Technical Architect

(Government Alpha) Contract | Outside IR35 | 12 weeks | Hybrid, London

We’re building a small team for a 12-week Alpha project with a central government department, and we need a Technical Architect to shape the big decisions.

The department runs three knowledge platforms on SharePoint Online, Sitecore and WordPress. They grew up separately, and each has its own access model, content structure and technical debt. The Alpha will decide whether to bring them together, connect them more closely, or leave them as they are.

You’ll assess what’s there today, design the target architecture options, and work with a developer to prove them out in prototypes. The trickiest problems are identity and access across internal and external users, a joined-up search experience, and leaving room for AI. Your recommendation will feed directly into a costed options appraisal and Beta roadmap.

What we’re looking for

• Solution or enterprise architecture on government Alpha or Discovery projects, working to the GDS Service Standard
• Strong SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365 architecture experience
• Identity and access management: Entra ID, SSO, RBAC, and guest or multi-tenant access
• Systems integration and enterprise search design
• Able to explain technical trade-offs clearly to non-technical stakeholders

It would be great if you also had

• Hands-on Sitecore and/or WordPress experience
• Experience architecting AI or LLM solutions, ideally self-hosted or open-source
• Power BI or analytics pipeline design
• Experience with legacy platform migration or consolidation