Principal Enterprise Architect - C4ISR

Overview

AtkinsRéalis is growing its Digital Blueprint consulting team and is looking for Digital Architects with extensive experience of working with defence organisations. Is this you?

We are looking to build our multi-disciplinary team with people from business, technology consulting or ex-forces backgrounds who bring architecture expertise to the digital transformation of our defence clients. We welcome applications from creative and adaptable systems thinkers who want to be part of shaping the future, whilst expanding your own career potential.

When it comes to living your life, we want your role with AtkinsRéalis to be a key part of your personal journey. We have a collaborative inclusive team culture where people will help, guide and mentor you to help you grow. We pitch in and help colleagues because we succeed as a team. Our flexible and remote working policies are designed to support different personal priorities and needs.

Experienced C4

ISR Enterprise Architect with a technical focus to drive the design, evolution, and modernisation of defence and security architectures. In this role, you will bridge the gap between high-level defence strategy and strategic to tactical-edge implementation for our defence clients.

You will lead the technical vision for integrating C4

ISR systems - from cloud-hosted intelligence analytics down to tactical edge computing platforms operating in degraded, bandwidth-constrained environments including Space.

The role as a Principal Enterprise Architect will involve:

Technical Architecture & System Integration

• Edge-to-Cloud Design: Architect resilient, hybrid cloud-to-edge solutions that enable real-time processing and decision support at the tactical edge during disrupted or limited connectivity (DDIL environments).
• Sensor-to-Effector Integration: Design open architectures to ingest, fuse, and orchestrate multi-domain ISR sensor data (radar, EO/IR, EW, acoustic).
• Interoperability & Data Standards: Enforce strict alignment with defence standards (e.g. Link 16, STANAGs, DEFSTANs) to ensuring cross-coalition and joint-force interoperability.
• Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA): Lead legacy modernisation initiatives by abstracting proprietary defence hardware and developing open architectures.
• Space Systems: Define the architecture of space-based capabilities, ensuring alignment between operation, mission, and technology solutions. Provide strategic direction across SATCOM, Space Domain Awareness, Space control, ground infrastructure, cybersecurity, and space base ISR systems. Enable secure, resilient, and interoperable space-based defence capabilities providing support for technology investment, integration, and transformation.

Architecture Modelling & Governance

• Framework Execution: Develop comprehensive operational, service, logical, and physical architectural views using NAF v4.
• Enterprise modelling: Utilise Archi Mate/NAF v4 and TOGAF to map military capabilities directly to underlying IT infrastructure services and networks.
• Architecture Governance: Establish technical baselines, design authorities and interfaces to prevent non-interoperable technology silos across defence.

Security Architecture & Compliance

• Zero Trust: Design defence architectures around Zero Trust principles.
• Cross-Domain Solutions (CDS): Architect secure mechanisms for safe information exchange across disparate security levels.
• MoD Frameworks: Architecting against MoD and Defence frameworks (JSP
  453, 604 and Secure by Design).

Strategic Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• CONOPS Translation: Analyse military Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) and translate operational intent into scalable technical requirements and system designs.
• Technology Road mapping: Define 5-to-10-year technical roadmaps that align emerging technologies with long-term defence procurement cycles.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Communicate complex technical solutions, architectural risks, and system topologies to military leadership, programme managers, contractors, and engineering teams.

• Education: Degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering and/or equivalent Industry experience.
• Experience: In systems/enterprise architecture within defence, aerospace, or national security sectors. C4
  
  ISR domain desirable.
• Frameworks: Demonstrated expertise in DoDAF, MODAF or NAF v4, along with formal modelling using Archi Mate.
• Technical knowledge: Wide but not deep across software, Infrastructure and Networks, with the ability communicate…