PKI Software Engineer

August Schell; Fort Meade (MD); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

August Schell is seeking a PKI Software Engineer to join our team in Fort Meade, MD, supporting DoD enterprise PKI modernization with DISA. You will work on RHCS and Dogtag PKI under Red Hat Linux, focusing on PQC migration and scalable PKI capabilities.

This role requires on-site presence at Fort Meade as requested and a Secret clearance (Top Secret preferred). You will collaborate with product engineering and government teams on end-to-end development, testing, and deployment.

Qualifications

• Active Secret clearance required (Top Secret preferred)
• Local to the DMV area and on-site Fort Meade as needed
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Java and/or Rust programming experience
• Strong knowledge of Linux and development tools
• Experience with Linux containers and orchestration (Podman/Docker) and VMs (KVM)
• Hands-on PKI, x.509, cryptography, and security technologies
• Experience with Red Hat Certificate System or Dogtag PKI or comparable enterprise CA platform (EJBCA, MS AD CS, Entrust Authority)
• DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II certification (Security+ or equivalent)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain PKI software components across RHCS and Dogtag PKI
• Collaborate with product engineering teams and government development lab to own issues end-to-end
• Support post-quantum cryptography migration and PQC integration
• Develop and troubleshoot HSM integrations supporting CA operations and key escrow
• Support certificate lifecycle automation as deployments move to shorter-lived certificates
• Contribute to testing frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and release quality
• Communicate status clearly to government stakeholders and contractors
• Identify and elevate risks before they impact schedule

Skills

Java

Rust

Linux

PKI

x.509

Cryptography

CI/CD

Docker

Podman

KVM

Tools

RHCS

Dogtag PKI

VMs (KVM)

Open Source PKI (EJBCA)

Job description

PKI SOFTWARE ENGINEER

Ft. Meade, MD - Full Time (Hybrid)

Salary: 140-170K

August Schell is looking for a PKI Software Engineer to join our team in support of DoD enterprise PKI modernization with our DISA customer. The engineer will work hand‑in‑hand with commercial product engineering and government teams on the next generation of Public Key Infrastructure capabilities — including post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) migration — within Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Certificate System, and the upstream Dogtag PKI open‑source project.

Individuals in this role must be able to work hybrid and go on site at Fort Meade as requested.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain high‑quality PKI software components across Red Hat Certificate System (RHCS) and Dogtag PKI
• Work software fixes and feature development directly with product engineering teams and the government development lab — owning issues end‑to‑end from requirements through testing and verification
• Support the program’s post‑quantum cryptography migration, including PQC algorithm integration (ML‑DSA) and legacy version transition planning
• Develop and troubleshoot HSM integrations supporting CA operations and key escrow
• Support certificate lifecycle automation (ACME) as the program transitions to shorter‑lived certificates at higher issuance volume
• Practice defensive programming and contribute to testing frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and release quality
• Communicate clearly across government stakeholders, commercial vendor engineering, and program contractors — translating technical status into program‑level clarity
• Proactively identify, document, and elevate risks and blockers before they impact program schedule

Requirements

• Active Secret clearance minimum (Top Secret preferred and may be required)
• Local to the DMV area with the ability to work on site at Fort Meade as requested
• Five (5)+ years of professional software engineering experience (flexible for candidates with exceptional PKI depth)
• Java and/or Rust programming experience
• Strong knowledge of Linux and its development tools
• Knowledge or experience with Linux containers and container orchestration (Podman / Docker) and VMs (KVM)
• Hands‑on experience with PKI, x.509, cryptography, and system/software security technologies
• Direct experience with Red Hat Certificate System or Dogtag PKI (the upstream open‑source project of the deployed DoD code base) — comparable enterprise CA platform experience considered (EJBCA, Microsoft AD CS, Entrust Authority, ISC CertAgent, or similar)
• DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II certification (Security+ or equivalent)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Stand Out With

• Post‑quantum cryptography familiarity (ML‑DSA/Dilithium, Kyber, CNSA 2.0 timelines)
• HSM integration experience (Entrust nShield, Thales Luna)
• ACME protocol and certificate automation at scale
• Prior DISA or DoD PKI program experience (Purebred, derived credentials, RA/CRL/OCSP operations)
• Directory Server / LDAP experience
• Experience using AI agents to accelerate development efforts
• Python, Bash, or similar scripting languages
• Package maintenance on Fedora/RHEL
• Agile development methodologies (Scrum, JIRA)