Technical Architect

Inspire People; Lancashire; Hybrid; GBP 57,000 - 74,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

25 days annual leave

Cycle to Work scheme

Employee assistance programme

Job summary

The Insolvency Service, in partnership with Inspire People, is seeking a Technical Architect with a software development background, preferably .NET/C#, to join its Digital Services team and shape the technical direction of a portfolio of live services.

This permanent role offers a salary of £57,367 - £74,319, 29% employer pension, Civil Service benefits, and flexible hybrid working (60% in office) from nine UK locations: Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Ipswich, Leeds, Manchester,

Qualifications

• Software development background with strong design skills.
• Experience turning business problems into technical designs across services.
• Experience defining architecture strategy, standards and roadmaps.
• Knowledge of architecture governance and risk management across complex services.
• Excellent communication and ability to influence senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Define target architectures and roadmaps across Digital Services.
• Produce reference architectures, patterns and architecture decision records.
• Provide technical leadership and assurance on designs and technology choices.
• Collaborate with developers and delivery teams to balance quality and delivery.
• Engage with senior stakeholders translating requirements into technical approaches.

Skills

Software design

.NET/C#

Architectural direction

Stakeholder communication

Cloud awareness

Tools

Microsoft Azure

Job description

Help define the future architecture of digital services used by citizens, businesses and intermediaries across the UK

The Insolvency Service, in partnership with Inspire People, is looking for a Technical Architect with a software development background, preferably within .NET/C# environments, to join its Digital Services team and help define the technical direction of a portfolio of live digital services as the organisation modernises its technology estate. Permanent role, salary £57,367 - £74,319 (based on assessment at interview), 29% employer pension contribution plus full Civil Service benefits. Flexible, hybrid working (60% in office across a month) from 9 UK locations - Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Ipswich, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham. Croydon and Stratford are available to existing Insolvency Service employees only.

About the Technical Architect role

The Technical Architect will join Digital Services, part of Change and Technology Services within the Insolvency Service, supporting digital applications used by internal teams, external organisations and the general public. Digital Services is undergoing a wider programme of modernisation across more than 10 live services, moving away from ageing applications, technical debt and a diverse legacy technology estate towards more consistent, maintainable Microsoft .NET and Azure-based services.

Working closely with the Principal Technical Architect, the role will help set technical direction across Digital Services, establishing architectural standards, principles and governance that enable delivery teams to build secure, scalable and resilient services.

This is a broad architecture role with the opportunity to influence technology roadmaps, service consolidation, platform strategy and future technical approaches while remaining close to engineering and delivery teams.

Responsibilities of a Technical Architect

• Define target architectures, technology direction and architectural roadmaps across Digital Services.
• Produce and maintain reference architectures, design patterns, technical standards and architecture decision records.
• Provide technical leadership and assurance across solution designs, significant technology decisions and proposed change.
• Work closely with developers, engineering leads and delivery teams to resolve complex technical challenges and balance technical quality with delivery requirements.
• Engage with senior business and technical stakeholders, translating complex requirements into clear technical approaches and influencing decision-making.

Essential criteria for a Technical Architect

• Software development background, preferably within .NET/C# environments.
• Experience turning business problems into technical designs across services with varying levels of risk, impact and complexity.
• Experience defining and applying architecture strategy, standards, patterns, policies and roadmaps.
• Experience of architecture governance, technical assurance and managing architectural risk across complex services.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly and influence senior business and technical stakeholders.

Desirable criteria for a Technical Architect

• Experience working with Microsoft Azure and supporting cloud transformation or migration programmes.
• Knowledge of clean architecture, reusable patterns and modern Microsoft development technologies.
• Experience of government digital standards, including the GOV.UK Service Manual and Technology Code of Practice.

Benefits

Alongside the salary of £57,367 - £74,319, the Insolvency Service contributes £16,619 towards membership of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. The organisation supports a positive work-life balance and offers a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Flexible working arrangements and flexi-time
• 25 days annual leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years' service
• 8 public/bank holidays plus 1 additional privilege day
• Competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• 5 days paid learning and development leave
• 5 days paid volunteering leave
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Access to Workplace Wellness, the employee assistance programme offering confidential and independent support and advice

Additional Requirements

• Expectation is to spend 60% of working time in one of the advertised offices.
• The role operates under the flexible working hours agreement, supporting a positive work-life balance.
• The post is subject to SC level clearance, a requirement for which you must have resided in the UK for a minimum of 5 years.
• The Insolvency Service does not currently hold a Skilled Worker sponsorship licence and therefore cannot offer visa sponsorship for this role.

Why Join?

• This is an opportunity to join the Insolvency Service at an important stage in its technology modernisation journey.
• The Technical Architect will help transition a varied legacy estate towards a more focused and maintainable technology platform, reducing technical diversity and technical debt while improving the organisation's ability to deliver future change.

With more than 10 digital services made up of around 40 technology components, the role offers genuine breadth and the opportunity to influence architecture across services used by citizens, businesses and intermediaries.

You will work closely with the Principal Technical Architect while having the autonomy to influence technical direction, introduce new ideas and develop your architecture capability. The team is also beginning to explore emerging technologies including AI and large language models, alongside access to wider cross-government engineering and architecture communities.