Shared Platform Services Principal Architect in England

Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food & farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

Digital, Data and Technology Services (DDTS) is the trusted team for digital across the entire Defra Group. We have around 1000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. If you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.

The Principal Architect is responsible for the end‑to‑end design, assurance and strategic direction of technical architecture and cloud-based services across Defra Shared Platform Services (SPS), representing Group Infrastructure & Operations (GIO) within the wider DDTS Architecture function while contributing to cross-domain architectural strategy and standards.

As a key member of the GIO Platforms team, the role contributes to the roadmap for Shared Platform adoption, evolution and reuse across the organisation, ensuring alignment with business needs and provision of value driven services in support of an expanding portfolio of externally facing digital services.

The role provides technical leadership across multiple platforms (current Customer, Identity, Data Platform and Integration), ensuring that systems are secure, scalable, interoperable, and adhere to organisational strategy and governance.

• Provide architectural leadership in implementation of technical architecture and reusable cloud-based services.
• Support and oversee solution architects and technical teams in the completion of high-quality architectural artefacts - including Solution Overviews, Conceptual Service Designs, Architectural Design Records, High-Level System Records and Security documentation.
• Lead the design and support the build of technical architecture for Shared Platform Services using established technologies and innovation, applying expertise in emerging platform technologies and innovation.
• Translate complex business and technical requirements into coherent solution designs, guide technical teams, influence governance decisions, and ensure that architectural artefacts meet required quality standards.
• Conduct deep technical investigations, represent technical teams to senior stakeholders, and ensure alignment with broader digital and organisational strategy.
• Identify trends, wider industry practices and innovation to inform the architectural approach and ensure alignment to broader strategy.
• Design systems characterised by manageable levels of business and technical complexity.
• Identify reuse opportunities and promote shared components across the organisation.
• Drive architectural assurance, quality control, and risk identification across systems.
• Make and influence decisions based on managed levels of risk and complexity, follow governance procedures and take responsibility for technical assurance and risk identification across services.
• Ensure that standards, patterns, policies and designs are applied correctly, challenged where appropriate, and influence improvements in governance processes where appropriate.
• Communicate with stakeholders at technical and non‑technical levels across the business and multiple delivery programmes across the organisation.
• Communicate complex architecture to varied audiences, including senior leaders, and speak on behalf of technical teams and build strong relationships with both direct and indirect stakeholders.
• Champion architectural coherence across shared services, ensuring decisions taken within GIO support Defra‑wide strategic direction preventing creation of siloed or tactical solutions.
• Provide architectural leadership beyond operational boundaries, ensuring infrastructure, platform and shared services designs align with enterprise strategy, security principles, service tiering, and long‑term technology roadmaps.