£76,117 per year, National pay locations: Salford, Sheffield, £76,117 London pay locations: Croydon, £80,237 You may be eligible for an additional non-pensionable allowance, pending a Capability and Skills Assessment, with a value of up to £19,483
Contract Type:
Permanent
Hours:
Full time
Disability Confident:
Yes
Closing Date:
16/04/2026
About this job
The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter‑terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.
Home Office Digital designs, builds and develops services for the rest of the department and for government.
Every year our systems support up to 3 million visa applications, checks on 100 million border crossings, up to 8 million passport applications and deliver 140 million police checks on people, vehicles and property.
Responsible for strategic architectural assurance and governance across Enterprise Services portfolio.
Ensures alignment with organisational standards, compliance, and technology strategy.
Provides oversight of service architecture, validates technical designs, and drives best practices for operational efficiency.
Collaborates with stakeholders to optimise service delivery and identify opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement.
Join Enterprise Services Technology to shape high‑impact, cross‑government solutions.
As a Principal Technical Architect, you’ll lead strategy, drive modernisation, and influence decisions across diverse programmes.
The role offers wide scope, meaningful purpose, and the ability to align teams and technology to deliver secure, scalable, user‑focused public services.
As Principal Technical Architect, you will define and execute the technical strategy for your responsibility, collaborating with senior leadership and diverse teams to ensure alignment with organizational, cross‑departmental, and government‑wide objectives.
You will proactively seek opportunities to leverage emerging technologies
* such as cloud and AI
* and ensure that technical solutions are secure, user‑focused, and capable of adapting to evolving business needs.
You will lead the design and review processes for complex systems and infrastructure, championing architectural best practices and governance.
By bridging technical and business perspectives, you will resolve high‑risk issues and shape initiatives that drive transformation.
Your role includes guiding and inspiring other architects, facilitating professional growth, and establishing an environment where innovative thinking thrives.
Key responsibilities
Own and deliver the overarching technical strategy, guiding architectural decisions that balance risk, complexity, and delivery timelines.
Lead governance and assurance processes, ensuring solutions remain secure, robust, and aligned with enterprise architecture principles.
Collaborate with senior stakeholders to advocate for digital transformation initiatives, influencing decisions through clear, data‑driven insights.
Mentor and guide architects and engineering teams, nurturing a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous learning.
Oversee integration of new systems, developing detailed plans that align with broader organisational and cross‑government strategies.
Assess current systems to identify areas for improvement, analyse potential risks, and promote emerging best practices in the field.
Facilitate stakeholder discussions, serving as the key escalation point for complex or high‑risk design challenges.
Drive continuous improvement, incorporating lessons learned into future strategies and ensuring consistency in architecture across multiple domains.
The successful candidate will need to be adaptable and willing to work flexibly across the wider team as required, performing additional duties reasonably expected within the scope of the grade.
Line Management You will manage a team, providing timely feedback, leadership and help in developing their capability and career, supporting and empowering staff to achieve their best potential, aspiring to make HOD an inclusive, enjoyable, and diverse team to work within whilst facilitating development as an individual.
Travel Occasional travel may be required to other work locations within the UK according to business needs and may include overnight stays.
All related costs will be reimbursed in line with Home Office policy.
Working Pattern This role is available on a full‑time basis with the option of compressed hours working. This role is also suitable for part‑time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 4 days / 28 hours per week due to business requirements.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
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