Principal Architect

Job ID 261023

Primary Location

Netherlands – The Hague

NATO Body

NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA)

Schedule

Full-time

Application Deadline

30-Jun-2026, 11:59:00 PM

Salary (Pay Basis)

10,628.93 Euros (Monthly)

Grade

NATO Grade G20

Who we are

For more than 70 years, NATO’s mission has been to preserve peace and security in the Alliance for nearly one billion citizens. The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) and its predecessors have worked tirelessly in providing the means that enable the connectedness and togetherness that keep our Alliance strong. We are the NCIA, a team of 3000 civilian and military staff in 29 locations throughout Europe, North America and Asia.

Our technology and cyber experts allow NATO to conduct critical operations, protect NATO’s airspace, make data-driven decisions, defend against cyber-attacks, secure NATO networks and maintain superiority in space. This is all possible because of our greatest force, our people. In order to keep this edge we aim to hire, train and retain the very best staff.

Our staff members represent both the diversity and unity of our Alliance. When you join the NCIA, you will be part of an organization where you can contribute authentically to the mission and purpose of NATO and help us keep our technological edge.

About the job

Based in The Hague, Netherlands, you will join the Agency as we embark on a journey to transform our IT services to support NATO’s Digital Endeavour. You will join the Chief Technology Office (CTO), which sets the Agency’s technical vision and IT engineering strategy and manages the research and development of emerging technology. Within the CTO, the Architecture Governance and Coherence (AGC) team orchestrates architecture governance and ensures technical coherence across the Agency’s architecting and engineering work. This post sits within the AGC team’s P3MF Architecture & Design (P3MF A&D) function, which provides technical direction and guidance to NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP) project teams and facilitates secure, coherent C3 capabilities and ICT services across the NATO Enterprise.

What you will do

• Provide technical guidance to NSIP project teams on technology alignment and the identification and management of technical dependencies – a central part of the role, closely tied to project risk and critical path.
• Drive technical coherence across the NSIP portfolio, maintaining consistency of design and adherence to agreed standards across multiple projects and initiatives.
• Coordinate the day-to-day work of the P3MF A&D team – tracking workload capacity, resource allocation, funding availability, priorities and follow-up actions – in support of the AGC Team Lead, and propose improvements and adjustments to the team’s ways of working.
• Envision, communicate and evolve NCIA’s enterprise architecture, aligning business and ICT at the strategic level so that NCIA can achieve its mission and goals.

This is a senior architecture role with a strong technical‑coherence and team‑coordination dimension, working in close support of the AGC Team Lead.

About you

• A Master’s degree from a nationally recognized/certified university in a related discipline, with at least 5 years of related post‑graduation experience; or a Bachelor’s degree with 8 years of related post‑related experience.
• Extensive experience leading the creation and review of IT services, systems, architectures and roadmaps for large organizations.
• Extensive experience leading and monitoring the development of domain / segment and solution architectures, ensuring consistency with specified requirements and identifying and managing technical dependencies.
• Extensive experience leading the implementation of ICT‑specific projects for alignment with relevant architectures and roadmaps.
• Extensive experience managing strategic relationships with senior stakeholders, internal and external.
• A proven ability to apply analytical and systems thinking to complex problems, and to moderate architecture‑related discussions with multi‑disciplinary teams.
• Proven ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with good briefing skills.
• A thorough knowledge of English (written and spoken) is essential; some knowledge of French is desirable.

Desirable experience and qualifications include: experience with organizational change management initiatives in large‑scale multinational or international organizations; experience managing teams and budgets; and certifications such as TOGAF, ArchiMate, ITIL or COBIT, or change‑management certifications (Certified Change Management Professional (CCMP) or Certified Change Practitioner). Relevant training and certification will typically be provided on hire and is not essential to qualify for the post.

What we offer

• Genuinely meaningful work as part of the most successful alliance in history.
• Five‑year contract with a competitive tax‑free salary and household and children’s allowances.
• Privileges for expatriate staff, including expatriation and education allowances (where eligible), additional home leave, and other benefits.
• Excellent private health insurance scheme.
• Generous annual leave, offering 30 days plus official holidays.
• Pension benefits under the NATO Pension Scheme.
• Growth and development programs, including professional training and wellbeing initiatives.

The monthly salary for a G20 in The Netherlands is 10,628.93 Euros.

We pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where mutual respect thrives, valuing diversity in gender, ethnicity, religion, and more.

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