Systems Engineer (Active Directory/PKI)

Strategic Staffing Solutions; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 75,768 - 89,544; Part time

Job summary

An electric utility company seeks a Senior PKI Engineer / AD CS Architect to design and operate their enterprise Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in a regulated environment. This role requires strong expertise with Microsoft AD CS, managing certificate lifecycles, and ensuring security compliance. Candidates should have hands-on experience in PKI solutions, advanced Active Directory knowledge, and the ability to troubleshoot complex certificate-related issues. This is a contract position with a competitive pay range of $55-$65/hr in Tampa, FL.

Qualifications

• Production experience designing and operating PKI solutions.
• Experience with certificate-based authentication (TLS/SSL).
• Knowledge of NERC CIP compliance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end lifecycle management of digital certificates.
• Design and deploy Microsoft AD CS in compliance with regulations.
• Collaborate with teams for secure authentication and encryption.

Skills

Hands-on production experience with Microsoft AD CS

Strong PKI expertise

Advanced Active Directory knowledge

Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills

Excellent technical documentation and communication skills

Education

Relevant certifications (e.g., Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator)

Tools

PowerShell

Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS)

Job description

1 day ago Be among the first 25 applicants

Senior PKI Engineer / AD CS Architect (On-Prem Utility Environment)

Location- Tampa, Fl (Midtown)

Duration: 1 year

Electric Utility will require to obtain NERC Clearance once joins

Pay $55-$65/hr

Alternate Titles (if needed):

• Senior Identity & PKI Engineer
• PKI Infrastructure Architect (Microsoft AD CS)
• Senior IT Security Engineer – PKI & Certificates

Job Description

Position Summary

We are seeking a Senior PKI Engineer / AD CS Architect to design, build, and operate enterprise Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) within a regulated Electric Utility environment. This role requires deep, hands-on experience with Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), including standing up PKI solutions from scratch, implementing two-tier CA architectures, and automating certificate lifecycle management.

This is a technical leadership role, not a general system administrator position, and is critical to ensuring the security, reliability, and compliance of the organization’s digital identity and certificate infrastructure in a fully on-prem environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end lifecycle management of enterprise digital certificates, including issuance, renewal, revocation, auditing, backup, and recovery across critical systems.
• Design, deploy, and maintain Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) using two-tier PKI architectures, ensuring high availability, security, and regulatory compliance.
• Integrate PKI with Active Directory, Group Policy, and automated enrollment mechanisms, including Certificate Web Enrollment, NDES, and Online Responder services.
• Develop, enforce, and document PKI policies, standards, and procedures, aligning with security best practices and compliance frameworks such as NERC CIP and ISO 27001.
• Implement automation for certificate lifecycle management using tools such as PowerShell, reducing manual intervention and operational risk.
• Monitor certificate health and expiration, proactively mitigating risks of service disruption to enterprise and operational systems.
• Collaborate closely with security, infrastructure, network, and application teams to support secure authentication, encryption, and trusted communications.
• Troubleshoot complex certificate and PKI-related issues across servers, applications, devices, and network services.
• Maintain PKI monitoring, backups, and disaster recovery processes, ensuring resilience and audit readiness.
• Participate in internal and external audits, providing documentation and evidence of compliance with utility and security regulations.
• Provide technical guidance and knowledge transfer, serving as the PKI subject-matter expert across the organization.

Required Qualifications

• Hands-on, production experience with Microsoft AD CS (Active Directory Certificate Services) — designing, building, and operating PKI, not just administering it.
• Strong PKI expertise, including certificate authorities, CRLs, OCSP, certificate templates, and trust chains.
• Advanced Active Directory knowledge, including Group Policy, domain architecture, and integration with PKI.
• Experience implementing certificate-based authentication (TLS/SSL, smart cards, S/MIME, device certificates).
• Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills in complex, regulated enterprise environments.
• Excellent technical documentation and communication skills.
• Experience working in on-prem infrastructure environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Electric Utility or regulated infrastructure experience (highly preferred).
• Proven experience standing up PKI solutions from scratch in enterprise environments.
• AD CS automation experience using PowerShell or similar scripting tools.
• Familiarity with Azure Key Vault, Intune, or hybrid certificate models (nice to have).
• Knowledge of NERC CIP compliance requirements.
• Relevant certifications such as:
  
  • Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator
  • CISSP
  • MCSE (preferred but not required)

Key Differentiators for This Role

• Hands-on PKI ownership required — not advisory or oversight only
• On-prem, regulated utility environment
• Critical security infrastructure supporting enterprise and operational systems

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Contract

Job function

• Information Technology
• IT Services and IT Consulting