Head of Technical Architecture - AI

Salary: £? - ? per year

Requirements:

• BPSS clearance is required; existing SC clearance is advantageous but not essential, and may be transferred during onboarding
• Strong experience designing and delivering AI-enabled digital products
• Proven experience leading technical architecture teams and communities
• Deep understanding of cloud-native and modern application architectures
• Experience developing and implementing enterprise-wide technical strategies
• Strong knowledge of cloud technologies, serverless architectures, DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, test-driven development (TDD), security architecture, and threat modelling
• Experience working in Agile, multidisciplinary environments
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, business-focused recommendations
• Desirable expertise in Knowledge Architecture, Knowledge Graphs, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), scalable AI platforms and services, component reusability, and large-scale technology programmes with proven scalability outcomes
• Strategic technology leadership, strong communication skills, a collaborative approach, and an interest in applying AI and emerging technologies to real-world challenges

Responsibilities:

• Lead and develop a team of technical architects within a complex AI programme
• Define and drive technical architecture strategy across AI-enabled digital products
• Establish and promote architectural best practices, standards, and governance
• Shape technology roadmaps and influence strategic technical decisions
• Work with multidisciplinary teams in Agile delivery environments
• Ensure solutions are scalable, secure, reusable, resilient, and operationally sustainable
• Communicate complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences
• Collaborate with senior stakeholders to align technology investments with organisational objectives
• Evaluate technical approaches, present options, and recommend solutions based on business outcomes, scalability, and risk
• Champion continuous improvement and innovation across architecture practices

Technologies:

• AI
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• DevOps
• RAG
• Security
• Serverless
• TDD
• Architect

More:

We are seeking a Head of Technical Architecture – AI to provide technical leadership for a major, high-profile AI transformation programme in the UK public sector, shaping architecture, strategy, and governance for AI-powered digital products used in public services. This is a six-month contract, inside IR35, with a daily rate of £750–£850. The role can be based in London, Bristol, or Manchester and is predominantly remote, with occasional travel to London for team meetings, approximately once every two months.

last updated 39 week of 2026