Principal Architect – AI
The advert says the job needs UK security clearance:
“Role will be subject to an employment screening process and will require security clearance.”
SC clearance usually needs five years of living in the UK, and DV clearance usually needs ten. If you have lived here that long, for example on a Student and then a Graduate visa, you may be able to get it. Most people applying from outside the UK cannot, so the highest likelihood we give this job is Unlikely. Ask Leonardo UK Ltd whether they would sponsor you.
Unlikely
Sponsorship likelihood
The advert asks for security clearance
Not disclosed
Salary
Not disclosed by employer
£54,900
Going rate
Skilled Worker going rate
This role likely qualifies for a Skilled Worker visa
SOC 2133 (93% match) is an eligible occupation, with a going rate of £54,900, and Leonardo UK Ltd is a licensed sponsor. That is our reading of the rules. Whether they issue a Certificate of Sponsorship is still their call.
New graduate or PhD holder? Pick one of the lower rates.
What each route needs for this job
| Occupation code | New entrant 70% of going rate | STEM PhD 80% of going rate | Relevant PhD 90% of going rate | Standard rate 100% of going rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2133 IT business analysts, architects and systems designers Most likely code | £38,400 | £43,900 | £49,400 | £54,900 |
We use the lowest threshold across the plausible codes. Likelihood is Possible at most when the pay clears only a lower rate, or only under a less likely code. How the Home Office picks the code
About the role
About the Role
Becrypt is creating a new, standalone Principal Architect – AI role to lead the
organisation's approach to artificial intelligence across the business. This is a senior
technical position for someone who can look across engineering, product, IT and
operations to identify where AI can genuinely improve how Becrypt builds, secures and
runs its platforms — and who can then design, build and govern the systems that make
that possible.
This is not a team-management role. It is a hands-on, principal-level individual
contributor position for someone who leads through technical depth, credibility and
influence — working closely with engineering teams, technical architects and internal IT,
and setting the policies, risk frameworks and compliance guardrails needed to adopt AI
responsibly.
What You'll Do
Strategic & cross-business
- Assess processes and systems across the business — engineering, product,
customer-facing operations, internal IT — to identify where AI can add genuine
value, streamline work, or reduce risk.
- Act as the go-to technical authority on AI across Becrypt, working directly with
engineering teams, technical architects and internal IT rather than through a
reporting chain.
- Develop and own AI-related policy, governance, risk assessment and compliance
frameworks, balancing confidentiality, integrity, availability, usability, customer
requirements, engineering effort and operational risk.
- Advise leadership on AI strategy, opportunity areas and risk posture in plain,
actionable terms.
Platform & engineering delivery
- Design and build platforms for long-running agentic workflow systems, including AI
gateways and supporting infrastructure services.
- Design Docker-based services using Linux container environments, Python,
FastAPI, TypeScript, MCP/FastMCP, OpenAI and AWS Bedrock.
- Apply secure boundaries around credentials, service access, tool invocation and
human-in-the-loop operation for AI/agentic systems.
- Build reusable services and integrations, and assess the security, isolation,
maintainability and operational implications of emerging AI technologies before
they're adopted.
- Actively probe AI systems, integrations and agentic workflows for vulnerabilities —
thinking like an attacker to uncover weaknesses in credential handling, tool
invocation and data exposure before they're exploited, and feeding findings back into
design and policy.
- Get hands-on with difficult technical problems alongside engineers — investigating,
diagnosing and making architectural calls that improve security, assurance,
maintainability and long-term product direction.
What You'll Bring
- Experience in designing, building, securing and operating complex software
platforms, Linux-based systems, distributed services, APIs and integrations.
- Strong, current hands-on experience with Docker/containerised environments,
Python, FastAPI, TypeScript, and AI-specific tooling such as MCP/FastMCP,
OpenAI APIs and AWS Bedrock.
- Practical experience building or integrating AI gateways, agentic workflow systems,
or similar AI infrastructure — not just using AI tools, but architecting the systems
around them.
- A track record of enterprise or platform architecture at principal/CTO-advisory level,
ideally spanning regulated, security-conscious, or infrastructure-heavy environments
(e.g. payments, cloud platforms, integration platforms).
- Demonstrated ability to design policy-based authorisation, credential/access
boundaries, and secure-by-design controls for systems handling sensitive
operations.
- Experience operating as a senior individual contributor — influencing engineering,
product, security, customer-facing and leadership stakeholders without relying on
formal team management.
- A working mental model that balances security (CIA), usability, customer needs,
engineering effort, operational risk and product strategy when making architectural
decisions.
- Comfortable writing and championing policy, risk and compliance documentation,
not just technical designs.
Nice to Have
- Experience in a security-focused or highly regulated product company (Becrypt's
own domain).
- Prior experience introducing AI/agentic capability into an existing engineering
organisation from scratch.
- Familiarity with data-centre/on-prem as well as cloud (AWS) deployment models.
Success in This Role Looks Like
- A clear, prioritised view of where AI can and should be applied across Becrypt,
backed by policy and risk frameworks that leadership and engineering trust.
- A working AI gateway / agentic platform in production use, built to Becrypt's security
and operational standards.
- Engineering teams and internal IT with a clear, well-governed path to adopt AI
capability safely and consistently.
Package & Discretionary Benefits:
- 25 days annual leave plus an additional 2 days after 2 years’ service
- 5 days additional holiday purchase available
- Private medical insurance
- Heath cashback plan with Healthshield
- Pension scheme
- Life cover 4 x salary
- Season ticket loan
- Salary exchange benefits (ride2work, pension)
- Subsidised gym membership
- Employee referral scheme
Role will be subject to an employment screening process and will require security
clearance.
This description is the source posting as it read when we added it. We are not affiliated with Leonardo UK Ltd, so check their own site for the current details.
Where this offer sits in the market
IT business analysts, architects and systems designers (SOC 2133) · UK · ONS ASHE 2025 · basic pay · ~187k in sample- Middle half £45,136–79,976
- Median £60,216
- Going rate £54,900
- Threshold £41,700
- New entrant £38,400–49,400
Similar sponsored roles
See all UK visa jobsNo close matches live right now.
Browse more sponsored jobs at Leonardo UK LtdAbout sponsorship for this role
Does this job guarantee visa sponsorship?
Not necessarily. Leonardo UK Ltd holds a sponsor licence, but sponsorship for a specific hire is always the employer's decision. Be upfront in your application that you'll require it.
What salary is needed for this role to be eligible?
The offer must clear both the general threshold and the SOC 2133 going rate of £54,900. New-entrant and shortage discounts can lower it.