SC Cleared Technical Architect

On behalf of the MOD, we are looking for a Technical Architect (Inside IR35) for a 6 months contract based hybrid in London or Corsham 1-2 days per week.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is a central government department with a mission to protect our country and provide the ultimate guarantee of its security and independence, as well as helping to protect its values and interests abroad.

The MOD is one of the biggest public procurement organisations in Europe and the single largest customer for UK industry. It currently manages approximately £20 billion of spend on capital investments in equipment and infrastructure every year. Over the next decade the MOD is committed to spending over £190 billion on equipment and support. The MOD's customers include both the armed forces and national security agencies, and it has a diverse range of requirements, including military fighting vehicles, education services, nuclear submarines and facilities management.

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Technical Architect to join our DevOps Centre of Excellence (CoE). This is a pivotal role where you will work closely with development teams, programme leads, and stakeholders to drive the adoption of DevOps practices, modernise delivery pipelines, and enable transformation across multiple projects and programmes.

As part of the CoE, you will act as a trusted advisor, providing technical leadership and hands-on support to teams as they transition to DevOps ways of working. You will be responsible for designing and implementing cloud-native solutions and modern software architectures that align with organisational goals, while fostering a culture of collaboration, automation, and continuous improvement. This is a dynamic role where you will switch between projects regularly, working with diverse teams and technologies, and making a tangible impact on the organisation's delivery capabilities

SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance.

Key Responsibilities:
. Cloud Design and Modern Architectures:

o Lead the design and implementation of cloud-native architectures and solutions, leveraging platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.

o Provide expertise in modern software architectures, including microservices, event-driven architectures, and serverless computing.

o Ensure solutions are scalable, secure, and aligned with organisational goals and best practices.
. Technical Leadership:

o Provide architectural guidance and technical leadership to development teams adopting DevOps practices.

o Act as a subject matter expert (SME) for DevOps tools, processes, and methodologies.

o Support teams in transitioning from Legacy systems to modern, cloud-based solutions.
. DevOps Transformation:

o Drive the adoption of DevOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), automated testing, and monitoring.

o Collaborate with teams to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in their delivery processes and recommend improvements.

o Champion the integration of DevSecOps principles to ensure security is Embedded throughout the delivery life cycle.
. Collaboration and Communication:

o Work closely with developers, testers, operations, and security teams to ensure alignment and collaboration.

o Act as a bridge between technical teams and senior stakeholders, translating complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights.

o Use your communication skills to bring both development teams and stakeholders onboard with new ideas and approaches.
. Tooling and Automation:

o Evaluate, recommend, and implement DevOps tools and platforms to support delivery teams.

o Design and implement automation solutions for build, deployment, testing, and monitoring.

o Ensure solutions are optimised for scalability, performance, and security.
. Governance and Standards:

o Contribute to the development and enforcement of DevOps standards, guidelines, and best practices across the organisation.

o Ensure solutions comply with organisational policies, including security and regulatory requirements.
. Continuous Improvement:

o Promote a culture of continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance processes, tools, and team capabilities.

o Stay up to date with emerging technologies and trends in DevOps, cloud computing, and modern software development.

Essential:
. Proven experience as a Technical Architect or similar role, with a strong focus on cloud design and modern software architectures.
. Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (eg, AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerisation technologies (eg, Docker, Kubernetes).
. Expertise in designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools like Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation.
. Strong understanding of microservices, event-driven architectures, and serverless computing.
. Experience with DevOps tools and platforms, such as Jenkins, GitLab, Azure DevOps, or GitHub Actions.
. Solid understanding of software development life cycles (SDLC) and Agile methodologies.
. Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work across multiple projects and teams simultaneously.
. Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, the MOD guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.

This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Covenant

The MOD guarantees to interview veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates/military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.