Lead Technical Architect

Job title: Lead Technical Architect - AI & Cloud Architecture

Sector: Central Government/Public Sector

Location: Fully remote

Contract Duration: ASAP start until 30/04/2027

Day Rate: Negotiable depending on experience

Security Clearance: Active SC (mandatory)

Role Overview:

• We are seeking an experienced Lead Technical Architect to support a major Central Government AI transformation programme, focused on the design and implementation of secure, scalable AI platforms and agentic workflows.
• The successful candidate will provide end-to-end technical leadership, architectural oversight and strategic direction, helping shape the adoption of AI-assisted technologies across a complex enterprise environment.
• Working closely with senior stakeholders, engineering teams and delivery partners, you will be responsible for defining architectural standards, designing secure cloud infrastructure and ensuring solutions align with wider enterprise architecture, security and governance requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the technical architecture and strategic direction of enterprise AI platforms, cloud infrastructure and AI-assisted workflows.
• Define architectural roadmaps, design principles and technical standards, ensuring solutions are secure, scalable and maintainable.
• Design and implement secure Cloud Landing Zones across GCP and/or AWS environments.
• Architect modular, cloud-native and microservices-based solutions capable of supporting complex AI and agentic workflows.
• Design technology-agnostic integration layers and APIs connecting enterprise platforms, AI services and bespoke applications.
• Establish robust AI security guardrails, including human-in-the-loop approval processes, identity federation, prompt protection and personally identifiable information (PII) masking.
• Lead architectural governance and assurance activities, including Technical Design Authority (TDA) approvals, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and cyber security reviews.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and assess their suitability, risks and integration requirements.
• Present architectural designs, technical decisions and risk assessments to senior stakeholders and governance boards.
• Provide technical guidance, mentoring and architectural oversight to engineering teams and delivery partners.

Essential Skills & Experience:

Cloud & Enterprise Architecture:

• Extensive experience leading enterprise cloud architecture across GCP and/or AWS.
• Strong understanding of secure Cloud Landing Zones, cloud networking, Identity and Access Management (IAM) and microservices architecture.
• Proven ability to design scalable, modular and secure cloud-native platforms.

AI Architecture & Security:

• Experience designing secure AI platforms, AI-assisted workflows or agentic systems.
• Strong understanding of AI guardrails, deterministic safety controls and human-in-the-loop approval mechanisms.
• Knowledge of VPC Service Controls, Workload Identity Federation (WIF), Microsoft Entra ID and identity federation.
• Experience implementing privacy controls, PII masking and secure integration patterns.

Technical Design & Systems Integration:

• Proven experience defining technical architecture strategies, standards and design principles.
• Strong background designing modular, vendor-neutral systems and reusable services.
• Experience architecting API-led integrations between enterprise applications, cloud platforms and AI services.
• Ability to make complex architectural decisions while balancing security, scalability, interoperability and delivery requirements.

Governance & Assurance:

• Strong understanding of architectural governance within complex or regulated environments.
• Experience working through Technical Design Authority (TDA) processes and formal architecture approvals.
• Knowledge of Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), cyber security assurance and relevant NCSC guidance.
• Ability to identify architectural risks and ensure compliance with security and governance standards.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management:

• Proven experience operating as a Lead Technical Architect or equivalent senior architectural authority.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical designs to senior technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience influencing architectural decisions, managing technical risks and resolving design challenges.
• Ability to mentor architects and engineers while providing technical direction across multidisciplinary delivery teams.

Ideal Candidate:

• The ideal candidate will be a technically accomplished Lead Architect with a strong background in enterprise cloud architecture, AI platform design and security-led systems integration.
• You will combine hands-on architectural expertise with strategic leadership, ideally having delivered complex transformation programmes within Central Government or similarly regulated environments.
• Experience navigating formal architectural assurance processes and designing secure AI-enabled services will be particularly valuable.

If you are available and interested in this opportunity, please apply for further information. Please note that due to high volumes of applications we are unable to contact every applicant. If you do not hear back from us within 7 days of sending your application, please assume that you have not been successful on this occasion.

At Lucid, we celebrate difference and value diverse perspectives, underpinned by our values 'Honesty, Integrity and Pragmatism'. We are proud to provide equal opportunities in line with our Diversity and Inclusion policy and welcome applications from all suitably qualified or experienced people, regardless of personal characteristics. If you have a disability or health condition and seek support throughout the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to contact us via the details below.