Location: Remote (UK-based)
Salary: Competitive + Bonus + Benefits
Industry: Digital Transformation / Government Services
About the Role A leading UK digital consultancy (Times Top 100 Company to Work For) is looking for a Principal Software Architect to lead the design and delivery of large-scale, secure and scalable digital platforms across central and local government.
Youll define modern software architectures, lead technical strategy, and ensure engineering best practices are embedded across multi-disciplinary delivery teams.
Key Responsibilities Define and own end-to-end software architecture for complex public sector services from discovery to live.
Design cloud-native, API-driven, microservices-based platforms using AWS/Azure/GCP.
Lead technical decisions around service decomposition, domain-driven design (DDD), event-driven architecture, CQRS, messaging and integration patterns .
Ensure systems are secure and compliant with NCSC guidelines, GDS Service Standards, OAuth2.0/OIDC, Zero Trust principles and government accreditation requirements .
Oversee software quality, engineering standards, testing strategies, CI/CD pipelines, IaC (Terraform/Ansible), observability and resilience .
Work alongside product, delivery, user research, DevOps and data teams to align user needs, policy requirements and technical feasibility.
Mentor engineering and architecture teams, fostering best-practice across development, documentation and governance.
Engage senior stakeholders CTOs, Chief Architects, Programme Directors, Service Owners translating business problems into technical solutions.
What Youll Bring ? Proven experience as a Software Architect / Solutions Architect / Principal Engineer delivering public sector or GDS-aligned digital services
? Deep understanding of modern software engineering :
Microservices, APIs, REST/GraphQL, message queues (Kafka/RabbitMQ)
Domain-Driven Design, event-driven systems, modular monoliths
Cloud architecture AWS, Azure or GCP (landing zones, VPCs, IAM, security)
? Strong background in hands-on engineering (Java, .NET, Node.js, Python or similar) before moving into architecture
? Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI), containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift)
? Knowledge of data platforms, integration with legacy systems, scalable authentication/identity (OAuth2, OIDC, SAML)
? Comfortable working in multi-supplier environments, secure networks and government procurement frameworks (G-Cloud, DOS)
Why Join? Build digital platforms used by millions of UK citizens
Remote-first culture with flexible working
Work across Home Office, DWP, MoJ, NHS Digital and devolved government projects
Times Top 100 Company collaborative, inclusive culture
Competitive salary + bonus + pension + private medical + funded certifications (AWS/Azure Architect, TOGAF etc.)
Interested? Apply now or get in touch for a confidential conversation.
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