Solutions Architect Ref. 3726

Job Description

Salary: £80,875 - £89,475, dependent on skills and experience. This full salary range reflects the London pay level for roles aligned to the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (GDDPCF), formerly the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Capability Framework, and includes the consolidated skills-related payments available within this framework. Additional allowances may also be available once in role.

Flexible Working: We support full-time, part time, compressed, and flexible working hours. We’re committed to offering remote working across our organisation; however, our ability to do so depends on role requirements and business needs. Home working is not possible.

About Us

We’re MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). Our mission is to protect the security and economic wellbeing of the UK from overseas threats such as regional instability, terrorism, and cyber-attacks. Working across the globe and in close partnership with MI5 and GCHQ, we help the Government to counter these threats through the provision of secret intelligence. A role in MI6 will see you providing vital support to this work within a supportive and encouraging environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

The Role

Architecture and technology are core to MI6’s successful operations and intelligence delivery. There is a constant need to develop and maintain capabilities that provide us with mission advantage in a rapidly changing, technology- and data-driven world. We use agile and lean methodologies to innovate, deliver, and upgrade products. Whether you work on data analytics, knowledge systems, operational communications, or technical operations capabilities, the nature of our work presents unique and fascinating architecture challenges that you are unlikely to have encountered before.

We develop products that provide capability across MI6. Our multi-disciplinary teams are made up of architects & engineers who work alongside product owners, business analysts, and delivery colleagues to ensure MI6 gets what it needs by balancing tactical and strategic goals. As a Solution Architect, you’ll lead the design and systems-engineering approach for a specific area of our organisation- creating new products and continually improving the capabilities of our existing ones.

You’ll be part of a community responsible for design authority. Working with the Product Manager and Business Lead, you’ll help to deliver a plan that considers user experience, cost, risk, time, and quality, while balancing product evolution with the immediacy of business need. In this role, you’ll also deliver the architecture and systems-engineering elements of the product plan throughout its whole life cycle.

This will include:

• Understanding the business problem and shaping the solution, while tailoring systems-engineering and architecture processes to address product risks in the context of scale and complexity.
• Developing, maintaining and communicating the product’s vision, architecture, and technology roadmap, including producing high-level designs, solution outlines, and key design decisions.
• Managing technology risk and overseeing design evolution as the product develops, ensuring decisions remain aligned to business needs.
• Supporting integration with other products and overseeing release to service, ensuring coherence across the wider product ecosystem.

About You

Ideally, you’ll have led significant elements of product and system delivery and change. Experience as a technical domain subject-matter expert is important, as is having worked as a Solution Architect or as part of a solution architecture team on complex solutions. A solid background in applying enterprise and domain architecture, influencing stakeholders, and conducting trade-offs across requirements and solution spaces is essential. Knowledge of multiple architecture and delivery frameworks, along with experience of embedding these tools and techniques, is also expected.

Well-developed soft skills are key to supporting communication and decision-making, including curiosity, teamwork, and problem-solving. Being an effective communicator and influencer, with experience negotiating trade-offs across requirements and solution spaces, is important. The role involves line-managing junior solution architects and contractors, so confidence in leading and working within multi-disciplinary teams is essential. A commitment to continual learning and development is also important.

Training and Development

At MI6, we’re proud to offer an inclusive and supportive working environment. As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we are committed to helping you fulfil your potential. We're dedicated to developing our staff and recognise this will look different for everyone, so we’ll work with you to build your skills and help you plan your future career path within the architecture profession and across the organisation.

When you join, you’ll receive an induction to help you settle in and gain a full understanding of how your work contributes to our mission. Following this, there will be ongoing opportunities for tailored training, coaching, and mentoring. Throughout your career with us, you will have access to a wide range of online and classroom learning, as well as external accredited training options. These include industry-recognised qualifications such as CEng (Chartered Engineer), professional certifications in Solution Architecture, and related disciplines such as Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP®), or similar.

Our Training and Development pathway is underpinned by the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (GDDPCF). Through this framework, you’ll be able to benefit from personalised development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring, alongside access to specialist development routes such as Agile Delivery. You’ll also have opportunities to pursue professional qualifications and accredited learning that support your professional growth. More information about the framework can be found here.

Rewards and benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £80,875 to £89,475, dependent on skills and experience

Most new starters can expect to join at the midpoint of the pay range, depending on core competency and DDaT skills and experience assessment. This assessment is conducted throughout the application and interview process, as outlined below.

Other benefits include:

• 25 days’ annual leave, rising automatically to 30 days after 5 years' service, plus an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays
• opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• an interest-free season ticket loan
• an excellent pension scheme
• a cycle to work scheme
• facilities such as an on-site gym at some locations
• paid parental and adoption leave.

Equal opportunities

At MI6, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups that are under-represented in our workforce, such as women, those from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities and individuals from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:

Offer of Interview

We’re committed to providing equitable opportunities throughout the recruitment process to support candidates with disabilities. As part of this, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential minimum criteria for this position, will be offered an interview, where it is practical for us to do so. This is known as the Offer of Interview (OOI). To secure a first-stage telephone interview for this role, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:

• You’ll be required to reach the pass mark for the Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT), which looks at your ability to problem-solve.
• Demonstrate experience working in architecture or systems engineering functions.
• Explain your motivation for applying to the organisation and the role.
• Demonstrate applied experience in developing technology portfolios and/or playing a major role in digital transformation programmes

These criteria will be measured at the application sift.

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best, see our website for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer.

What to Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

1. Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT), you’ll be asked to complete the SJT online, rating the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios. The SJT tests criteria which are important for all roles in our organisation. Successful candidates will be asked to complete the application form.
2. Application sift- reviewing your motivation, technical aptitude, skills and experience for the role and the organisation
3. If successful at the sift, you will be invited to an online HR interview. This will consist of motivation- and competency-based questions.
4. If successful, you will be invited to a face-to-face technical interview, which will assess your technical skills and include a discussion of a solution-architecture scenario that you will receive in advance.
5. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment

Please note that you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process, including vetting, so we advise you to continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Before You Apply

To work at MI6, you must be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here.

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s a process undertaken by everyone in the UK Intelligence Community. You can find out more about the vetting process here.

Please note we have a strict drugs policy. Once you start your application, you must not take any recreational drugs, and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid including identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname or date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more securely.

The role is based in Central London, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. A loan is available to support people relocating to London.

We offer reasonable reimbursement of travel costs for candidates attending in-person appointments during the recruitment and vetting process. Full details will be provided with your interview or assessment invitation.

Reimbursement is discretionary and will only be made in line with the Candidate Expenses Policy, as amended from time to time. Candidates must book their own travel, using the most economical option, and provide original hardcopy receipts for reimbursement.

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will affect your ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

Right to Withdraw Statement:

Please be aware that we reserve the right to bring forward the closing date for this role once a certain number of applications have been received. Please bear this in mind and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.