Principal Solutions Architect - Quantum-Safe Networks

Role overview A Principal Solutions Architect position focused on designing how enterprise, service-provider, and government networks transition to quantum-safe cryptography. The role combines hands-on customer engagement with standards work and internal design authority, shaping reference architectures, migration playbooks, and product direction for quantum-safe networking. It is a senior architecture and customer-facing role rather than a software engineering position; the architect owns designs, decisions, and technical credibility rather than a codebase.

Responsibilities - Design quantum-safe target architectures and migration paths across WAN, transport, data center, campus, segmentation, key management, and underlying cryptography. - Lead technical discovery and architecture workshops with customer network, security, and infrastructure teams, assessing current state and producing executable migration plans. - Own the technical thread in complex pursuits, including RFI/RFP responses, architecture proposals, compliance questions, and competitive positioning, in partnership with sales teams. - Design and run proofs of concept, interoperability tests, and pilots for post-quantum cryptography and hybrid key exchange in production-representative environments. - Track NIST post-quantum standards, IETF protocol work, and sector-specific mandates, and translate those into product requirements and engineering guidance. - Contribute to external thought leadership through white papers, conference talks, blogs, and standards bodies, while mentoring internal teams and raising the architectural bar.

Requirements - 15+ years designing and securing enterprise or service-provider networks in solutions architecture, network architecture, security architecture, or senior customer-facing engineering roles. - Deep hands-on knowledge of modern network construction and security, including routing, switching, IP transport, segmentation, firewall and access-control design, VPN, network-layer encryption, and Zero Trust principles, with multi-vendor experience. - Working knowledge of applied cryptography in networks, including TLS, IPsec, MACsec, PKI and certificate lifecycle, key management, and how algorithm and key-material choices are made and changed. - Demonstrated ability to engage customers at multiple levels, from leading engineering workshops to credible discussions with CISOs and senior infrastructure leaders about risk, cost, and sequencing. - Solid grounding in post-quantum cryptography, crypto-agility, and quantum key distribution, with enough fluency to be credible on day one even if no prior PQC migration has been shipped.

Nice to have - Some scripting ability to support proofs of concept and tooling work. - Prior public-speaking or standards-body participation.

Benefits and work setup - US-based position with onsite, hybrid, or fully remote work options. - Up to 30% travel, domestic and international. - Position is subject to U.S. export control and government contract restrictions; candidates must qualify as a U.S. Person (citizen, national, permanent resident, or asylee/refugee) or meet applicable license requirements.