Head of Technical Architecture - AI

Head of Technical Architecture - AI

Contract | Inside IR35 | 6 Months

Contract Length: 6 Months

IR35 Status: Inside IR35

Location: London, Bristol or Manchester (predominantly remote)

Clearance: BPSS Required

Daily rate - £750 - £850

We are seeking an experienced Head of Technical Architecture - AI to lead the technical architecture function for a major, high-profile AI transformation programme within the UK public sector.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the architecture, strategy, and governance behind innovative AI-powered digital products that are transforming how users interact with public services.

Location

Flexible across London, Bristol, or Manchester, with a predominantly remote working model. Occasional travel to London is required for team meetings (approximately once every two months).

Clearance

BPSS required

Existing SC clearance is advantageous but not essential

Candidates currently holding SC may transfer their clearance during onboarding

The Role

As the Head of Technical Architecture, you will provide technical leadership across a large AI programme, driving architectural excellence and ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, resilient, and aligned with strategic objectives.

You will lead a team of architects, define technical standards and governance, and work closely with senior stakeholders to influence decision-making across complex technology landscapes.

A key aspect of the role will be evaluating multiple technical approaches, presenting options to senior stakeholders, and providing clear recommendations based on business outcomes, scalability, and risk.

Key Responsibilities

Lead and develop a team of technical architects within a complex AI programme

Define and drive technical architecture strategy across AI-enabled digital products

Establish and promote architectural best practices, standards, and governance

Shape technology roadmaps and influence strategic technical decisions

Work closely with multidisciplinary teams in Agile delivery environments

Ensure solutions are scalable, secure, reusable, and operationally sustainable

Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences

Collaborate with senior stakeholders to align technology investments with organisational objectives

Champion continuous improvement and innovation across architecture practices

Essential Experience

Candidates should demonstrate:

Strong experience designing and delivering AI-enabled digital products

Proven leadership of technical architecture teams and communities

Deep understanding of cloud-native and modern application architectures

Experience developing and implementing enterprise-wide technical strategies

Strong knowledge of:

Cloud technologies

Serverless architectures

DevOps practices

CI/CD pipelines

Test-driven development (TDD)

Security architecture and threat modelling

Experience working within Agile, multidisciplinary environments

Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills

Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business-focused recommendations

Highly Desirable Experience

Particular interest will be given to candidates with demonstrable expertise in:

Knowledge Architecture

Knowledge Graphs

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Designing scalable AI platforms and services

Building architectures focused on component reusability

Delivering large-scale technology programmes with proven scalability outcomes

What We're Looking For

The successful candidate will be:

A strategic technology leader who can provide clear recommendations and architectural direction

A collaborative individual who thrives in cross-functional teams

An excellent communicator capable of engaging senior stakeholders and non-technical audiences

Experienced in designing reusable and scalable technology solutions

Passionate about AI and emerging technologies and their application to real-world challenges