Senior Technical Architect in Leeds

Opportunity to be a part of The MHRA's Digital & Service Design team in Leeds. Excellent opportunity for career growth and development.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency enhance and improve the health of millions of people every day through the effective regulation of medicines and medical devices, underpinned by science and research.

The Technical Architect will play a crucial role in shaping and delivering our Agency's technology vision, focusing on the strategic transition from on-premise to cloud services while ensuring business continuity. This senior position will be responsible for designing and overseeing complex technical solutions that align with public sector requirements, security standards, and modernisation initiatives. You will be responsible for designing, building, and maintaining robust Technical Architectures that protect the Agency's systems from threats and vulnerabilities. Your primary goal is to ensure that all IT services and solutions are secure by design and compliant with government security policies and standards. This role requires a strategic thinker with deep technical knowledge, an understanding of emerging threats, and the ability to work collaboratively with various stakeholders to embed security principles throughout the IT landscape. You will maintain relationships with relevant suppliers, making sure services and products are delivered and aligned to industry best practice and regulatory and contractual requirements.

Key responsibilities

• Support the development and maintenance of the technical architecture roadmap, with particular emphasis on cloud migration strategies and hybrid infrastructure to support wider Agency objectives.
• Support the development and maintenance of the Technical Architecture Reference Model to ensure it aligns with the IT strategy, government policies, and best practices.
• Provide technical governance and oversight across IT projects, ensuring solutions meet security, scalability, and compliance requirements specific to UK public sector standards (including GDS standards and Technology Code of Practice).
• Evaluate and recommend emerging technologies, cloud services, and architectural patterns that could benefit the Agency, maintaining awareness of technology trends and best practices.
• Act as the Senior Technical Architect for project teams, providing expert guidance on requirements, design considerations, and risk management.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure technical architecture is integrated into all aspects of the Agency's digital transformation initiatives.
• Influence and educate technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels, and across organisations, using architecture communication techniques.
• Meditate between people in difficult architectural discussions.
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve the Technical Architecture and reduce risk through innovation, new technologies, and process improvements.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in Technical Architecture, bringing forward recommendations for improvement.

The Successful Applicant

• Good IT experience in architectural roles.
• Familiarity with UK public sector regulations, standards, and frameworks, such as the Government Digital Service (GDS) and the Technology Code of Practice (TCoP).
• Experience with both on-premise and cloud technologies.
• Experience in leading cloud migration initiatives and managing hybrid environments.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Knowledge of enterprise architecture frameworks and methodologies.
• Track record of delivering complex technical solutions, within a public sector environment is desirable but not essential.
• Proven experience designing and implementing secure cloud architectures and understanding of cloud security principles across major cloud platforms.
• Experience of Healthcare/Medicines/Devices industries, Regulatory bodies desirable but not essential.

This role requires a strategic thinker with deep technical knowledge, an understanding of emerging threats, and the ability to work collaboratively with various stakeholders to embed security principles throughout the IT landscape. You will maintain relationships with relevant suppliers, making sure services and products are delivered and aligned to industry best practice and regulatory and contractual requirements.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Any move to the MHRA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility here.

Successful candidates may be subject to annual Occupational Health reviews dependent on role requirements. If you have any queries, please contact.

In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of selection for appointment on the basis of merit by a fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should firstly contact Florentina Oyelami, Head of Talent Acquisition.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.

What's on Offer

• Hybrid working.
• Competitive Salary £57028.
• MPS - Market Pay Supplements are non-consolidated, non-pensionable and dependant on capability assessment.
• Access to Alpha pension scheme, which all new starters are enrolled into automatically, is 28.97%.

The selection process:

• We use the Civil Service Success Profiles to assess our candidates.
• Application, which will include a CV, which should demonstrate how you meet the Experience and Technical Success Profile criteria.
• Presentation, to be prepared as part of your interview, with further information being supplied when you reach this stage.
• Interview, which can include questions based on the Behaviour, Experience, Technical and Strengths Success Profiles.

Closing date: 17th February 2026.

Shortlisting date: 25th February 2026.

Interview date: 5th & 6th March 2026.

Candidates will be contacted within a week of the sift and the interviews completed to inform them of the outcome.

Candidates will be subject to UK immigration requirements as well as Civil Service nationality rules. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here.

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check as well as animal rights and pro-life activism checks. People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Certain roles within the MHRA will require post holders to have vaccinations, and in some circumstances, routine health surveillance. These roles include: Laboratory-based roles working directly with known pathogens, Maintenance roles, particularly those required to work in laboratory settings, Roles that involve visiting other establishments where vaccination is required, Roles required to travel overseas where specific vaccination may be required.