Post Quantum Deployment Engineer

Federal agencies must move their systems to post-quantum cryptography (PQC). The work starts with finding the cryptography in use, and it continues through deploying the tools and configurations that replace it. Square Peg is launching a practice to do that work, and this engineer is central to it. Your main job is to deploy and troubleshoot post-quantum solutions in our customers’ environments. You learn and evaluate each tool first by installing it in our own.

Your first project: You start by supporting a PQC pilot for a new federal customer. Over about 30 days, the customer’s engineers install and run a cryptographic discovery platform in their lab, and you help make that succeed:

• Install the platform in our own environment first, so you know it before the customer does
• Test the vendor’s deployment documentation and report what to fix
• Help the customer’s engineers troubleshoot their installation, remotely
• Capture what you learn so the next deployment goes faster A successful pilot is how this role grows.

What success looks like: You become the engineer we rely on for PQC deployments. By then you will have:

• Helped a new customer complete its PQC pilot
• Deployed the tool in our own environment and tested the vendor’s documentation
• Resolved the installation problems that came up, with the vendor’s engineers where needed
• Documented the process so the next deployment goes faster

Where this role leads The role starts part-time and grows as our PQC work grows. We expect the person who does it well to become one of our lead engineers: running deployments, guiding the engineers who join later, and helping decide how the practice delivers its work.

What you will do

• Deploy post-quantum solutions in customer environments, including networks with no internet connection.
• Troubleshoot those deployments: find why an installation or scan fails, fix it, and work with vendors’ engineers on product defects.
• Learn and evaluate each tool by installing it in Square Peg’s own environment before it reaches a customer.
• Test vendors’ deployment documentation by following it, then report every gap and fix.
• Build and test PQC configurations, such as TLS, SSH, VPN, and PKI using the NIST-standard algorithms.
• Write the installation notes and quick references that become our standard way of deploying.
• Advise on which tools we adopt and how we scope new work.

• 3 or more years administering Linux servers, including Ubuntu or Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Has installed and configured on-premise software on virtual machines, such as VMware or KVM
• Has diagnosed and fixed failed installations or outages in a customer or production environment
• Has deployed software on a network with no internet access
• Has written installation or operations documentation that other engineers followed
• Has created database accounts and cloud access roles with limited permissions
• Has trained or supported customers directly, in meetings and in writing

Preferred

• Experience with containers, such as Docker or Kubernetes
• Scripting in Bash or Python, or automation with Ansible
• Has automated a software installation from start to finish
• Has built and maintained a test lab or virtual environment
• Experience deploying or administering databases, such as PostgreSQL, Oracle, or SQL Server
• Experience deploying software in cloud environments, such as AWS GovCloud or Azure Government
• Working knowledge of TLS, SSH, certificates, and PKI
• Experience with hardware security modules or key management systems
• Experience with network traffic mirroring (SPAN or TAP) or packet capture
• Knowledge of post-quantum cryptography standards, such as the NIST algorithms and CNSA 2.0
• Experience supporting Department of War or federal civilian customers
• Experience taking a system through a federal security authorization
• Familiarity with STIGs or NIST SP 800-53
• Has estimated the level of effort for a proposal or a new customer
• CompTIA Security+ or Red Hat Certified System Administrator