Cybersecurity Engineer

Spektrum supports apex purchasers (NATO, UN, EU, and National Government and Defence) and their Tier 1 supplier ecosystem with a wide range of specialist services. We provide our clients with professional services, specialised aerospace and defence sales, delivery, and operational subject matter expertise. We are looking for personnel to join our team and support key client projects.

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Who we are supporting 

The NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) is responsible for providing secure and effective communications and information technology (IT) services to NATO's member countries and its partners. The agency was established in 2012 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

The NCIA provides a wide range of services, including:

• Cyber Security: The NCIA provides advanced cybersecurity solutions to protect NATO's communication networks and information systems against cyber threats.
• Command and Control Systems: The NCIA develops and maintains the systems used by NATO's military commanders to plan and execute operations.
• Satellite Communications: The NCIA provides satellite communications services to enable secure and reliable communications between NATO forces.
• Electronic Warfare: The NCIA provides electronic warfare services to support NATO's mission to detect, deny, and defeat threats to its communication networks.
• Information Management: The NCIA manages NATO's information technology infrastructure, including its databases, applications, and servers.

Overall, the NCIA plays a critical role in ensuring the security and effectiveness of NATO's communication and information technology capabilities.

The program

Assistance and Advisory Service (AAS)

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) is NATO’s principal C3 capability deliverer and CIS service provider. It provides, maintains and defends the NATO enterprise-wide information technology infrastructure to enable Allies to consult together under Article IV, and, when required, stand together in the face of attack under Article V.

To provide these critical services, in the modern evolving dynamic environment the NCI Agency needs to build and maintain high performance-engaged workforce. The NCI Agency workforce strategically consists of three major categorise's: NATO International Civilians (NIC)'s, Military (Mil), and Interim Workforce Consultants (IWC)'s. The IWCs are a critical part of the overall NCI Agency workforce and make up approximately 15 percent of the total workforce.

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Role ID – CDT-0010

Role Background

Cyber Digital Transformation Division (CDT) drives NATO’s Digital Transformation, a key objective is to strengthen the ability of Allies and the NATO Enterprise to deter, defend against and counter the full spectrum of cyber and cyber-enabled threats at the speed of relevance, comprehensively across the political, military, and technical levels. In particular, strengthen mechanisms and tools to enhance readiness and resilience against cyber threats across the Alliance, focusing in particular on Mission Vital Infrastructure (MVI).

We are looking for a well-rounded professional with excellent technical and communication

skills as well as experience in the cybersecurity domain. NATO knowledge would constitute

and asset.

Role Duties and Responsibilities

• 1 Requirements Analysis and Stakeholder Coordination
  • The contractor shall engage with relevant stakeholders, including NATO committees, Capability Panels, national SMEs, and standards custodians, to elicit, analyse, and validate requirements related to cyber security standards and CIS protection. This includes translating complex cyber security specifications, policies, and operational needs into clear, actionable, and testable requirements.
• 2 Development and Maintenance of Cyber Security Standards
  • The contractor shall contribute to the development, review, and maintenance of NATO cyber security standards, ensuring alignment with NATO policies and internationally recognized frameworks such as NIST and ISO. This includes supporting the 8lifecycle of standardization artefacts within NATO governance processes.
• 3 Development of Cyber Security Conformance Criteria and Audit Objectives The contractor shall define, document, and maintain cyber security conformance criteria and audit objectives, with a focus on enabling automation of compliance verification wherever feasible. This includes ensuring that criteria are measurable, testable, and aligned with NATO security policies and standards.
• 4 Development of Cyber Security Reference Architectures
  • The contractor shall design and maintain cyber security reference architectures, including the application of modern security principles such as Zero Trust. These architectures shall support secure system design across NATO CIS environments, including cloud and AI-enabled systems.
  • The contractor shall support the development and standardization of security measures for cloud-based environments and AI-enabled systems, ensuring that emerging technologies are aligned with NATO cyber security standards and best practices.
• 5 Interoperability and Standards Harmonization
  • The contractor shall ensure that cyber security standards are harmonized across NATO CIS domains and aligned with international standards and frameworks. This includes supporting interoperability between systems and reducing inconsistencies across standards and implementations.
• 6 Reporting, Briefings, and Technical Communication
  • The contractor shall prepare and deliver briefings, presentations, and reports to NATO committees, Capability Panels, and working groups, clearly communicating technical concepts, progress, and recommendations related to cyber security standards.
• 7 Support to Unforeseen and Ad Hoc Requirements.
  • The contractor shall provide support to unforeseen or ad hoc requirements within the scope of cyber security standards engineering, data standardization, and interoperability, as requested and prioritised by CDT. Such support shall be subject to mutual agreement on scope, effort, and priority.

Essential Skills, Experience and Certifications

• The candidate must have comprehensive knowledge of the principles of computer and communications security, networking, and the vulnerabilities of modern operating systems and applications.
• The candidate must have at least five (5) years of demonstrated experience working with national or international CIS and cyber security standards, including their application and auditing at both governance and operational levels. Demonstrated experience working with NIST and ISO standards is essential.
• The candidate must have demonstrated experience in securing cloud-based environments.
• The candidate must have demonstrated experience in defining and implementing cyber security architectures, including Zero Trust principles.
• The candidate must have good knowledge of securing AI-enabled systems and data- driven capabilities.
• The candidate must have knowledge of high-level programming languages. Experience with languages such as Python is desirable.
• The candidate must demonstrate strong communication and presentation skills, including the ability to convey complex cyber security concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• The candidate must demonstrate strong project management skills.
• The candidate must demonstrate the ability to analyse complex cyber security specifications and translate them into clear, actionable requirements or standards artefacts.
• The candidate must demonstrate a strong security-focused and analytical mindset, with attention to detail and problem-solving capability.
• Knowledge of NATO Security Policy and its supporting Directives is desirable.
• Knowledge of the NATO Digital Policy Committee (DPC) and its substructure is desirable.
• Knowledge of NATO standardization artefacts, including STANAGs, Allied Communications Publications (AComP), and Standards Related Documents (SRD), is desirable.
• Knowledge of NATO CIS Security Accreditation processes, or equivalent national processes, is desirable.
• Knowledge of additional cyber security standards and frameworks, such as PCI-DSS, FedRAMP, or C5, is desirable.
• Recognised professional certifications in cyber security and/or project management are desirable.

Education

• The candidate must possess a university degree in a relevant engineering or technical field such as computer science, systems science, or an equivalent technical qualification.

Working Location

• Brussels, Belgium

Working Policy

• Onsite

Travel

• Some travel to other NATO sites may be required

Security Clearance

• Valid National or NATO Secret personal security clearance