Manufacturing environments (precision, process, and other critical manufacturing) increasingly rely on connected systems where availability and safety are as important as confidentiality. Quantum-safe readiness in manufacturing must work across both IT and OT realities: long asset lifecycles, vendor constraints, plant change windows, and industrial protocols.
About Applied Quantum
Applied Quantum is a company specializing in safeguarding organizations against emerging quantum computing threats. We provide advanced quantum-safe security solutions - from post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD) to crypto-agility strategies - to help our clients achieve resilience in the quantum era. Our team of experts in cybersecurity, cryptography, and quantum technology works at the forefront of the quantum security revolution, ensuring businesses, critical infrastructure, and governments stay secure as quantum technology evolves.
Role Summary
As a Quantum-Safe Security Engineer (Manufacturing – OT/IT), you will work on quantum-readiness and PQC programs that span enterprise IT and plant-floor OT. You will help clients discover where cryptography is embedded, assess what is realistically changeable, and build migration plans and implementations that respect safety, operational continuity, and industrial engineering constraints.
Key Responsibilities
OT/IT cryptographic discovery:
Perform cryptographic discovery across plant and enterprise environments: remote access systems, OT DMZ services, certificate-based device identity, secure communications, code signing/firmware signing practices, and IT/OT integration points.
Operational impact assessment:
Identify where cryptographic changes can introduce operational risk (availability, safety interlocks, vendor supportability, downtime windows). Design “do no harm” implementation strategies.
Crypto-agility & migration architecture:
Establish pragmatic crypto-agility patterns for manufacturing environments—especially where long-lived devices and vendor appliances limit change options.
Secure implementation delivery:
Support pilots and phased rollouts (e.g., certificate lifecycle improvements, key management hardening, secure remote access upgrades, signing verification improvements) in a way that fits plant change processes.
Cross-functional collaboration:
Work closely with OT engineers, plant operations, IT security, and vendors/integrators. Translate security requirements into implementable plant-floor changes.
Documentation and governance support:
Produce clear inventory outputs, technical standards, migration roadmaps, and operational runbooks.
Required Qualifications and Experience
- Manufacturing industry experience: Demonstrated cybersecurity engineering/architecture experience supporting manufacturing organizations (process, discrete, precision, or other critical manufacturing).
- OT/ICS exposure: Practical experience in OT/ICS environments (asset owners, integrators, or vendor side) - including constraints around patching, downtime, and safety.
- Applied cryptography: Strong understanding of enterprise cryptography and where it appears in real deployments (TLS/PKI, signing, key management).
- Discovery/scanning capability: Able to build inventories with tooling plus field reality (network evidence, config review, system owner interviews).
- Delivery leadership: Proven experience acting as a lead engineer or architect on complex transformations.
Preferred Skills or Attributes
- Familiarity with OT cybersecurity practices and standards used in industrial environments (e.g., ISA/IEC 62443-based approaches).
- Understanding of device identity, certificate-based authentication at scale, and secure software/firmware supply chain practices.
- PQC awareness (not required; training provided).
Location and Travel Expectations
- Locations: Canada, United States, United Kingdom, European Union, ASEAN
- Work model: Remote with periodic site travel (plants and engineering hubs). Manufacturing work often benefits from targeted site time for discovery and implementation planning.
Engagement Model
- Full-time and contract options are available. Contract structures vary by project, plant schedule, and region.
Project Timing and Hiring Process Transparency
We are building a manufacturing/OT-ready delivery bench for PQC and quantum-readiness projects that are in late-stage planning. Some opportunities are pending final confirmation of start dates, so the hiring process may move in stages and could pause briefly. We will stay transparent and keep candidates informed.
How to Apply
Submit a resume highlighting:
- OT/ICS experience in manufacturing environments,
- examples of cryptography discovery and modernization, and
- transformation leadership (security, infrastructure, identity/PKI, remote access, or similar).
