Strategic Principal Architect – Secure Defense & Space

CGI Group Inc.; Devizes; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

CGI is seeking a Principal/Lead Architect for a complex, secure defence software system based in Chippenham, onsite five days a week. You will Own and evolve the overall solution architecture and act as technical authority, aligning with operational needs.

You will lead, coach and mentor architects and engineers, establish architecture governance and ensure design principles, security and resilience across software, data and deployment environments.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as Principal Architect or similar on complex software systems.
• Experience leading architects, engineers or multidisciplinary technical teams.
• Experience owning or shaping architecture of systems with scientific, engineering or algorithmic components.
• Experience establishing architecture governance, design assurance and decision-making frameworks.
• Experience in secure, regulated, or operationally sensitive environments.
• Strong stakeholder engagement with executive and client stakeholders, including ability to explain complex issues to non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Provide principal architectural leadership and act as technical authority for a complex, secure defence software system.
• Own and evolve the overall solution architecture, ensuring resilience, security, maintainability and alignment to operational needs.
• Work with senior stakeholders internal and external to the project, ensuring technology perspectives are accurately represented.
• Lead, coach and mentor architects, technical leads and engineers, building capability across the team.
• Establish and run architecture governance, including design principles, decision records and escalation routes.
• Translate client needs and technical drivers into coherent designs, roadmaps and delivery priorities.
• Guide architectural decisions across software, integration, data, tooling, environments and service operations.
• Support delivery practices, DevSecOps adoption and ways of working.
• Ensure solutions meet security, assurance, resilience, and operational continuity requirements.

Skills

Architecture leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Security architecture

Governance

DevSecOps

Mentoring

Complex software

Regulated environments

Scientific modelling

Non-technical explain

Job description

CGI is seeking a Principal/Lead Architect for a complex, secure defence software system based in Chippenham, onsite five days a week. You will Own and evolve the overall solution architecture and act as technical authority, aligning with operational needs.

You will lead, coach and mentor architects and engineers, establish architecture governance and ensure design principles, security and resilience across software, data and deployment environments.