Associate Solutions Architect

Job summary

As one of our Associate Solutions Architects, you’ll help design and deliver technology solutions across GCHQ. Our work is unique, often cutting-edge, and designed to support our highly specialised national security mission. As a result, you’ll have exceptional opportunities for training, development and continuous learning within an environment unlike that of any other organisation. This means the opportunity for learning and support in this role is extensive, with plenty of interesting challenges and dedicated support on offer.

Guided by one of our experienced Solutions Architects, you’ll help shape designs, produce architectural artefacts, and be part of the teams that deliver the solutions. It’s an excellent opportunity to step into solutions architecture from a background such as software, infrastructure or systems engineering, or to build on your existing architecture experience and grow your career.

Job description

In this role, you’ll create solution designs, documentation and models that align with our architectural standards end to end and strategic direction. Experience with at least one modern framework will help you work effectively within our structured ways of working and collaborate with delivery teams, engineers and business colleagues. You’ll play a key role in ensuring our solutions remain robust, scalable and cost-effective.

A big part of the job is understanding business needs and helping to define solutions that take technical constraints, delivery plans, risks and complexity into account. With support from your line manager and mentor, you’ll answer questions, clarify designs, and adapt solutions as requirements change. Each day brings opportunities to gain practical experience across the lifecycle of our capabilities, learn from experienced architects and build confidence.

Occasional travel to sites across the UK will be required so you can work closely with colleagues across the organisation.

Person specification

You don’t need a degree or any specific qualifications to apply for this role; we’re interested in your experience and your motivation to support our shared mission. A foundational understanding of solution architecture is important, along with experience contributing to the design and delivery of digital or technology solutions. Experience with at least one modern framework, such as TOGAF, NIST and ITIL, is also valuable, typically gained in roles like software engineering, infrastructure engineering, DevOps.

As you’ll be involved in projects from day one, an understanding of how business needs, technology choices and delivery constraints shape solution design will be required. You’ll operate independently on moderately complex problems while contributing to broader work led by more senior architects, responsible for delivering architectural design and direction for a specific solution or defined area of delivery. Effective communication skills, combined with a broad technical foundation, will help you to explain design decisions to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Being collaborative, comfortable working across teams and confident in influencing and negotiation, will help in finding solutions that work for everyone. Because priorities may change depending on business needs, you’ll need to be adaptable and able to manage your own time. And your ability to think critically and solve problems creatively means you’ll be able to find holistic solutions to uniquely challenging requirements.

Benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £53,496 to £61,686, plus other benefits including:

• 25 days’ annual leave, rising automatically to 30 days after 5 years' service, plus an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays

• opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme

• an interest-free season ticket loan

• an excellent pension scheme

• a cycle to work scheme

• facilities such as a gym, restaurant, and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)

• paid parental and adoption leave

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions’ Disability Confident scheme. The scheme encourages employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. As a Disability Confident organisation, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential criteria for this position, assessed at sift, are offered an interview, if it practical for us to do so. This is known as the Offer of Interview. To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:

• experience interpreting business and user needs, and translating them into maintainable architecture designs and artifacts that align with solutions architecture strategy and standards

• experience supporting architectural decision-making by gathering information, analysing options, and understanding risks and trade-offs (for example, delivery, impact, or technical complexity), while working within governance and standards

• ability to work with technical and non-technical stakeholders within and across teams, communicating architectural concepts clearly and contributing to discussions that support alignment to agreed solutions

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best, visit our 'How to Apply' page for information on the reasonable adjustments we can offer.

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

• Application sift.

• Virtual interview, assessing your technical skills and the organisational competencies.

• If successful, you’ll receive a Conditional Offer of Employment.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise that you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

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Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : careers@recruitmentteam.org.uk
• Email : careers@recruitmentteam.org.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : careers@recruitmentteam.org.uk