Qureos Mentor

Pakistan Digital Authority

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 The Principal Architect serves as the senior technical resource responsible for designing, governing, and operationalizing Pakistan&rsquo;s Digital Public Infrastructure (Pakistan Stack) across identity, payments, and data exchange layers. This role translates the Digital Nation Pakistan Act (2025) into deployable architecture, ensuring interoperability, scalability, security, and inclusion across federal and provincial ecosystems. The architect acts as the bridge between policy intent and system design, enforcing open standards, preventing fragmentation, and guiding ministries toward API-first, federated digital systems.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 About the Role
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Principal Architect is responsible for leading the design and implementation of Pakistan's Digital Public Infrastructure, ensuring that it meets the needs of various stakeholders while adhering to established standards and protocols.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Responsibilities
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Architecture Leadership
 
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 Define and maintain the National DPI Technical Reference Architecture
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 Lead system decomposition using federated architecture models
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 Ensure horizontal scalability across provinces
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 Standards &amp; Interoperability
 
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 Mandate use of Open APIs
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 Identity protocols
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 Event-driven architectures where needed
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 Oversee API gateway ecosystems and developer platforms
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 Program Execution
 
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 Translate strategy into Technical blueprints
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 Implementation playbooks
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 Rollout sequencing
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 Support pilot programs and scale-up strategies
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 Ecosystem Coordination
 
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 Work with NADRA, SBP, PTA, FBR, provincial IT boards
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 Private sector (banks, telcos, fintechs)
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 International partners (GovStack, multilateral institutions)
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 Enable public-private innovation on top of DPI rails
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 Capacity Building
 
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 Mentor government architects and engineers
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 Build a national DPI talent pipeline
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 Promote open-source adoption and reuse
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 Qualifications
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Education
 
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 Master&rsquo;s or Bachelor&rsquo;s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or related field
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 Experience
 
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 12&ndash;15+ years in Enterprise architecture / systems architecture
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 Large-scale distributed systems
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 Government or public-sector digital transformation (preferred)
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 Proven experience designing Identity systems, payment systems, or data exchange platforms
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 Required Skills
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Core Expertise
 
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 Distributed systems architecture
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 API design and management
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 Identity &amp; access management (IAM)
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 Cloud-native and hybrid infrastructure
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 Cybersecurity (zero trust, encryption, PKI)
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 DPI-Specific Knowledge
 
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 Digital identity frameworks (eKYC, authentication flows)
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 Real-time payment systems
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 Interoperability frameworks (e.g., X-Road-like systems)
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 Data governance and consent architectures
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 Preferred Skills
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Leadership &amp; Behavioral Competencies
 
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 Strategic thinking with execution discipline
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 Ability to operate within complex political economy environments
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 Strong stakeholder management across federal and provincial levels
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 Bias for pragmatism over perfection
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 Commitment to inclusion, accessibility, and public value
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</div>

Principal Architect

<div>
 
 The Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) is the central engine for
 
 Reimagining Pakistan's Society, Economy and Governance for the Digital Era.
 
 We are moving aggressively to operationalize the National Digital Masterplan and build the foundation for a truly digital nation.
 
 
 PDA exclusively owns Product, Design, and Tech Architecture Standards &amp; Compliance. We are seeking a world-class Lead Service Designer to architect the core experiences that will define how 240+ million citizens interact with the state.
 
 
 The Role
 
 
 We are looking for an elite Service Designer / HCD Strategist who has honed their craft at top-tier global innovation and design firms (e.g., IDEO, frog, Fjord, Designit, Government Digital Services, UK) or scaled emerging-market platforms.
 
 
 You will not be designing isolated apps; you will be mapping and reimagining entire citizen "life events" (e.g., birth, education, starting a business) across highly complex government structures. Your mandate is to cut through bureaucratic friction and design seamless, accessible, and intuitive digital public services that form the backbone of the national digital masterplan.
 
