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
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed