Principal Cyber Security Engineer (PKI and Cryptography)

NATO; Belgique (MO); On-site; USD 102,528 - 136,705; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tax-free salary

30 days annual leave

Private health insurance

NATO Pension Scheme

Job summary

NATO is seeking a Principal Cyber Security Engineer based in Mons, Belgium, to lead cyber security lifecycle management and ensure the security of NATO's Communications and Information Systems. The role involves overseeing daily operations, developing strategies, and leading the development of technical plans.

The ideal candidate holds a Master's degree with relevant experience, strong management capabilities, and fluency in English. NATO offers a competitive tax-free salary and generous benefits.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a senior leadership or deputy role managing engineering teams.
• Experience managing large-scale IaaS, PaaS, NaaS environments.
• Experience in managing financial resources and enforcing SLAs.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations and delegate tasks.
• Develop strategies to achieve goals and objectives.
• Lead the development of technical plans and resources.

Skills

Management of multi-disciplinary engineering teams

Cyber Security Architectures

Public Key Infrastructure management

Data encryption standards

Fluency in English

Education

Master's or Bachelor's degree in a related discipline

ITIL V3, V4, V5 qualifications

Tools

AWS

Azure

Job description

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 Mons, Belgium, 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 NATO Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is responsible for planning and executing all lifecycle management activities for cyber security. In executing this responsibility, NCSC provides specialist cyber security‑related services covering the spectrum of scientific, technical, acquisition, operations, maintenance, and sustainment support, throughout the lifecycle of NATO Communications and Information Systems (CIS).

We are looking for a driven and enthusiastic Principal Cyber Security Engineer who will take on the following roles and responsibilities:

• Oversee the day‑to‑day operations, including delegating tasks and ensuring that all work is completed on time and to a high standard;
• Develop and implement strategies to achieve goals and objectives, in line with the organisation's overall mission and vision;
• Lead the development of solution architectures in specific business, infrastructure or functional areas;
• Lead the preparation of technical plans and ensures that appropriate technical resources are made available;
• Provide advice and guidance on security strategies to manage identified risks and ensure adoption and adherence to standards;
• Plan and drive scoping, requirements definition and prioritisation activities for large, complex initiatives.

For a full list of duties, please review the job description on the NCI Agency career site.

About you:

The valuable knowledge and experience that you bring to this role are:

• A Master's degree at a nationally recognised/certified University in a related discipline and 5 years post‑related experience. Or a Bachelor's degree with 8 years post related experience;
• Hold, or have held, a nationally recognised qualification in Service Management, preferably ITIL V3, V4, V5 at Practitioner/Intermediate/Manager/Professional/Leader level;
• Hold, or have recently held, a nationally recognised qualification in CIS Leadership/Management;
• Remarkable l IT experience, including at least 5+ years in a senior leadership or deputy role managing multi‑disciplinary engineering teams;
• Proven track record overseeing large‑scale IaaS, PaaS, and NaaS environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, or private enterprise clouds);
• Experience managing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), hardware security modules (HSMs), cryptographic key lifecycles, and data‑at‑rest/in‑transit encryption standards;
• Experience managing extensive financial resources, and strictly enforcing vendor Service Level Agreements (SLAs);
• Proven experience managing teams, resources, projects and service delivery;
• Demonstrable experience in the development and use of Cyber Security Architectures, Technologies and Tools in securing Enterprise Level CIS environments;
• Experience of high‑assurance cryptographic equipment, COMSEC (Communications Security) account management, and Key Management Infrastructure (KMI);
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken.

What we offer:

• Genuinely meaningful work as part of the most successful alliance in history;
• 5 year contract with competitive tax‑free salary and household and children's allowances;
• Privileges for expatriate staff including expatriation and education allowances (where appropriate) and additional home leave;
• Excellent private health insurance scheme;
• Generous annual leave of 30 days plus official holidays;
• NATO Pension Scheme;
• Development programs such as professional training, wellbeing, and more.

The NCIA prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment of mutual respect and value uniqueness and differences in gender, gender identity, race, ethnic or cultural origin, age, religion, sexual orientation and physical or neurocognitive ability.

Additional details on the conditions of application can be found via the NCIA career site.