Lead Technical Architect (Hands‑On) - SC Cleared

Location: Manchester (Hybrid - 2 days per week onsite)
Contract Length: 6 months
Rate: £750 per day
IR35 Status: Inside IR35
Clearance: Active SC Clearance required// Must have worked in central government

Overview

We are seeking a Lead Technical Architect with a strong hands on development background to join a major public sector digital programme. This is a technical leadership role for someone who actively writes code and leads by example, rather than operating at an enterprise or purely strategic level.

You will work across multiple agile delivery teams to design, build, and operate internal platforms and tooling used by software engineers.

This role is ideal for a hands on Lead Technical Architect who still loves to code, has deep AWS serverless expertise, and enjoys building platforms that enable other engineers to succeed. This is not a strategic or enterprise architecture role practical delivery experience is essential.

Key Responsibilities

Write production quality code alongside engineers
Lead technical design and architectural decision making
Build and evolve internal platforms used by development teams
Design and deliver large scale, multi‑account serverless architectures on AWS
Support teams working with TypeScript, Node.js, and AWS CDK
Define and implement authentication and authorisation patterns using OAuth / OIDC
Communicate architectural vision clearly to technical and non technical stakeholders
Work across three delivery teams (approximately 8 people per team)
Attend occasional in person meetings (Manchester‑based, with infrequent UK travel)

Essential Skills & Experience

Hands‑On Technical Architecture (Critical)

Strong hands on coding experience (not advisory only)
Proven background as a developer, ideally progressing Junior Developer → Developer → Architect
Expert‑level experience with:
JavaScript / TypeScript
Node.js
AWS CDK
Actively comfortable contributing code in live delivery environments
Enterprise architects will not be considered - this role requires a technical, code focused architect

AWS & Platform Architecture

Strong AWS experience, particularly:
Serverless architectures
Multi‑account environments
Cloud‑native design patterns
Experience building and operating platforms or products of meaningful scale
Background delivering internal developer platforms or tooling

Authentication & Security

Strong knowledge of web‑based authentication
Hands‑on experience with OAuth and OpenID Connect (OIDC)

Communication & Leadership

Able to explain complex technical concepts to a wide range of stakeholders
Comfortable influencing engineering direction across multiple teams
Experience working in large, complex delivery environments