Lead Architect - SAS

Lead Architect - SAS

Max Supplier Charge Rate: £625/day inside IR35
Clearance Required: Active SC Clearance
Location: Remote
Sector: Public Sector

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced Lead Architect - SAS to lead the design, governance, implementation, and strategic direction of enterprise SAS platforms within a secure public sector environment.

This role requires a recognised SAS Subject Matter Expert with deep expertise in SAS platform architecture, environment setup, governance, data integration, and operational management. The successful candidate will provide architectural leadership across SAS solutions, ensuring they are scalable, secure, compliant, and aligned with organisational and regulatory requirements.

Experience with SAS Viya, data governance frameworks, and enterprise-scale analytics platforms is highly desirable.

Key Responsibilities

1. SAS Architecture & Technical Leadership

• Act as the technical authority and architectural lead for SAS platforms and solutions
• Define and maintain target-state architecture for SAS environments, ensuring scalability, resilience, security, and performance
• Provide strategic guidance on SAS platform adoption, configuration, optimisation, and modernisation
• Lead architecture decisions across analytics, reporting, and data processing solutions

2. SAS Environment Setup & Platform Management

• Lead the design, setup, configuration, and management of SAS environments across development, testing, and production
• Design and implement enterprise-grade SAS infrastructure aligned with organisational standards
• Oversee deployment, operational readiness, upgrades, and ongoing platform management
• Support installation, integration, and enhancement of SAS environments, including SAS Viya where applicable

3. SAS Viya Enablement

• Support or lead SAS Viya adoption and platform modernisation initiatives
• Assess existing SAS estates and recommend migration, transformation, and optimisation strategies
• Ensure SAS Viya deployments align with cloud-native and container-based architecture principles where appropriate
• Provide guidance on best practices and platform capabilities

4. Governance, Compliance & Data Management

• Ensure SAS solutions operate within established governance frameworks and regulatory requirements
• Provide expertise on Data Delivery Agreements (DDAs), data sharing arrangements, and compliance obligations
• Ensure solutions meet requirements for security, auditability, data protection, and regulatory compliance
• Collaborate with governance, risk, security, and data teams to embed best practices throughout the solution life cycle

5. Data Integration & ETL Architecture

• Design and oversee ETL and data integration frameworks using SAS and associated technologies
• Ensure efficient movement, transformation, validation, and management of data across multiple systems
• Provide architecture guidance for integration with enterprise databases and applications
• Promote data quality, lineage, consistency, and maintainability across data platforms

6. Infrastructure & Platform Integration

• Collaborate with infrastructure and platform teams to ensure environment readiness and architectural alignment
• Design SAS platforms that integrate effectively with enterprise hosting, networking, and infrastructure services
• Advise on capacity planning, availability, resilience, disaster recovery, and operational requirements
• Support architecture across on-premise, hybrid, and cloud-based hosting models

7. Kubernetes & Modern Deployment Practices

• Provide architectural oversight for containerised SAS and SAS Viya deployments
• Work with DevOps and platform teams to ensure secure, scalable, and operationally robust implementations
• Contribute to best practices for orchestration, automation, deployment, and environment management

8. Monitoring & Operational Excellence

• Define monitoring, alerting, and observability requirements for SAS platforms
• Ensure proactive monitoring of platform performance, capacity, availability, and operational health
• Support root cause analysis and remediation of platform and performance issues
• Drive continuous improvement in platform resilience, supportability, and operational maturity

Essential Skills & Experience

• Active SC Clearance
• Deep expertise in SAS, acting as a recognised SME and technical authority
• Extensive experience designing, implementing, and managing enterprise SAS environments
• Strong understanding of SAS architecture, administration, and deployment models
• Proven experience in ETL architecture and data integration solutions
• Experience integrating SAS platforms with enterprise databases, including Oracle
• Strong understanding of enterprise networking and infrastructure principles
• Experience designing monitoring, observability, and operational support models for analytics platforms
• Strong knowledge of governance, risk, compliance, and data management practices
• Experience working with Data Delivery Agreements (DDAs) and public sector governance frameworks
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to engage technical and non-technical audiences

Desirable Skills

• Experience with SAS Viya
• Experience with Kubernetes and containerised deployments
• Exposure to cloud-based analytics and data platforms
• Knowledge of enterprise architecture frameworks and platform modernisation strategies
• Experience delivering solutions within government, public sector, or other highly regulated environments

Key Technologies

• SAS
• SAS Viya
• Oracle
• ETL & Data Integration Technologies
• Kubernetes
• Enterprise Infrastructure & Networking
• Monitoring & Observability Tools
• Cloud & Hybrid Platforms
• Data Governance & Compliance Frameworks

Clearance & Onboarding

This position requires active SC Clearance and additional vetting. Candidates should be aware that onboarding timelines may be extended due to enhanced security clearance and verification requirements.