AWS Cloud Architect - SC Cleared - Urgent!

Cloud Consulting have an urgent requirement for an experienced AWS Cloud Architect to work on a high-profile project for a leading government department.

The role is predominantly remote with 1 day p/week on-site in either London or Reading, and the project is inside of IR35.

Please note, you should have experience of an en prem to AWS migration programme.

Job overview:

The Lead Cloud Architect is the technical authority and design owner for cloud migration and modernisation programme. They are accountable for defining the end-to-end cloud strategy, shaping the Landing Zone architecture, and overseeing all technical designs and implementation across AWS infrastructure, security, identity, networking, migration planning, and EUC (Amazon WorkSpaces/Citrix modernisation).

This role ensures that all architectural decisions are aligned to the functional, non-functional, financial, and security requirements, including resilience, Conditional Access, CIS/NCSC compliance, and cost efficiency. The Lead Architect provides technical governance across all phases: Discovery, Strategy & Design, Landing Zone Build, Amazon WorkSpaces deployment, Pilot & Full Migration, and BAU transition.

Key Responsibilities

1. Architectural Leadership & Technical Governance- Act as the overall technical design authority, ensuring cohesion across all workstreams.- Lead workshops with SMEs to validate requirements.- Own and maintain the Cloud Architecture Blueprint.- Conduct architecture assurance across offshore and onshore teams.- Chair and drive the Technical Design Authority (TDA) process.

2. Discovery, Assessment & Cloud Strategy- Lead and validate discovery findings.- Develop Target Architecture and Migration Roadmap.- Produce cloud adoption strategy aligned to public-sector frameworks.

3. Landing Zone Design & Governance Controls- Design secure multi-account AWS Landing Zone.- Define SCP guardrails, IAM role model, logging, monitoring, KMS strategy.- Ensure compliance with CIS, NCSC, Cyber Essentials.- Oversee network segmentation, VPC connectivity, and DR patterns.

4. EUC & Amazon WorkSpaces/Citrix Modernisation Design- Lead architecture for virtual desktop estate.- Oversee FSLogix, conditional access, MFA, RBAC.- Provide technical assurance during UAT and rollout.

5. Migration Planning & Execution Governance- Own migration architecture, runbooks, and cutover plans.- Select pilot workloads and define success criteria.- Oversee AWS MGN/CloudEndure migrations.- Provide technical escalation during cutovers.

6. Security, Identity & Compliance Assurance- Ensure encryption, MFA, identity federation, patching, and threat detection.- Embed compliance into solution design.- Oversee security engineer deliverables.

7. Operational Readiness, Hypercare & BAU Transition- Define operational model, dashboards, alerting rules.- Lead defect triage and tuning during hypercare.- Shape steady-state governance and FinOps optimisation.

Key Deliverables

- Cloud Adoption Strategy

- Target Architecture (HLD/LLD)

- Landing Zone Architecture Pack

- Detailed Implementation Plan

- EUC/WorkSpaces/Citrix design

- Migration Strategy & Runbooks

- Security & Compliance Architecture

- Operational Readiness & Handover Packs

Required Skills & Experience

- 10+ years cloud architecture; 5+ years AWS in regulated sectors

- Deep knowledge of: AWS Organisations, Control Tower, IAM, VPC, WorkSpaces, AppStream, FSLogix, AWS MGN, Terraform/CloudFormation, KMS, GuardDuty, CloudTrail, Entra ID.

- Strong stakeholder communication.

- Experience defining governance, stage-gate assurance.

Soft Skills
- Strong communicator
- Structured thinker
- Risk-focused
- Delivery-oriented

Preferred Certifications
- AWS Solutions Architect
- Professional
- AWS Security Specialty
- AWS Networking Specialty
- ITIL