Lead Technical Architect

Pay up to £105,077, plus 28.97% employer pension contributions, hybrid working, flexible hours, and a strong work-life balance.

Are you ready to lead architecture decisions that directly affect how millions of people access vital public services?

Join DWP Digital's as a Lead Technical Architect in Digital Workspaces. This service looks after the tools, technologies and services that enable people to do their jobs securely and effectively. You'll play a pivotal role in shaping secure, modern and user friendly end user computing services, working across complex, large scale environments and supporting major initiatives that enable colleagues across DWP to deliver better outcomes for citizens.

This is a senior leadership role where you'll set architectural direction, govern designs, and provide trusted advice to senior stakeholders. You'll influence technology choices across cloud, on prem and hybrid landscapes, ensuring solutions are resilient, scalable and aligned to DWP strategy - while inspiring and guiding other architects to deliver at pace and at scale.

The scale of what we do is extraordinary, and our purpose is unique. We'd love you to join us.

What skills, knowledge and experience will you need?

• Experience designing technology solutions across on prem, cloud and hybrid environments, covering areas like networking, security, middleware, databases and integrations
• A strong understanding of architecture principles, patterns and standards, and how to apply them to real world problems
• Ability to turn business needs into clear technical designs, and explain how those designs meet requirements in a way stakeholders can easily understand
• Experience using architecture modelling techniques and tools to design and communicate complex systems
• Strong knowledge of End User Computing (EUC), including at least two of: device provisioning and management, Zero Trust, SASE networking, application delivery, or cloud identity
• An understanding of data and analytics in an EUC context, using insights to drive continuous improvement (knowledge of tools like Power BI, MS Fabric or Splunk is a plus)
• Hands on experience with EUC virtualisation, including both desktop (VDI) and session based (SBC) solutions, delivered on prem or in the cloud and at scale
• Deep understanding of either Windows or macOS, with the ability to choose the right device and operating system for different user needs (experience with ChromeOS or Linux desktops is desirable)

You and your role

As a Lead Technical Architect, you'll operate at the highest level of technical leadership within DWP Digital. Your work will shape the Digital Workspace services that thousands of colleagues rely on every day to support millions of citizens across the UK.

You'll design and govern complex EUC and Digital Workspace solutions, ensuring they are secure, reliable and aligned to DWP's long term strategy. From defining architectural options and setting standards, to solving high risk technical challenges, your judgement and expertise will directly influence how technology is adopted and evolved across the organisation.

Collaboration is at the heart of this role. You'll work closely with product teams, engineers, security specialists, delivery leads and senior leaders, helping them make informed decisions and navigate complexity. You'll also play a key role in architecture governance - presenting designs, challenging assumptions, and ensuring that solutions meet both user needs and organisational goals.

Beyond delivery, this is a leadership role. You'll mentor other architects, promote best practice, and help grow architectural capability across DWP Digital. You'll succeed if you enjoy working at scale, thrive in complex environments, and are motivated by creating technology that genuinely improves how public services are delivered and experienced.

Details. Wages. Perks.

Location: You'll join us in one of our brilliant digital hubs in Blackpool or Manchester, whichever is most convenient for you.

Hybrid Working: We work a hybrid model - you'll spend some time working at home and some time collaborating face to face in a hub.

Pay: We offer competitive pay of up to We offer pay up to £105,077. That's £80,267 salary plus a Government Digital and Data Allowance of up to £24,810 subject to our assessment of your capability at interview

Pension: You'll get a brilliant civil service pension with employer contributions worth 28.97%

Holidays: A generous leave package starting at 26 days rising to 31 days over time.

You can also take up to 3 extra days off a month on flexi-time. You'll also get all the usual public holidays.

We have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Flexible working including flexible hours and flex-friendly policies
• Time off volunteering and charitable giving
• Bring your authentic self to work with 'I Can Be Me in DWP'
• Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out and more
• Interest-free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket, so it's even easier for you to get to work and start making a difference
• Sports and social activities
• Professional development, coaching, mentoring and career progression opportunities.

And we have an award-winning environment and culture:

• DWP have been recognised as 2024 Diversity Employer of the Year at the Computing Women in Tech Excellence awards
• Diverse and Inclusive Leadership at Digital Leaders Awards 2024
• Commended as Best Place to Work in Digital category in the Computing Digital Technology Leaders awards 2025
• Recognised as one of the Best Public Sector Employers at 2025 Women In Tech Employer Awards

Process:

We know your time is valuable so our application and selection process is just two stages:

Apply: complete your application on Civil Service Jobs. There'll be full instructions when you click through.

Online interview: a remote interview online with a presentation.

In person interview: Face to face at either Blackpool or Manchester

Click APPLY for more information and to start your application.