Principal Platform Engineer PKI

Salary: £70,000 - 70,000 per year

Requirements:

• Extensive technical expertise across multiple platform domains, with a track record of delivering secure solutions.
• The ability to balance hands-on engineering with technical leadership and mentorship.
• A problem-solving mindset, able to innovate and recommend the best approach for complex challenges.
• Windows and Linux operating systems.
• Virtualisation platforms, including VMware and Hyper-V.
• Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) design and implementation.
• Certificate lifecycle management, including issuance, renewal, and revocation.
• Integration of PKI with enterprise platforms such as Active Directory, applications, and devices.
• Understanding of cryptographic principles and secure communications.
• Networking concepts, including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, and firewalls.
• Automation and scripting using PowerShell, Bash, Python, Ansible, and Terraform.
• Knowledge of cyber security controls and accreditation requirements.
• Experience across the systems engineering lifecycle.
• Design and assurance of trust models and certificate usage across systems.
• Delivery within highly controlled or secure environments, such as defence or air-gapped environments.
• Security clearance requirements apply, including BPSS, NSV, and Developed Vetting (DV) clearance prior to starting.
• Desirable experience with cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure, and Infrastructure as Code.
• Desirable experience integrating enterprise services including Active Directory, identity, monitoring, and SIEM.
• Desirable hands-on use of DevSecOps tools and CI/CD pipelines.
• Desirable experience with Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), such as Thales.
• Desirable experience in cross-domain or secure communications environments.
• Desirable experience automating certificate management at scale.
• Desirable experience with containerisation platforms such as Kubernetes and Docker.

Responsibilities:

• Act as the technical authority on one of our platform engineering domains, such as virtualisation, providing specialist domain expertise to projects and programmes.
• Lead the design and implementation of secure platforms across on-premise, hybrid, and cloud environments.
• Capture, analyse, and interpret complex customer requirements to drive system design and architecture.
• Develop high- and low-level designs, ensuring alignment with secure-by-design principles.
• Take ownership of technical delivery within work packages, including planning, estimation, and progress reporting.
• Mentor, coach, and develop junior and senior engineers, raising technical capability across the community.
• Provide input to technology strategies, feasibility studies, and innovation projects.
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders, presenting technical solutions and justifying design decisions.

Technologies:

• AWS
• Active Directory
• Ansible
• Azure
• Bash
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• DevSecOps
• Docker
• Hardware
• Hyper-V
• Support
• Kubernetes
• Linux
• PowerShell
• Python
• Security
• TCP/IP
• Terraform
• VMware
• Windows
• DevOps

More:

hackajob is partnering directly with Leonardo to hire for this role. Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands, and the salary range for this role is £53,269 - £71,400. The role is part of the Cyber & Security Solutions Division, focused on delivering, maintaining, and improving platform and systems engineering solutions that underpin critical defence, government, and public sector services. The role may involve a blended hybrid working model, with a mixture of working from home and working on site at one of our Leonardo offices to ensure close collaboration with the wider team and with our customers. This role can be based at one of our UK sites, including Yeovil. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package supporting wellbeing, career development, and work-life balance, including generous leave with up to 12 additional flexi-days each year, an award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution, free access to mental health support and financial advice, access to 4,000 online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning, and up to £500 annually for flexible benefits such as private healthcare, lifestyle discounts, and gym memberships. We also offer flexible hours with hybrid working options. Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security, headquartered in Italy, with over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 UK sites. We are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace where diversity drives creativity, innovation, and better outcomes.

last updated 35 week of 2026