Lead Technical Architect

DVLA are looking for Lead Technical Architects to support major digital change across a range of high-volume services used by millions of people across the UK. You will work closely with engineering and delivery teams on technical design, helping to improve existing systems, deliver new digital services and support future change across areas such as vehicles, payments, identity and customer-facing platforms. Permanent role, hybrid working from Swansea (60% office-based), salary of up to £82,430 (inc allowances, based on skills and experience) plus 29% employer pension contribution and excellent Civil Service benefits.

About role

As a Lead Technical Architect, you will be responsible for the technical design of systems and services across one or more DVLA product areas. You will work closely with engineering squads, lead engineers, delivery managers, business analysts and programme architects to develop practical designs that can be understood, delivered and maintained.

You will work on impactful projects such as the Electronic Vehicle Excise Duty programme, known as EVED - a major programme of work linked to upcoming legislative change. The work will include a mix of new development, changes to current national systems and integration between existing and new services.

You will produce high-level designs, support solution briefs, document technical decisions and work with squads to make sure designs are clear before development begins.

The role would suit someone with an engineering background who has moved into architecture, or an experienced technical architect who enjoys working closely with delivery teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical design and explain design decisions clearly.
• Help make sure technical work is high quality and aligned with DVLA and wider government standards.
• Work with different teams to encourage joined-up thinking, reuse and shared approaches.
• Support and mentor engineers and other architects.
• Stay close to the code and make good use of modern tools, including AI coding assistants, to support better ways of working.

Essential skills

• Architectural or engineering background
• Experience designing or delivering enterprise and cloud-based software systems such as AWS.
• Knowledge of cloud-native design, data security and protecting sensitive information.
• Ability to create solution designs collaboratively and iteratively with delivery teams.
• Strong technical skills across end-to-end design, governance, assurance and engineering support.
• Strategic thinker who can balance business, product and technical priorities.
• Strong communicator, able to work with senior leaders, engineers, testers and non-technical stakeholders.

Desirable skills

• Experience working in a large, complex or regulated environment.
• Background in government, public sector or high-volume digital services.
• Experience working closely with Agile software engineering squads.
• Exposure to architecture governance, design assurance or technical standards.
• Comfortable using design and technical tools such as Draw.io, C4, Mermaid, PlantUML, Git or Markdown.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,515 - £82,430, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency contributes £16,662 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Best in class learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues
• Generous employer contribution of 28.9%, depending on chosen pension scheme
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance
• Digital communities with clear career frameworks
• On-site gym plus personal training available (membership applies)
• On-site nursery, restaurants and coffee bar
• 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays), increasing by 1 each year (up to 30) & 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King's birthday
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff
• Free parking

Why join?

DVLA is entering a significant period of digital and legislative change, with a major new programme of work coming into play across its vehicle services. You'll be joining at an early stage, helping to support the technical design behind services that are used by millions of people across the UK.

You'll join a friendly and supportive architecture team that is moving towards a more collaborative, product-led and cloud-native way of working, with opportunities to stay close to engineering, modern tooling, AI coding assistants and future digital services.

Apply now or contact Zee in complete confidence