Principal Technical Architect Data Centre and Edge Services - HO - G6

The Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) profession enable the Home Office to keep the UK safe and secure. They do this by designing, building, and running the services that help people apply for visas or passports, support policing and counter-terrorism operations, and protect the UK’s borders. 

As a Principal Technical Architect at the Home Office, you will play a key role in leading the design, implementation, and continuous operation of our Datacentre Infrastructure, Private Cloud, and Edge capabilities that form the backbone of our critical systems and services. In this senior leadership position, you will be responsible for developing robust, secure, and scalable architectural solutions, focusing on hybrid environments that span both on-premises systems and public cloud platforms like AWS and Azure. 

You will take charge of guiding third-party suppliers in the design of a diverse range of projects that introduce new capabilities across the Home Office. This position requires a strategic thinker with a collaborative approach, working closely with multidisciplinary teams, suppliers, and external partners to ensure that our infrastructure is designed and deployed with a focus on security, reliability, and performance. 

By embedding Secure by Design principles into all aspects of your work, you will help protect our operations, data, and resources, while ensuring seamless integration across all digital initiatives. Your leadership will ensure the alignment of infrastructure strategies with broader business goals, enabling the delivery of secure, scalable, and high-performing solutions. 

Due to business requirements this post is available on a Full Time/Flexible Working basis. Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. Where this is the case, employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in the office. Applicants can raise any queries to the email address at the bottom of the advert.  

We value diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from the widest diversity of backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. We particularly encourage applications from women, people with disabilities and LGBT+ as they are currently under-represented in the Home Office at this grade level. Appointments will be made on merit based on fair and open competition. 

Job description

A Principal Technical Architect for Data Centre and Edge Platform Services leads at the highest level, has the highest technical understanding of the broadest range of Data Centre, Edge and Private Cloud technologies used across the estate and works with the Head of Role to define technical strategy, making sure it is agreed and followed.  

As a Principal Technical Architect for Data Centre and Edge Platform Services, you will network and communicate with senior stakeholders, both technical and non-technical, across the organisation and proactively seek out opportunities for digital transformation. You will manage diverse teams across multiple locations, finding and using best practice and emerging technologies and inspiring other architects, helping them understand how to deliver the goals of the organisation. 

You will be the design authority for the Data Centre, Edge Platform and Private Cloud Services portfolio that underpin Critical National Infrastructure and will be responsible for governance, solving complex and high-risk issues and delivering architecture design. You will have a detailed knowledge of technical requirements to implement, design and manage associated technologies. 

You will have a genuine interest in new technologies and bring this passion to the role to ensure the Home Office remains at the forefront of technical advances. 

Person specification

Your main day to day responsibilities will be: 

• Owning the creation and delivery of the technical platforms for Data Centre, Edge and Private Cloud Platform Services, include brokering decisions and bridging technical and business disputes by weighing up risk, complexity impact and deliverability.  
• Presenting recommendations for technologies or improvements to enhance systems to support project goals clearly to senior management, based on knowledge of IT and analysis of systems’ needs.
• Leading the design and review processes for new solution and services, translating technical concepts between systems engineering, delivery management and service management at a national scale.
• Developing and documenting the proposed technical design for the integration and implementation of any solution, working with and across other areas of Home Office Government Digital and Data Profession and the business.
• Creating detailed plans for the integration of new systems architecture into existing infrastructure, considering the broader context and strategies of the organisation.
• Leading the development of the architectural practice, ensuring a coherent and consistent strategy across cyber, cloud, data centre, storage, network, mobile and the user experience of infrastructure.

Essential skills 

You’ll have a demonstrable passion for Technical Architecture, with the following skills or proven experience in: 

• Evidencing strong technical leadership qualities, with a passion for delivering leading edge designs and inspiring a culture of technical excellence and innovative solution design. 
• Anticipating and advising on future technology changes that present opportunities for the product or programme. 
• Leading the complex landscapes of technologies, 3rd party suppliers (including leading the procurement and supplier management process), internal and cross-government teams, in delivery of high-profile systems of national scale. 
• Leading technology teams to adhere to good engineering principles from architecture through to development. 
• Managing and delivering complex technology solutions within time, cost and quality targets, ensuring solutions are robust, resilient, and appropriately implemented, tested and documented. 
• Defining, owning and contributing to the technical roadmap and strategy. 

SFIA capability framework   

Skills for the Information Age (SFIA) is the technical framework that sets the standard capability and development of all levels in the Home Office.   

This is a link to the capability framework:  All skills A - Z English (sfia-online.org). We use set SFIA technical skills to form our interview questions and we will assess you against these technical skills during the selection process.   

SFIA levels of responsibility – Use the SFIA Levels of responsibility to understand what would be expected for each Technical Skill listed below.  

The essential skills listed above are reflective of the Home Office Government Digital and Data Profession Career Framework (based on the industry standard SFIA framework). Please see below for the relevant skills for your role:

Strategy & Architecture:

• Strategy and Planning
  • Strategic Planning (ITSP) – Level 4
  • Innovation (INOV) – Level 4
  • Enterprise and Business Architecture (STPL) – Level 4
  • Solution Architecture (ARCH) – Level 5
• Advice & Guidance
  • Consultancy (CNSL) – Level 5
  • Specialist Advice (TECH) – Level 4

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Strategic Planning (ITSP) – Level 4
• Innovation (INOV) – Level 4
• Enterprise and Business Architecture (STPL) – Level 4
• Solution Architecture (ARCH) – Level 5
• Consultancy (CNSL) – Level 5
• Specialist Advice (TECH) – Level 4