PQC Engineer

About Us:

We are a cutting-edge technology company at the forefront of national and digital security innovation. Backed by confidential government funding, we are building cryptographic systems designed to withstand the threat posed by quantum computing. Our mission is to future-proof digital infrastructure and enable secure communication in the quantum era.

The Role:

We’re seeking a skilled and forward-thinking Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) Engineer to join our growing R&D team. You’ll play a pivotal role in designing, implementing, and testing cryptographic algorithms and protocols resistant to quantum attacks, while collaborating with leading researchers and engineers to bring next-generation cryptographic solutions to production.

Responsibilities:

• Research, design, and implement PQC algorithms (NIST finalists and beyond) such as Kyber, Dilithium, SPHINCS+, BIKE, and Falcon.
• Develop secure key exchange, digital signature, and encryption protocols using post-quantum primitives.
• Evaluate, benchmark, and optimize PQC implementations for performance and security across multiple platforms (embedded, cloud, mobile).
• Contribute to or lead integration of PQC into existing security stacks (TLS 1.3, VPNs, IoT firmware, etc.).
• Collaborate with government stakeholders and academic partners to align with compliance standards and participate in policy shaping.
• Conduct threat modeling, side-channel analysis, and formal verification of cryptographic protocols.
• Stay current with advancements in quantum computing, cryptanalysis, and standardization efforts (e.g., NIST PQC, IETF).
• Produce high-quality documentation, white papers, and internal tooling for cryptographic code reviews and audits.

Requirements:

Must-Have:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Cryptography, or related field.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with cryptographic protocol design and/or implementation.
• Deep understanding of modern cryptographic primitives and protocols, especially lattice-based, hash-based, code-based, and multivariate polynomial schemes.
• Experience implementing PQC algorithms using C/C++, Rust, Go, or Python.
• Familiarity with NIST PQC competition candidates and their performance/security tradeoffs.
• Ability to work in highly secure and confidential environments and handle sensitive information.
• Strong communication and documentation skills.

Nice-to-Have:

• PhD in Cryptography or related field.
• Experience contributing to open-source cryptographic libraries (e.g., OpenSSL, BoringSSL, liboqs).
• Experience with secure hardware, HSMs, or Trusted Execution Environments (TEE).
• Familiarity with zero-knowledge proofs, homomorphic encryption, or multiparty computation.
• Knowledge of hybrid cryptographic approaches (e.g., combining classical and post-quantum algorithms).
• Prior work in defense, government, or highly regulated sectors.

What We Offer:

• The opportunity to work on nationally significant, future-proof technology.
• Competitive compensation and benefits package.
• Flexible work arrangements with a high-impact, mission-driven team.
• A front-row seat to cutting-edge cryptographic research and real-world deployment.
• High trust, low bureaucracy, and full ownership of your domain.

Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

Reece Waldon