Overview

AI Lead Solutions Architect

Location: Flexible across UK

Contract Type: Inside IR35

Are you passionate about designing secure, scalable, and sustainable AI systems that can make a real-world impact?

We’re recruiting for a Lead AI Solutions Architect to drive the design and delivery of innovative AI-enabled services across our portfolio. This is a senior, hands-on architectural leadership role at the intersection of AI, digital transformation, and public service. You\u2019ll be responsible for technical design and strategic direction of complex AI systems, spanning real-time data pipelines, automation, machine learning models, and legacy system integration.

This role is mapped to the Government Digital and Data Profession: Lead Technical Architect and will help us build out our capability to design, deliver and govern AI systems that are impactful, safe, and aligned to cross-government standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end architectural design for AI solutions across multiple programmes and services.
• Bridge technical and non-technical communities, helping stakeholders understand and engage with complex AI systems.
• Make architectural decisions and assure technical quality across design, build and operate phases.
• Collaborate with policy, digital delivery, data science and engineering teams to align AI solutions with user needs and departmental goals.
• Embed robust security, ethical and governance practices into AI systems by design.
• Mentor other architects and support capability building across digital teams.
• Contribute to cross-government architectural alignment on emerging AI technologies.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Architecture throughout the technical lifecycle Expert
• Design and assure solutions from prototype through to production.
• Strategy design Practitioner
• Align architecture with digital and organisational strategy.
• Architecture for the whole context Practitioner
• Consider organisational, social and technical factors when designing solutions.
• Architecture communication Practitioner
• Communicate design decisions clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Making architectural decisions Practitioner
• Make and justify evidence-based architectural decisions.

Technical Skills and Knowledge

We’re looking for candidates with hands-on experience in:

• Information Security Expert
• Designing secure-by-default AI systems with embedded risk mitigations.
• Modern Standards and Practices Expert
• Championing reusable, modular, and standards-aligned designs.
• Prototyping Expert
• Rapid validation of concepts using appropriate techniques and tools.
• Systems Design Expert
• Leading design for high-risk, high-complexity systems in an enterprise context.
• Software Engineering Practitioner
• Working knowledge of modern programming practices, CI/CD, and AI/ML deployment patterns.
• Service Support Practitioner
• Designing operable, maintainable, and observable AI services.