Salary
£55,758 to £63,948 comprising a basic salary of £53,000 and a concessionary payment of £2,758. The exact salary offered within this range will depend on your skills and experience. An additional Skills Payment is available once your skills level is confirmed: £3,822 for Level 1 or £8,190 for Level 2. Once in role, there may also be opportunities to qualify for further allowances and additional skills‑related payments.
Flexible working
We recognise the importance of a healthy work‑life balance and offer a range of working patterns, including full‑time, part‑time and compressed hours. While most of our work is carried out onsite due to its sensitive nature, occasional home working may be possible depending on business requirements. We also support flexible start and finish times.
About us
GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency whose mission is to keep the UK safe. We use cutting‑edge technology, ingenuity and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners, MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber‑attacks and espionage. At GCHQ, you’ll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that emphasises teamwork.
Role
As one of our Associate Solutions Architects, you’ll help design and deliver technology solutions across GCHQ. You will work under the guidance of an experienced Solutions Architect to shape designs, produce architectural artefacts and support the teams that deliver the solutions. The role offers extensive opportunities for training, development and continuous learning.
Responsibilities
- Create solution designs, documentation and models that align with our architectural standards and strategic direction.
- Use at least one modern framework (e.g. TOGAF, NIST or ITIL) to work effectively within our structured ways of working.
- Collaborate with delivery teams, engineers and business colleagues to ensure solutions remain robust, scalable and cost‑effective.
- Understand business needs, and help define solutions that consider technical constraints, delivery plans, risks and complexity.
- Answer questions, clarify designs and adapt solutions as requirements change, drawing on guidance from line managers and mentors.
- Occasional travel to sites across the UK will be required to work closely with colleagues.
Qualifications
You don’t need a degree or any specific qualifications to apply, but you should have:
- A foundational understanding of solution architecture and experience contributing to the design and delivery of digital or technology solutions.
- Experience with at least one modern framework (e.g. TOGAF, NIST, ITIL) typically gained in roles such as software, infrastructure or DevOps engineering.
- An understanding of how business needs, technology choices and delivery constraints shape solution design.
- Effective communication skills to explain design decisions to both technical and non‑technical audiences.
- The ability to influence, negotiate and collaborate across teams, coupled with adaptability and strong problem‑solving skills.
- Experience working independently on moderately complex problems while contributing to broader work led by senior architects.
Training and development
On joining, you’ll receive a full induction into GCHQ and ongoing formal and on‑the‑job training. We expect you to spend 20% of your time on developing yourself and supporting others. Funding and time are provided to pursue professional qualifications and certifications.
Rewards and benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £55,758 to £63,948, plus other benefits including:
- 25 days’ annual leave, rising automatically to 30 days after 5 years’ service, plus an additional 10.5 days of public and private holidays.
- Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme.
- An interest‑free season ticket loan.
- A cycle‑to‑work scheme.
- Facilities such as a gym, restaurant, and on‑site coffee bars (at some locations).
- Paid parental and adoption leave.
Equal opportunities
At GCHQ, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including individuals from groups that are currently under‑represented in our workforce, such as women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities and those from low socio‑economic backgrounds.
We’re Disability Confident
GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions’ Disability Confident scheme. We aim to ensure a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential criteria are offered an interview. Minimum criteria include:
- Experience interpreting business and user needs, and translating them into maintainable architecture designs that align with our strategy and standards.
- Experience supporting architectural decision‑making by gathering information, analysing options, and understanding risks and trade‑offs while working within governance and standards.
- Ability to work with technical and non‑technical stakeholders within and across teams, communicating architectural concepts clearly and supporting alignment to agreed solutions.
Location
The role is based in Cheltenham, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. We do not offer relocation costs.
Security clearance
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). All candidates must be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality.
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