Principal Technical Architect (Ref: 14742)

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

Principal Technical Architect

Location: National*

Closing Date: 28th February

Interviews: w/c 16th March

Grade: 6

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary (for more information, please refer to the T&Cs at the bottom):

London: £75,674 - £93,025 (which may include an allowance of up to £17,351)

National: £71,381 - £88,900 (which may include an allowance of up to £17,519)

Working pattern: full-time, part-time, flexible working

Contract Type: Perm

Vacancy number: 14742

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP

The Role

We’re recruiting for a Principal Technical Architect here at Justice Digital, to join the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), working within the Chief Architect function and under the Chief Data Architect. You will provide technical architectural leadership across our data platforms, integration services and shared data capabilities, helping ensure that data can be shared securely, reliably and appropriately across the Ministry of Justice.

OCTO sets technical direction across the organisation. It defines standards, shapes shared platforms and ways of working and supports teams to build and operate systems that are secure, reliable and sustainable.

Justice Digital’s data capabilities are undergoing significant transformation as part of the MoJ Data Strategy. This includes:

• The evolution of the Justice Data Platform
• Adoption of Data as a Product and federated data ownership
• Strengthening data integration patterns across services and domains
• Improving governance, security and operational maturity across the data estate

As a Principal Technical Architect, you will ensure that the technical architecture for data and integration is coherent, scalable and aligned to wider Justice Digital strategy, enabling teams to publish, integrate and consume data safely and consistently.

We are a flexible organisation, and we understand that people can't always work 5 days a week or might have responsibilities that sometimes clash with standard office hours. We work as flexibly as we can, including offering part time hours, so if in doubt please do get in touch. If you're the right candidate we will do our best to work around you.

This role aligns against the Principal technical architect role from the Government Digital and Data Framework.

To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital please take a look at our blog and our Digital and Technology strategy 2025

Our Tech Stack

We use a broad range of technologies and are looking for people with strong practical experience in modern software delivery environments.

• Cloud platforms: AWS
• Infrastructure as code: Terraform
• Containerisation and orchestration: Docker, Kubernetes
• Source control and CI/CD: GitHub, GitHub Actions
• Languages: Python
• Data technologies
• Workflow orchestration: Apache Airflow
• Data transformation: dbt
• Metadata, cataloguing and lineage: DataHub
• Data access governance: AWS IAM, AWS Lake Formation
• Development environments: Kubernetes-orchestrated development environments including VS Code, RStudio and JupyterLab

You will be supported to deepen your knowledge of our platforms once in post.

Our work is largely open source. You can explore repositories at:
https://github.com/ministryofjustice

Key Responsibilities

• Define and champion the technical architecture for data and integration across Justice Digital, working with the Chief Data Architect and Chief Architect to align with overall technology strategy.
• Provide architectural leadership across multiple programmes, platforms and delivery teams where data and integration are critical.
• Define and assure integration patterns, including APIs, event-driven architectures and data sharing mechanisms.
• Mentor, coach, and line manage lead and senior technical architects
• Oversee and guide technical teams, influence technical choices and seek out opportunities for digital transformation.
• Look for opportunities to collaborate and reuse common components, communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Assure digital services built by our civil service and managed service delivery teams, ensuring system quality, and that the technical work fits into the broader strategy for the agency and department.
• Build and maintain an inclusive culture across the technical architecture community.
• Manage recruitment and allocation of technical architects to teams, identifying gaps in capability, ensuring a good balance of skills and seniority.
• Take part in Technical Design Authority, representing both the interests of Ministry of Justice and your own area of responsibility

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Benefits

• 37 hours per week and flexible working options including working from home, working part-time, job sharing, or working compressed hours.
• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best in class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms
• Staff have 10% time to dedicate to develop & grow
• Generous civil service pension based on defined benefit scheme, with employer contributions of 28.97% from April 1st 2024 (Contribution Rates)
• 25 days leave (plus bank holidays) and 1 privilege day usually taken around the King’s birthday. 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service.
• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!
• Wellbeing support including access to the Calm app.
• Nurturing professional and interpersonal networks including those for Carers & Childcare, Gender Equality, PROUD and SPIRIT
• Bike loans up to £2500 and secure bike parking (subject to availability and location)
• Season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care vouchers.
• 5 days volunteering paid leave.
• Some offices may have a subsidised onsite Gym.

Person Specification

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of modern cloud-first architectures, and how to build applications to take advantage of the opportunities they offer.
• Experience in designing software architecture, including multi-tier web applications, micro services, API management, data persistence technologies, and event-driven architecture in public cloud environments with a strong understanding of how to design secure, scalable and easily managed access control and identity patterns as part of those systems.
• Able to identify and mitigate security risks at team and organisation level when designing and operating in a public cloud environment.
• Experience of architecting digital services that align to a wider organisational technical strategy that meets business needs.
• Ability to translate technical concepts between multidisciplinary teams and other senior stakeholders so they are understood by all.
• Expert at fostering, evolving and mending relationships and communicating with senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrable experience of leading technical teams in the successful delivery of complex outcomes, working across disciplines and a wide range of technical and non-technical professions.

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for SC clearance.

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate based on culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor.

Six Months in – Building the Women in Engineering Working Group.

Our values are Purpose, Humanity Openness and Together. Find out more here about how we celebrate diversity and an inclusive culture in our workplace.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £71,381, Ministry of Justice contributes £20,679 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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

How to Apply

1. Candidates must submit a CV and a Statement of Suitability (750 words max), which describes how you meet the requirements from the essential criteria, set out below:
2. Expert knowledge of modern cloud-first architectures, and how to build applications to take advantage of the opportunities they offer.
3. Experience in designing software architecture, including multi-tier web applications, micro services, API management, data persistence technologies, and event-driven architecture in public cloud environments with a strong understanding of how to design secure, scalable and easily managed access control and identity patterns as part of those systems.

Please note, failure to provide the documents as requested for the specific role, will result in a rejection of your application.

1. A diverse panel will review your application against the Person Specification above.
2. Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via video conference. Candidates will also be required to provide a 10-minute presentation during the interview stage. Details of the presentation will be sent across prior to interview.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on "Expert knowledge of modern cloud-first architectures, and how to build applications to take advantage of the opportunities they offer" will be conducted before the sift.

In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We will assess your Experience, Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:

As a Principal Technical Architect:

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (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

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).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

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
• Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

https://www.jobtrain.co.uk/justicedigital/Job/JobDetail?isPreview=Yes&jobid=974&advert=external

Attachments

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