 
 Key Responsibilities
 
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 Architect Citizen Journeys:
 
 Lead the end-to-end service design of core digital public infrastructure. Translate complex legislative and bureaucratic processes into intuitive, human-centric user journeys.
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 Design for Scale &amp; Inclusion:
 
 Create frameworks and interfaces optimized for extreme diversity, varying levels of digital literacy, and low-bandwidth environments.
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 Drive the Gov. Digital Services Vision:
 
 Work closely with PDA leadership to define the overarching design systems and user experience standards for all national digital capabilities.
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 Cross-Functional Alignment:
 
 Act as the bridge between PDA's design and other stakeholders. Ensure that design fidelity is maintained from concept through to deployment.
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 Establish Design Standards:
 
 Define and enforce the Tech Architecture Standards &amp; Compliance as it relates to user experience, accessibility, and interface design across all national digital platforms.
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 Field Research &amp; Synthesis:
 
 Conduct deep, context-rich ethnographic research within Pakistan to ensure solutions are deeply rooted in the actual needs and realities of the population, not just best-practice theory.
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 The Ideal Candidate
 
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 Experience:
 
 5+ years of intensive service design, human-centered design, or UX strategy experience. A background in a top-tier global design agency is highly preferred, but exceptional candidates from major emerging-market digital product companies will be considered.
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 Systems Thinker:
 
 Proven ability to map out highly complex, multi-stakeholder ecosystems and synthesize them into clear, actionable service blueprints.
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 Pragmatic Visionary:
 
 You possess the prestige-level design thinking of a global consultancy, combined with the grit and pragmatism required to ship capabilities in a developing public sector environment.
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 Collaborative Leader:
 
 Experience navigating complex organizational structures. You know how to defend the user experience while working collaboratively with separate engineering and operations teams.
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 Cultural Fluency:
 
 A deep understanding of the socio-economic dynamics of Pakistan. (Pakistani nationality is preferred, but we are open to exceptional global talent willing to relocate and deeply immerse themselves in the context).
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</div>

Lead Service Designer

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 The Executive Director for Portfolio Management is the senior accountable owner of how Pakistan's national digital transformation investments are selected, governed, delivered, and measured. This role operates at two levels simultaneously. Internally, you will own PDA's programme and project portfolio &mdash; ensuring that every initiative PDA runs is governed rigorously, delivered with discipline, and produces measurable outcomes. Externally, you will build and operate the national digital portfolio oversight function &mdash; giving PDA and the federal government a consolidated, real-time view of digital investment performance across all ministries and provincial digital programmes. You will report directly to PDA's senior leadership and work closely with the Enterprise Architecture, Strategy, and AI teams to ensure portfolio decisions are architecturally coherent, strategically aligned, and benefits-driven.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 What You Will Lead
 
 
 
 PDA Internal Portfolio
 
 
 &rtrif; Establish and run PDA's Enterprise Portfolio Management Office (EPMO) &mdash; defining the governance frameworks, delivery standards, and reporting cadences that govern all PDA programmes and projects
 
 
 &rtrif; Own the integrated PDA programme portfolio: Digital Nation Masterplan delivery, DPI platform rollouts, AI solutions suite, legislative reform workstreams, and standards development programmes
 
 
 &rtrif; Institute PDA's project lifecycle framework &mdash; from concept and business case through to delivery, benefits realisation, and closure &mdash; aligned to international best practice (MSP, PRINCE2, PMI, or equivalent)
 
 
 &rtrif; Drive portfolio prioritisation and resource allocation &mdash; maintaining a live, balanced portfolio that reflects PDA's strategic objectives and capacity constraints
 
 
 &rtrif; Establish benefits realisation frameworks and KPI dashboards that provide PDA leadership with accurate, decision-ready visibility of programme performance
 
 
 &rtrif; Manage interdependencies across PDA's workstreams &mdash; preventing programme conflicts, resolving delivery blockers, and escalating risks with solutions National Digital Portfolio Oversight
 
