Director of Architecture and IT Security in Leeds, West Yorkshire

Director of Architecture & Security | UK Remote | £110,000-£140,000 DOE

The Opportunity

A high-growth AI technology business is entering an exciting period of expansion and is looking to appoint a Director of Architecture & Security to shape its technology strategy, architecture and governance as it scales.

This is a newly created senior leadership position, offering genuine ownership and autonomy across the wider technology estate. Working alongside the Director of Engineering and reporting into the COO, you will define how technology evolves, ensuring the platform, infrastructure, security and operating model are built to support future growth.

This is an opportunity for an established technology leader to make a significant impact, moving beyond operational oversight to influence business strategy, commercial decisions and international expansion.

The Role

You will take ownership of the organisation's technology architecture, security, governance and internal IT, translating commercial objectives into a clear and practical technology roadmap.

A key focus will be ensuring the business is ready to scale, establishing the architecture, controls and standards required to support increasing customer demand, enterprise requirements and future international markets.

The role also carries significant responsibility for AI governance, security assurance and certification, including ISO 42001 and SOC 2.

You will act as the senior authority on the technology estate, making and defending decisions, challenging where necessary and providing structure without creating unnecessary bureaucracy or slowing innovation.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own and develop the technology strategy and roadmap, aligning architecture and security priorities with wider business objectives.
• Lead enterprise architecture across cloud infrastructure, platforms, internal systems, data and third-party services.
• Establish architecture standards, technical governance and decision-making frameworks that support scalability.
• Own the organisation's security posture, data governance, risk management and security controls.
• Lead the certification and compliance agenda, including ISO 42001, SOC 2 and relevant security standards.
• Establish a rolling penetration-testing programme covering internal and external systems.
• Own AI governance, including model and vendor oversight, licensing, data residency, evaluation and guardrails.
• Define the integration strategy, ensuring the technology estate is ready to connect with client and partner systems.
• Oversee internal IT, including device management, identity and access management, endpoint security and SaaS vendors.
• Monitor platform economics, including AI/model expenditure and cost-to-serve, influencing wider commercial decisions.
• Work closely with Engineering and Product leadership to agree priorities, manage trade-offs and ensure effective delivery.
• Build and develop the architecture, governance and IT capability as the organisation grows.

Essential Experience

• Proven experience operating in a senior technology leadership.
• Strong enterprise architecture experience, with the ability to design and govern complex technology estates.
• Demonstrable experience developing technology strategy and translating business objectives into actionable roadmaps.
• Strong understanding of security architecture, information security, governance, risk management and controls.
• Knowledge of security and compliance frameworks, particularly SOC 2, ISO 42001, and ISO 27001.
• Experience establishing architecture standards, governance frameworks and technology operating models.
• Ability to translate commercial growth objectives into technology, infrastructure, security and scaling requirements.
• Experience working within a start-up, scale-up or similarly fast-paced environment where structure is evolving.
• Commercially minded, pragmatic and comfortable making decisions in ambiguous environments.

Why Apply?

• Genuine ownership: Take responsibility for the architecture, security and governance of the entire technology estate.
• Senior influence: Join the Senior Leadership Team, operating as a peer to the Director of Engineering.
• Business transformation: Shape the technology foundations during a significant period of growth.
• AI leadership: Lead the governance and assurance agenda within an AI-driven environment.
• Commercial impact: Influence technology investment, platform economics and strategic decision-making.
• Career progression: Potential to develop towards broader technology and information leadership as the business grows.

Interested?

If you're an experienced Head of Architecture or Director of Architecture looking for a genuinely influential position where you can shape architecture, security and technology strategy, I'd be keen to hear from you.

Apply directly with a CV to Dominic Brown on