PKI Systems Engineer

SAIC • Springfield, VA

419d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Engineer position at SAIC involves managing, securing, and engineering key and certificate management services for the Department of State. The role focuses on supporting enterprise-grade PKI solutions, certificate lifecycle management, and credential management systems, ensuring the integrity and reliability of digital communications. The engineer will work on both on-premises and cloud-based PKI systems, contributing to cryptography expertise and modern authentication solutions.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in information technology, engineering, computer science, related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in PKI, IT security, or related roles, with a strong focus on one or all of these certification authorities (EJBCA, Microsoft CA, Entrust).
• Deep understanding of cryptographic protocols and algorithms.
• Proficiency with either EJBCA, Entrust, or Microsoft Certificate Authority.
• Familiarity with industry standards such as X.509, PKCS, and others.
• Virtualization technologies - VMWare ESXI, vCenter, VMWare NSX.
• Working knowledge of external storage solutions, storage area networks (SANs), and Fiber Channel networks.
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve network/application/operating system issues.
• Excellent MS-Windows Server administration & maintenance skills.
• US Citizenship and ability to obtain top secret clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Proficiency in enabling self-service workflow, orchestration, and compliance control.
• Scripting Skills (PowerShell, Bash &/or Python): Proficiency in scripting with Bash and/or Python.
• Experience with one or more Credential Management Systems (CMS) with experience integrating with all facets of certificate lifecycle.
• Experience with monitoring tools and technologies.
• Demonstrated experience in automating IT processes.
• Knowledge of Splunk for log management and analysis.
• Experience supporting/securing cloud-based services and implementing AWS and Azure cryptography, encryption and key management best practices and policies.

Responsibilities

• Perform all aspects of systems design and PKI engineering in support of various PKI systems deployed at the Department of State.
• Manage and maintain enclaved server hardware, storage, switches, server operating systems, and Hardware Security Modules (HSMs).
• Provide in-depth subject matter expertise for engineering support related to Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) systems, especially in a government setting.
• Maintain existing PKI systems - patch existing systems, deploy new components based on customer demand.
• Assist in evaluating and deploying solutions to support modern authentication (i.e SAML based authentication, FIDO2, PIV Derived Credential, etc.).
• Assist in designing and deploying solutions in support of migrating to a Zero Trust Architecture environment.
• Perform problem analysis following any service issues to prevent recurrence.
• Identify security risks to customer systems and suggest mitigations.
• Design, build, and manage PKI enclaves conforming to the policies and standards of the Department of State, HSPD-12, FBCA, NIST, and other policies and standards as required.
• Identify security architectures and implementation gaps, vulnerabilities, and risks; develop, test, and implement solutions to address the gaps, and new or updated requirements.
• Develop test cases for software/hardware testing and develop test evaluation reports for stakeholders.
• Develop and update systems documentation (e.g., ConOps, Operating procedures, systems architecture documents).
• Ensure the NIST 800-53 Rev. 4 security controls, where applicable, are in place and validated on all PKI systems.
• Contribute to the technical direction on all areas of PKI architecture, strategies, and automation and enforce governance and standards.

Benefits

• Flexible work options based on customer request.
• Ongoing application acceptance with no deadline.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Industry: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree