DBS DIT Automation Garage Technical Architect - MoD - SEO

Location

Abbey Wood North, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, South West - Tomlinson House, Norcross, Blackpool, Lancashire - Kentigern House - Glasgow

About the job

Job summary

Are you a dedicated person who is passionate about making a difference? 

Would you like to work for the Ministry of Defence?  

Defence Business Services (DBS) is one of the largest shared service organisations in Europe that provides a wide range of corporate services, to over 1.2 million end users, including serving and past military and families, as well as MoD civil servants and industry. DBS delivers large scale administration and smaller specialist services to enable the wider MOD to focus on its core aims, maintaining the UK’s Defence and Security. Services include Human Resources, Pay, Veterans, Finance and Procurement. 

• Our Vision - To support UK defence customers with outstanding service every time.
• Our Mission – Together we will proudly support Defence, continuously improving and delivering flexible, timely, sustainable and value for money services that underpin the whole force and enhance operational capability. 

DBS is committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues. We are building an inclusive culture and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society.  

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us through opportunities to develop your skills and experience. We also offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career accessible to you and offer a Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%. Where your role permits, we support a blended working approach alternatively known as hybrid working. 

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working.  This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments.  Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.

Come and join the DBS community today!

Job description

As a Technical and Solution Architect within the  Automation Garage you will work on the Government Digital Services, Robotic Process Automation, Hyper-automation, External Facing web services and Power Platform.

As a Technical Architect, you will:

• Collaborate with architects across the enterprise to assess change impacts, ensure coherent delivery, and provide support for designing new business solutions.
• Design solutions aligned with MoD design and security policies, gaining approvals through the DBS Technical Design Authority governance forum.
• Ensure new business capabilities integrate cleanly with existing services, considering service, applications, data, and technology layers, while ensuring compliance with policies and strategies.
• Support governance, processes, and tooling development to monitor and manage new business design, delivery, and usage across the DBS enterprise.
• Engage with MOD, industry, and government leaders and experts to implement best architecture practices and meet business needs.
• Ensure architectures comply with DBS technical principles and contribute to achieving the DBS Digital, Data, and Technology Strategy aims.
• Identify and implement upgrade and patching requirements for applications and systems, ensuring relevant service monitoring is in place.
• Oversee incident investigation and analysis to resolve issues, improve services, and identify deeper problems needing resolution.
• Support proofs of concept for new technologies and services, and advocate for Automation Garage offerings to expand its customer base.
• Fulfil the role of technical architect at GDS assessments, demonstrating compliance with the GDS Service Standard to senior stakeholders.
• Solve complex technical problems across internal and external platforms, ensuring technical assurance aligns with Government Technology Strategy, GDS Design Manual, and MOD standards.
• Advise on test strategies, including Pen Testing, Performance Testing, and Accessibility Audits, and manage migration activities for controlled go-live.
• Look for opportunities to collaborate, reuse components, and communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Person specification

• Experience in delivering technical solutions in secure or complex environments, ideally through collaboration across departments or internationally, to achieve business benefits.
• A foundational understanding of enterprise architecture concepts, such as capturing As-Is and To-Be architectures, and a willingness to develop skills in providing technical guidance to ensure alignment with strategy.
• Familiarity with protocols, standards, and cloud technologies, including cloud adoption, with a desire to deepen expertise in these areas.
• Awareness of Identity and Access Management (IDAM) and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in multi-system environments, or a willingness to learn and apply these concepts.
• Hands-on experience in areas such as creating technical design documents, network designs, or implementing/designing systems like Windows operating systems, web application services, or customer-facing digital services.
• Strong teamwork skills, with the ability to thrive in small, agile teams, alongside a detail-oriented, motivated, and resilient approach to work.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• A passion for learning, adapting to new technologies, and developing skills to grow into a Technical Architect role.

Desirable experience

• Proficiency in Windows Server administration and management
• Strong knowledge of SQL databases, including design, optimization, and maintenance
• Experience with Azure cloud services and infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
• Familiarity with other cloud platforms such as AWS and OCI
• Expertise in designing and implementing web services, including RESTful APIs and SOAP
• Experience in developing Government Digital Service (GDS) compliant services
• Familiarity with AI applications and machine learning concepts
• Knowledge of modern technologies such as serverless computing, containers, and microservices architecture.
• Understanding of Power Platform architecture and its integration capabilities with other systems and services.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Architect for the whole context
• Architecture communication
• Technical design throughout the life cycle
• Making architectural decisions