VodafoneThree - Defence PKI Lead

Location: Farnborough + Hybrid. Salary: Excellent basic salary plus bonus and Vodafone benefits. Working Hours: Full time 37.5 hours per week – Monday to Friday.

Hybrid working approach allows our people to work both in the office and at home, providing the flexibility and resources you need to succeed in your role. We ask people to come into the office 2-3 days each week, for at least 8 days per month. You should work with your line manager to understand their expectations for you, your specific role and your team.

What You’ll Do

• As the PKI Defence Lead, you will guide the design, implementation, and ongoing assurance of secure Public Key Infrastructure within classified and mission critical environments.
• Your work will underpin cryptographic integrity, identity assurance, and secure communications across systems that protect national interests.
• Develop and maintain PKI architectures aligned with security standards for sensitive and regulated environments, including designing certificate hierarchies, trust models, and key management strategies.
• Deploy and manage Certificate Authorities (CAs), Registration Authorities (RAs), and associated infrastructure, and oversee lifecycle management of digital certificates and cryptographic keys.
• Ensure PKI systems comply with relevant governmental, international and other applicable regulatory requirements, and conduct audits, risk assessments and vulnerability analysis of PKI components.
• Integrate PKI with identity and access management (IdAM), secure email, VPNs, and authentication systems, and provide expert support for incident response involving cryptographic systems.
• Collaborate with internal teams, clients and external vendors to ensure secure and interoperable PKI solutions and provide training and guidance to technical teams and end‑users.

Who You Are

• Proven experience in PKI design and operations within government, public sector, or critical national infrastructure.
• Current DV clearance or eligibility and willingness to undergo DV vetting.
• Deep understanding of cryptographic protocols (X.509, OCSP, SCEP, CMP, etc.).
• Familiarity with HSMs, smart cards, TPMs and secure enclaves.
• Experience with tools such as Microsoft AD CS, EJBCA, OpenSSL and Venafi.
• Strong knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks such as NIST 800-53, ISO 27001 and CIS Controls.
• Successful implementation and maintenance of secure PKI systems.
• Ensure compliance with relevant international and organisational regulations.
• Maintaining continuous assurance, auditing and monitoring activities.
• Ability to work within secure environments and handle sensitive data securely.

What We Offer

• Great pay, bonuses, up to 28 days off plus bank holidays and paid time for charity work.
• Personalised benefits for you and your family, such as discounts, vouchers, a pension plan and more.
• Career development through amazing learning tools and top‑notch parental leave policies.

Need to Know

We are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and all offers of employment for this role are subject to background checks, including criminal (DBS) and financial checks to meet the regulator’s standards.

If you require any reasonable adjustments or have an accessibility request as part of your recruitment journey, please refer to the Accessibility section of our Careers website for guidance.