Lead Technical Architect (SC Clearance Preferred)

Contract | Inside IR35 | 6 months Location: Manchester preferred (hybrid, flexibility offered)

Security clearance

• SC clearance is required
• Active SC is preferred, though candidates with lapsed but transferable SC may be considered

The opportunity

We're looking for a hands-on Lead Technical Architect with a strong engineering background to help design, build and evolve cloud-native platforms used by other developers.

This is not a strategy-only architecture role. You'll work closely with engineers, contribute to codebases, and lead architectural decisions by building and delivering real systems.

If you're an engineer at heart who's progressed into architecture - or a technical architect who still codes - this role is likely to suit you well.

What you'll be doing

• Designing and building scalable, secure, cloud-native platforms on AWS
• Working directly alongside engineers, writing and reviewing production code
• Defining and implementing serverless architectures in large, multi-account AWS environments
• Using Infrastructure as Code, particularly AWS CDK, to shape platform foundations
• Designing and evolving authentication and authorisation solutions (OAuth2 / OIDC)
• Communicating architectural vision clearly to engineers and non-technical stakeholders
• Building internal tooling and shared platforms, where your primary users are other developers

What we're looking for

You'll be a strong fit if you have:

• A strong engineering background, with hands-on delivery experience
• Commercial experience with JavaScript / TypeScript and Node.js
• Deep practical experience with AWS, particularly serverless services
• Experience designing and operating production systems at scale
• Knowledge of OAuth2 / OIDC or similar web-based authentication mechanisms
• Confidence working in collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams
• The ability to explain complex technical decisions clearly and pragmatically

AWS certification is desirable but not essential.

Ideal background

We're particularly interested in candidates who have:

• Progressed from software engineer senior/lead engineer technical architect
• Built and operated platforms or internal developer tooling
• Remained close to code rather than moving into purely enterprise or governance roles

This role is not suited to enterprise architects or architecture-only profiles without recent hands-on development experience.

Location & working pattern

• Manchester is the preferred base location, as most of the team is based there
• Hybrid working is expected (approx. 2 days per week in the office, with flexibility)
• Occasional travel to other UK locations may be required for cross-team collaboration