70,219 based on location and capability
Published on 16 December 2025 Deadline 6 January 2026

Location

Bristol, London, Manchester

About the job

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

• joining up public sector services
• harnessing the power of AI for the public good
• strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
• elevating leadership and investing in talent
• funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
• committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

You’ll be joining the GDS Data Sharing Team, we are strengthening the Data Foundations for the whole public sector to make data sharing easier. We work in partnership across government to define the data strategy, by building consensus through the development of common frameworks and standards.

Take a look at ourblog to learn more about what we do.

As a GDS Senior Data Architect working in the Data Security team in the Office of the Government Chief Data Officer, you’ll be collaborating with other government departments to develop and publish data security standards for government and the wider public sector.

With the ability to drive through an agenda, you will be collaborating with other teams in GDS, including our consulting technical architects, the technology policy team, tech writers, and others, as standards are developed and shaped. This will also mean delivering presentations to various stakeholders at all levels.

The role will include travel to different government departments and agencies, therefore there must be a willingness to undertake this.

As a Senior Data Architect you’ll:

• develop data security standards for government
• advise on data security for government services
• define the government API data and technical standards, including how to make APIs secure
• identify opportunities to use novel privacy-enhancing technologies to enable data-driven collaboration without compromising on privacy and security
• develop data security controls to mitigate risks applying to AI systems
• work in agile multi-disciplinary teams, with software developers using tools such as Github and following continuous delivery and devops practices

Person specification

We’re interested in people who can:

• understand how to balance the needs of security against the need of users to access and use data to derive value
• communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, support and host discussions within a multidisciplinary team, and manage differing stakeholder perspectives
• work with subject matter experts to develop standards, policies and guidance to secure data
• show an awareness of opportunities for innovation with new tools and uses of data, for example privacy-enhancing technologies
• understand what data governance is and take responsibility for the assurance of data solutions and make recommendations to ensure compliance
• explain the concepts and principles of data modelling, produce, maintain and update relevant data models for an organisation’s specific needs
• explain the strategic context of your work and why it is important, support strategic planning in an administrative capacity
• design data architecture that deals with specific data security problems and align it to enterprise-wide standards and principles
• demonstrate a good understanding of data security concepts and can apply them to a technical level