 
 &rtrif; Design and institutionalise the National Digital Investment Oversight Framework &mdash; the mechanism by which PDA reviews, approves, and monitors significant digital investments across federal ministries and government bodies
 
 
 &rtrif; Build and operate a National Digital Portfolio Dashboard &mdash; a consolidated, real-time view of government-wide digital programme performance, spend, and benefits delivery
 
 
 &rtrif; Establish the Digital Investment Review Board &mdash; a cross-government governance body that assesses major digital business cases for architectural alignment, strategic fit, and value-for-money before approval
 
 
 &rtrif; Lead the development of standardised digital business case templates, investment appraisal criteria, and benefits measurement frameworks for use across all government institutions
 
 
 &rtrif; Engage federal ministries and provincial digital offices to build portfolio management capability &mdash; driving maturity uplift across the public sector delivery ecosystem
 
 
 &rtrif; Build and lead PDA's Portfolio Management Division &mdash; hiring programme managers, PMO analysts, benefits realisation specialists, and portfolio governance experts
 
 
 
 
 
 
 What We Are Looking For
 
 
 
 Essential
 
 
 ✔ 15+ years of progressive experience across programme management, portfolio governance, or digital delivery &mdash; with significant leadership tenure
 
 
 ✔ Demonstrated experience running a PMO or EPMO at enterprise or government scale &mdash; designing governance frameworks, not just operating within them
 
 
 ✔ Track record of delivering complex, multi-workstream programmes in institutional environments with high stakeholder complexity
 
 
 ✔ Strong command of portfolio investment management &mdash; business case development, benefits realisation, portfolio prioritisation, and value-for-money assessment
 
 
 ✔ Fluency in leading delivery frameworks: MSP, PRINCE2, PMI/PMP, SAFe, or equivalent &mdash; and the judgement to apply them pragmatically
 
 
 ✔ Experience producing executive and ministerial-level portfolio reporting &mdash; translating delivery complexity into clear, decision-ready insight
 
 
 Highly Valued
 
 
 ✦ Experience establishing or leading a national or whole-of-government digital portfolio oversight function
 
 
 ✦ Background in GovTech or public sector digital delivery &mdash; understanding of how government programmes are funded, approved, and governed
 
 
 ✦ Familiarity with digital maturity assessment and capability development across government institutions
 
 
 ✦ Exposure to infrastructure and DPI programme delivery &mdash; large-scale platform rollouts, national digital identity systems, or shared government services
 
 
 ✦ Understanding of how portfolio management intersects with enterprise architecture &mdash; ensuring delivery coherence, not just delivery velocity
 
 Why PDA
 
 
 
 &rarr; Own the governance and delivery engine of Pakistan's national digital transformation &mdash; a role that spans every ministry and every province
 
 
 &rarr; Direct reporting line to PDA's senior leadership; influence over the allocation and performance of Pakistan's entire digital investment portfolio
 
 
 &rarr; Build the national digital PMO function from the ground up &mdash; set the standards, design the frameworks, and establish the institution
 
 
 &rarr; Competitive compensation benchmarked to Pakistan's senior public sector reform appointments and international GovTech norms
 
 
 
</div>

Executive Director, Portfolio Management

<div>
 
 The Pakistan Digital Authority is Pakistan's apex statutory body for national digital transformation, established under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2025. PDA is responsible for the country's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), AI and data governance frameworks, national digital standards, and the Digital Nation Masterplan &mdash; a cross-government programme covering all provinces, the whole of government, and 240 million citizens.
 
 
 
 
 
 This is not a typical government role. PDA operates with the mandate of a regulator, the ambition of a national transformation programme, and the urgency of a startup.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Role
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Chief AI Officer is a founding executive appointment at PDA and the senior-most AI leadership role in Pakistan's public sector.
 
 
 
 
 
 You will carry two distinct but deeply connected mandates: AI supervision &mdash; building the regulatory, governance, and oversight architecture that governs how AI is developed and deployed across Pakistan; and AI use-case strategy &mdash; identifying, prioritising, and driving the AI applications that will transform government services and public outcomes at scale.
 
