Senior PKI Engineer

Job ID 2611802

Location Springfield, VA, US

Date Posted 2026-04-22

Category Information Technology

Subcategory IT Systems Engineer

Schedule Full-Time

Shift Day Job

Travel No

Minimum Clearance Required Top_Secret

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain None

Potential for Remote Work ORA_ON_SITE

Description

The Enterprise & Mission Solution Business Unit currently has an opening for a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Subject Matter Expert (SME) to support the Department of State (DoS) Bureau of Information Resource Management (IRM) PKI program. This program provides transparent security services in support of the Department’s goals to secure communications among Department staff and systems. The position falls under the “Vanguard 2.2.1” contract.

This is a senior-level PKI engineering position within the Vanguard 2.2.1 program’s Enterprise Engineering Office (EEO), providing PKI engineering and integration support, administering, maintaining, and deploying various PKI systems based on Entrust solutions, onsite at the various DoS Datacenters and at certain selected DoS domestic and overseas locations.

The preferred candidate must possess strong skills in designing, installing, configuring, and maintaining PKI systems. Additionally the preferred candidate should have some experience in providing tier-3 level support in large enterprises.

Description Of Duties

• Performing 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)
• Providing in-depth subject matter expertise for engineering support related to Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) systems, especially in a government setting.
• Maintaining existing PKI systems – patch existing systems, deploy new components based on customer demand
• Directly working with customer to analyze requirements and then deploy security related solution to meet those requirements.
• Performing problem analysis following any service issues to prevent recurrence
• Performing product evaluations and making product recommendations
• Identifying security risks to customer systems and suggest mitigations
• Designing, building, and managing PKI enclaves conforming to the policies and standards of the Department of State, Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), Federal Bridge Certification Authority (FBCA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and other policies and standards as required.
• Identifying security architectures and implementation gaps, vulnerabilities, and risks; developing, testing, and implementing solutions to address the gaps, and new or updated requirements.
• Developing test cases for software/hardware testing and developing test evaluation reports for stakeholders.
• Lead an effort in gathering requirements, performing gap analysis, developing and presenting potential solutions, and creating detailed design and implementation plans.
• Developing and updating systems documentation (e.g., ConOps, Operating procedures, systems architecture documents)
• Ensuring the NIST 800-53 Rev. 4 security controls, where applicable, are in place and validated on all PKI systems.
  
  

Qualifications

Required Education/Experience

• Bachelors and fourteen (14) years or more of relevant experience; Masters and twelve (12) years or more of relevant experience; may accept additional experience in lieu of degree
• Strong background in the Microsoft server operating systems and Certificate Authority (CA) providers
• General understanding of cryptographic keys, symmetric and asymmetric keys, cryptographic key algorithms and cipher blocks
• Working knowledge with network devices particularly Cisco switches.
• Network infrastructure diagnostics (TCP/IP general networking knowledge, network monitoring tools)
• Virtualization technologies – VMWare ESXI, vCenter, VMWare NSX
• Working knowledge of external storage solutions, storage area networks (SANs), and Fiber Channel networks
• Professionally and effectively communicate; both verbal and written at all levels within the organization
• Ability to think analytically, troubleshoot, and solve problems
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve network/application/operating system issues
• Self-starter, able to work independently with minimum supervision
• Excellent MS-Windows Server administration & maintenance skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills
  
  

Desired Experience/Skills/Attributes

• Knowledge of Entrust suite of PKI products (Security Manager, Administration Services, Security Manager Proxy) especially in a government setting.
• Hands-on experience with Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), and external storage solutions.
• Working knowledge with a Card Management Systems (CMS) solution for Smart Cards.
• Experience integrating managed devices into MDM solutions (AirWatch, Intune).
• Understanding of cloud security implementation practices, particularly PKI related. (Azure, AWS, etc.)
• PowerShell scripting experience and/or other scripting expertise.
• Network infrastructure diagnostics (TCP/IP general networking knowledge, network monitoring tools)
• Expert level skills in virtualization technologies (e.g., VMWare vSphere)
• Operational experience with LDAP and PKI Directory Management
• Engineering and Integration experience with Two-factor authentication RSA, PIV cards, custom smart card solutions, and biometric authentication.
• Working experience deploying OCSP capabilities within a diverse and international organization
• Experience with Enterprise Systems Architecture, engineering, and deployment
• CISSP, Security , or similar certification
  
  

Clearance Requirement

• US Citizenship.
• TOP SECRET (Active)