This is a 12 Month Fixed Term Appointment

Applications for this role close 26th July 23:59 UK Time

About the Incubator for AI (i.AI)

The Incubator for AI (i.AI) is a fast moving, autonomous technical unit within the UK government. Our mission is to pioneer transformative applications of AI to build a better Britain.

We operate under three core principles:

Talent: We bring together the UK’s best AI talent across a range of functions. You will work alongside exceptional researchers and top government leaders, staying at the cutting edge of technology.

Innovation: We set precedents for what is possible in government. We combine the pace of a start-up with the influence of being at the digital centre of government. You will test new ideas, expand what is possible, and leverage unique government data to create novel solutions.

Impact: We are dedicated to using AI as a tool for public good - this can mean improving outcomes in schools, boosting housebuilding or providing more personalised support for those in need. With the backing of the Prime Minister, you will turn technical breakthroughs into real-world applications that affect millions of citizens.

About the job

This is a rare opportunity to shape the security, privacy and trust foundations of one of government’s most ambitious AI-enabled services.

Gov Voice is building a reusable AI voice capability that will transform how people access government services by phone. For millions of people, contact centres are one of the most important and highest-volume ways they interact with government. We’re creating a service that can make those interactions simpler, faster and easier to navigate — while meeting the highest standards of security, privacy and public trust.

This is not innovation for its own sake. We’re building a real service for real users in a high-trust, high-scrutiny environment. That means designing security, privacy and data protection into the service from the outset, and ensuring they remain central as the platform grows across government.

This role is central to that mission. It combines hands-on security architecture and engineering with leadership on privacy and data protection in the context of an AI-enabled public service. If you’re motivated by solving hard problems, shaping trusted AI in government, and building services that could improve how millions of people experience government, this is an opportunity to make a genuine impact.

Who we are

Gov Voice is part of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which is working to make digital government simpler, clearer and faster for everyone.

We are a multidisciplinary team bringing together product, delivery, AI, policy, operations, service design, security and data expertise to turn emerging technology into practical public services. We’re not building prototypes for the sake of it — we’re building something real, reusable and trusted that departments across government can adopt with confidence.

This is the kind of project that comes along rarely: frontier technology, real-world delivery, meaningful public impact, and complex problems worth solving. We’re looking for people who want to help define what secure, privacy-conscious and trustworthy AI in government looks like.

What you will do

The Lead Security, Privacy and Data Protection Architect will be accountable for the security architecture, privacy architecture and data protection design of a government service. This is not solely a cyber security architecture role: it requires someone who can bring together secure by design, privacy by design and data protection by design in the delivery of an AI-enabled public service.

Initially, the role will be hands-on and operational. You will help harden the platform against security risks, support monitoring and threat detection, respond to incidents, and build a more systematic approach to security, privacy and data protection assurance. As the service scales, you will define and lead security, privacy and data protection architecture and controls across departments and ALBs using the service, acting as a senior authority in this space.

As a Lead Security, Privacy and Data Protection Architect, you will:

Shape strategy and influence across government

• Build effective relationships with senior stakeholders across departments and ALBs, while engaging with wider cross-government security, privacy and data communities
• Communicate and translate technical security, privacy and data protection risks to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Reach and influence a wide range of people across larger teams, programmes and communities
• Own the relationship between DSIT, GDS, adopters and the Information Commissioner’s Office to support best practice in privacy and data protection

• Design secure, privacy-conscious architecture
• Lead the architecture for the platform, ensuring security by design, privacy by design and data protection by design are embedded throughout the service lifecycle

• Research and apply innovative architecture solutions to new or existing problems, and clearly justify and communicate design decisions
• Develop vision, principles and strategy for security, privacy and data protection architecture across a project or technology area

• Analyse technical solutions and produce architectural patterns that support assurance, quality and scalability
• Assess risks relating to AI, integrations, infrastructure, identity, and personal data flows

• Define and assure appropriate controls for voice data, transcripts, logs, model inputs and outputs, retention, deletion, auditability and access management
• Lead the technical design and implementation of controls around the user-focused platform

• Lead on privacy and data protection
• Provide expert leadership on privacy and data protection in the design and operation of the service

• Ensure the platform meets legal obligations and user expectations for privacy and data protection
• Assess and advise on personal data processing, minimisati