 
 
 
 
 You will report directly to the Chairperson and work alongside the Chief Data Officer and be part of PDA's integrated technology governance team.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 What You Will Lead
 
 
 
 
 
 
 AI Governance &amp; Supervision
 
 
 &rtrif; Lead the development of Pakistan's National AI Governance Framework &mdash; covering AI risk classification, algorithmic accountability, transparency requirements, and prohibited use definitions
 
 
 
 
 
 &rtrif; Own PDA's AI regulatory instruments under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act &mdash; including government AI use policies, AI audit frameworks, and conformity assessment protocols for high-risk AI systems
 
 
 
 
 
 &rtrif; Help establish the National AI Advisory Council &mdash; convening government, academia, civil society, and industry to inform national AI policy
 
 
 
 
 
 &rtrif; Develop Pakistan's position on sovereign AI infrastructure &mdash; national compute, foundational models, and AI supply chain resilience
 
 
 
 
 
 
 AI Strategy &amp; Use-Cases
 
 
 
 &rtrif; Build and own PDA's government AI use-case portfolio &mdash; identifying highest-impact applications across health, justice, education, taxation, social protection, and public safety
 
 
 
 
 
 &rtrif; Lead the strategy and oversight of PDA's AI solutions suite
 
 
 
 
 
 &rtrif; Design the AI maturity assessment framework for federal ministries and lead national AI readiness diagnostics
 
 
 
 
 
 &rtrif; Drive Pakistan's AI talent and capability strategy in partnership with higher education institutions and the technology industry
 
 
 
 
 
 &rtrif; Build and lead PDA's AI Division &mdash; hiring AI policy specialists, applied AI engineers, and research capacity
 
 
 
 
 
 
 What We Are Looking For
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Essential
 
 
 ✔ 15+ years of progressive experience spanning AI/ML, technology strategy, or technology policy &mdash; with significant leadership tenure
 
 
 ✔ Demonstrated command of AI governance principles: risk-based classification, algorithmic accountability, explainability, fairness, and AI safety
 
 
 ✔ Track record of leading AI strategy at organisational or national scale &mdash; governance and policy architecture, not just AI delivery
 
 
 ✔ Ability to operate fluently across technical and policy registers &mdash; credible with engineers and with ministers
 
 
 ✔ Experience building and leading high-performing cross-functional teams in complex institutional environments
 
 
 
 
 
 Highly Valued
 
 
 ✦ Experience in a national AI authority, government AI body, or equivalent institution
 
 
 ✦ Deep familiarity with international AI governance frameworks: EU AI Act, OECD AI Principles, NIST AI RMF, UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics
 
 
 ✦ Hands-on experience with large language models, Generative AI deployment, and the governance challenges they create in public sector contexts
 
 
 ✦ Exposure to sovereign AI infrastructure &mdash; national compute strategy, open-source foundation models, AI procurement policy ✦ Understanding of AI's intersection with data governance, digital identity, and digital public infrastructure
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Why PDA
 
 
 
 &rarr; Shape the AI governance architecture of a nation of 240 million people &mdash; one of the highest-impact AI leadership roles in the developing world &rarr; Direct reporting line to the Chairperson &amp; CEO; seat at PDA's executive leadership table &rarr; Influence Pakistan's AI legislation, international AI commitments, and the sovereign AI infrastructure agenda
 
 
 &rarr; Competitive compensation benchmarked to Pakistan's senior public sector reform appointments and international GovTech norms
 
</div>

Chief AI Officer

Join Pakistan Digital Authority and explore 4   exciting career opportunities. They're hiring for various roles with options for remote or on-site work. Apply today and become part of their innovative team.

Pakistan Digital Authority

About Company

Principal Architect

Lead Service Designer

Executive Director, Portfolio Management

Chief AI Officer