Cryptographic Services Architect

Location: Reading, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

Location: Doncaster/Reading (other Thales sites could be considered)

We are looking for an experienced Cryptographic Services Architect to join our Secure Communications & Information Systems business. This is a unique opportunity to lead the architecture, design, and delivery of cutting-edge cryptographic solutions across a portfolio of secure and mission-critical projects.

Working within our established Cryptographic Services Practice, you will play a pivotal role in shaping secure solutions that support customers operating in highly regulated and security-sensitive environments. From bid and proposal stages through to design, implementation, and service transition, you will provide technical leadership and expertise across Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Key Management Services, Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), and emerging post-quantum cryptography initiatives.

This role offers the perfect blend of architecture, engineering, customer engagement, and strategic leadership.

What You'll Be Doing

Architecture & Technical Leadership

• Lead the cryptographic architecture for bids, proposals, and project delivery.
• Define secure, scalable, and compliant solutions aligned with customer requirements and industry best practice.
• Produce high-quality architectural documentation including High-Level Designs (HLDs), solution designs, requirements specifications, and testing artefacts.
• Present technical solutions confidently to customers, senior stakeholders, and technical review boards.
• Support the transition from bid to delivery, ensuring architectural integrity throughout the project lifecycle.

Cryptographic Solution Design

• Design and integrate enterprise cryptographic services including:
  • Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
  • Certificate Lifecycle Management
  • Key Management Systems
  • Hardware Security Modules (HSMs)
  • Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) migration strategies

• Advise customers on cryptographic agility, future security requirements, and quantum-readiness.
• Lead integration, deployment, testing, and acceptance activities across customer environments.
• Drive continuous improvement across architecture practices, standards, and tooling.

Stakeholder & Project Collaboration

• Work closely with bid teams, project managers, engineers, security specialists, and customer stakeholders.
• Identify technical risks and develop effective mitigation strategies.
• Support knowledge transfer into operational support teams.
• Mentor engineers and promote knowledge sharing across the cryptographic services community.

What We're Looking For

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven experience designing and delivering enterprise PKI and cryptographic solutions.
• Strong understanding of:
  • Certificate Authorities (CA)
  • Certificate lifecycle management
  • Root of trust architectures
  • Digital certificates and digital signatures
  • Hands-on experience with enterprise PKI platforms such as:
    • Keyfactor
    • EJBCA
    • Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS)
    • Azure Certificate Services
    • Evertrust
• Experience leading technical solutions across bids, proposals, and complex programmes.
• Strong technical documentation and stakeholder communication skills.
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business-focused recommendations.
• Experience working across the full project lifecycle from bid through delivery and into service.

Desirable Experience

• Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) planning and migration.
• Cryptographic standards and frameworks including NCSC, NIST, ETSI, ISO and IEC standards.
• Scripting and automation using PowerShell, Python, or Bash.
• Identity & Access Management (IAM) integration.
• Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) or Operational Technology (OT) environments.
• Application and cloud security technologies.

Qualifications

• Degree-qualified in Engineering, Cyber Security, Computer Science, or related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience in PKI admin