Senior Technical (Cloud) Architect

Social Security Scotland; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Social Security Scotland is seeking a Senior Technical (Cloud) Architect to lead cloud architecture across AWS and EKS, ensuring secure, scalable, and cost-efficient platforms for Scotland’s citizens.

You will shape greenfield solutions, drive continuous improvement, and align cloud designs with organisational standards and strategic objectives in a hybrid working environment.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading cloud architecture on large AWS deployments.
• Strong focus on security, resilience and cost-effective cloud solutions.
• Ability to align designs with government standards and roadmaps.

Responsibilities

• Lead and assure AWS cloud architectures, including container-based platforms on Amazon EKS.
• Define and maintain the technical roadmap for cloud services within a domain.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure secure, scalable, and compliant designs.

Skills

AWS

Cloud architecture leadership

EKS

Security & resilience

Tools

Amazon EKS

CloudFormation

Terraform

Job description

Social Security Scotland is seeking a Senior Technical (Cloud) Architect to join our Cloud Architecture team and play a key role in designing, delivering and evolving our cloud-hosted platforms. Working within a cloud-first environment, primarily on AWS, you will provide architectural leadership to ensure services are secure, resilient, scaleable and cost-effective for both internal users and citizens across Scotland.

This is an exciting opportunity to influence a modern, cloud-native platform from an early stage, working closely with technical specialists and delivery teams to shape greenfield solutions, drive continuous improvement, and support the future growth of critical public services.

You will be responsible for defining and assuring cloud infrastructure architectures across AWS, including containerised platforms running on Amazon EKS. Providing technical leadership and design assurance, you will ensure solutions align with organisational standards and best practice, while supporting strategic technology roadmaps, cloud security, resilience and platform engineering initiatives.

As a Senior Technical (Cloud) Architect, you will design and assure digital solutions, translating complex business and technical requirements into effective, governed architectures. You will provide technical leadership, design guidance and reusable patterns, identifying opportunities to leverage common platforms, components and services.

Working across a range of architecture domains and technologies, you will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. You will also work closely with specialist architecture domains, engineering, cyber security and delivery managers to ensure solutions are secure, scalable, resilient and aligned to organisational standards and strategic objectives.

Responsibilities

• Present recommendations for technologies and improvements that support business and project objectives, based on analysis of requirements and system needs.
• Evaluate implemented solutions, identifying lessons learned, best practice and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Contribute to architecture governance activities, promoting the adoption of architectural standards, best practice and effective ways of working.
• Contribute to the development of technical strategy and roadmaps within your area of expertise.
• Lead and assure AWS cloud architectures, including container-based platforms hosted on Amazon EKS, ensuring alignment with security, resilience, performance and cost optimisation requirements.
• Own and evolve the technical roadmap for services within a defined domain.
• Develop and maintain technical designs for the integration and implementation of technology solutions, working collaboratively across Government Digital and Data (GDD) and business teams.
• Ensure designs meet security, operational, resilience and performance requirements.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert, understanding wider departmental, organisational and cross-government strategies to ensure recommendations and designs are aligned.
• Own one or more digital components, ensuring solutions align with broader architectural designs and strategic direction.
• Define cloud integration approaches, including APIs, event-driven services, identity integration and secure connectivity between cloud and enterprise platforms.

Success Profiles

We use an assessment framework called ‘Success Profiles’ which lists the elements we test and provides detailed descriptions of each. Find out more about the framework here.

Experience

• Demonstrable technical leadership experience, providing architectural direction and expertise on large-scale projects or complex programmes, fostering technical excellence, innovation and effective decision-making.
• Experience designing complex cloud-based solutions, balancing business requirements, security, performance, resilience, cost and delivery constraints to achieve successful outcomes.
• Strong technical expertise in AWS cloud infrastructure and platforms, including the design, implementation and management of AWS services, Amazon EKS and associated infrastructure technologies.

Behaviours

• Communicating and Influencing (Level 4)

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours here

Technical / Professional Skills

This role is aligned to Senior Technical Architect within the Government Digital and Data Profession.

These skills will be tested during the Technical Assessment if you are successful at sift stage. They will not be assessed at application stage. Please review the following to understand the skill expectations: Technical architect - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework

Expected Timeline

Sift - w/c 7th September

Interview – w/c 28th September

Location - In Person in either Dundee or Glasgow

Reserve List

In the event that there are more successful candidates than posts available, a reserve list will be kept for up to 12 months.

About Us

Social Security Scotland is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. Our benefits help people from all walks of life in Scotland. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the clients we serve. Find more about us here.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

GDD Pay Supplement

This post is part of the Government Digital and Data (GDD) profession and currently attracts a £4,000 annual GDD pay supplement, which is paid monthly. Pay supplements are reviewed regularly.

Working Pattern

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options, depending on the needs of the role. We embrace a hybrid working style where all colleagues will spend time in either our Glasgow or Dundee offices. There is an expectation of a minimum 2 days per week in your assigned location, which will be either Glasgow or Dundee. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Security Checks

Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).

You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.

Equality Statement

Social Security Scotland are committed to equality and inclusion, and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.

Social Security Scotland are a Disability Confident Employer. We will consider and implement any reasonable adjustments you may require throughout the recruitment process and during the course of your employment, should you be successful in securing a post. If you feel you may require assistance with any part of our recruitment process, please contact us at [e-mail]

Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Right to Work in the UK

Social Security Scotland is an approved sponsor under the UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker route. Please note that UK immigration guidance, including skill and salary thresholds and eligible occupations, is reviewed regularly and subject to change. If you require visa sponsorship, you should check the latest criteria to confirm whether this role meets current requirements before applying. You can find further advice at Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK

Further Information

Social Security Scotland’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the recruitment principles of the Civil Service Commissioner, which outline that selection for appointment be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition - Recruitment - Civil Service Commission

If you feel at any time your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, you can make a complaint, by contacting Social Security Scotland at [e-mail] in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commissioner.

The successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 3 years unless successful in gaining promotion to a higher Band or Grade.

Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.

Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.

If you experience any difficulties accessing our website or completing the online application form, please contact the Resourcing Team via [e-mail]