SME Systems Engineer (Cloud PKI)

This technical role supports critical Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) modernization activities for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). The position focuses on designing, engineering, and executing secure, identity-centric access control frameworks across legacy and modern enterprise architectures. Located in Alexandria, VA, this is a hybrid position.

Responsibilities

• Lead modernization of legacy access controls into robust, secure ICAM solutions.
• Manage enterprise directories, federation, authentication, authorization, and SSO protocols.
• Architect identity lifecycles, user provisioning workflows, and privilege management controls.
• Design and deploy strict Zero Trust identity principles (NIST SP 800-207) across network hubs.
• Configure and manage enterprise-grade PKI systems, credentials, and authenticators.
• Implement logical and physical access control systems, including MFA, SSO, and PAM.
• Build federated identity services to enable secure interoperability with mission partners.
• Conduct technical root cause analysis, privilege audits, and system performance tuning.
• Develop custom technical interfaces, architectures, data flows, and compliance documentation.
• Lead the engineering and management of the DigiCert Platform and cloud Hardware Security Modules (HSMs).
• Architect and create new enterprise certificate templates.
• Lead the engineering analysis and planning for future Yubikey integration to meet NIST AAL3 requirements.
• Serve as the final escalation point for all PKI-related outages or issues.

Requirements

• High School diploma or equivalent with 10+ years of relevant experience.
• DoD 8570 IAT Level II or higher certification (e.g., Security+ CE, CySA+, or vendor-specific identity certifications).
• Deep technical understanding of federated identity concepts, including SAML, OAuth, OIDC, and Active Directory / LDAP architecture.
• Hands-on engineering experience managing Smart Card / Common Access Card (CAC) authentication and PKI certificate validation.
• Proven experience designing and applying federal Zero Trust identity guidelines (NIST SP 800-207) within enterprise networks.
• Active Secret clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience supporting U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identity management programs.
• Familiarity with integrating data governance frameworks with ICAM solutions to enforce data-level access controls.
• Direct experience with enterprise identity tools such as SailPoint, Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Ping Identity, DigiCert, or Power BI.
• Advanced knowledge of RESTful API authorization protocols, secure gateways, and data schema security standards.

Pay

USD $135,000.00 - USD $172,000.00 per year.