Quantum Cryptography Architect

As a Quantum Cryptography Architect at Starling, you will lead our Post-Quantum Cryptography initiative and serve as the cryptography subject matter expert across our Security Architecture team. You will own the strategic design of our cloud-native and on-premise cryptography roadmaps, conduct cryptographic assessments, and define our technical roadmap to keep Starling resilient against emerging quantum threats. This is a mid-to-senior level role within a Security Architecture team that drives significant impact across the organisation.

What you'll do

• Lead Starling's Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) initiative by designing our crypto-inventory, evaluating PQC algorithms, and architecting systems built for cryptographic agility.
• Act as the cryptography subject matter expert, providing architecture and design guidance on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), key management, service mesh security, and transport layer protocols across our cloud environments.
• Architect end-to-end secure, scalable solutions across AWS and GCP, translating complex security requirements into pragmatic design patterns for engineering teams.
• Lead secure design reviews and threat modeling initiatives, delivering actionable security guidance and continuous support to engineering teams.
• Design and build proof of concept solutions for engineers to refine or draw inspiration from when suitable.
• Work closely with software engineers, cloud architects, and security operations to review RFCs and ADRs, conduct threat models, and embed security seamlessly into the development lifecycle.
• Develop and lead our Post-Quantum Cryptography transition roadmap and crypto-inventory strategy.
• Perform threat modeling and technical risk assessments on new and existing platform architectures.
• Define, document, and promote enterprise cryptographic management standards covering key lifecycle, hardware security, and modern cipher suites.
• Review architectural design documents, RFCs, and ADRs to ensure alignment with security guardrails and regulatory requirements.
• Mentor engineering teams and provide guidance on cryptographic implementations, securely managing secrets, and data protection at rest and in transit.
• Support the Security Architecture team with daily security architecture activities and adhoc advisory services.
• Serve as a trusted advisor within the growing Security Architecture team, staying ahead of industry trends, threat vectors, and regulatory standards.

What you bring

• Proven track record in an Information Security Architect or Senior Security Engineering role designing secure, distributed systems within modern cloud environments such as AWS or GCP.
• Comprehensive practical and theoretical knowledge of symmetric and asymmetric cryptography, PKI management, digital signatures, key management systems (KMS), and Hardware Security Modules (HSMs).
• Strong understanding of quantum computing threats to modern encryption, NIST PQC standards, hybrid key exchange, and strategies for achieving crypto-agility.
• Demonstrated ability to perform threat modeling on complex cloud-native applications, APIs, and microservices architectures such as Kubernetes and ECS.
• A pragmatic approach to security that enables engineering speed, with the ability to design security controls that minimise developer friction.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a track record of distilling complex technical and cryptographic risks into clear guidance for both technical teams and senior leadership.

Nice to have

• Experience in Fintech, Banking, or highly regulated cloud environments such as PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, or NIST guidelines.
• Demonstrated background in a highly technical role such as Security Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, or Penetration Testing.
• Experience in infrastructure, application, and AI security including container security, secure code reviews, and secure integration of generative AI and ML.
• Practical experience leveraging and applying the SABSA (Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture) framework to design business-driven, risk-aligned enterprise security architectures.
• Recognised industry security certifications such as SABSA, CISSP, AWS Security Specialty, or specialised cryptography credentials.

What we offer

• 25 days holiday, plus public holiday allowance that you can take whenever works best for you
• An extra day's holiday for your birthday
• Annual leave increases with length of service, and you can buy or sell up to five extra days off
• 16 hours paid volunteering time per year
• Salary sacrifice and company enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4x your salary and group income protection
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care, plus partner benefits including discounts with Waitrose, Mr & Mrs Smith, and Peloton
• Generous family-friendly policies
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to Cycle to Work, salary sacrificed gym partnerships, and Electric Vehicle (EV) leasing
• Hybrid working with a minimum of 1 day per week in office, located within commutable distance of one of Starling's offices in London, Cardiff, Dublin, Southampton, or Manchester

About Starling

Starling is the UK's first and leading digital bank with over 3.5 million accounts and 350,000 business customers. Founded in 2014 and employing over 3,000 people, Starling is a fully licensed UK bank operating with a tech-first approach that enables brilliant products and disruptive fintech innovation.