At Atom Computing, we build quantum computers using arrays of optically trapped neutral atoms that will empower customers to achieve unprecedented computational breakthroughs. Join a world-class team of scientists, engineers, and business professionals to advance the state-of-the-art in quantum computing.
Atom Computing is seeking a Principal Platform Engineer to build and operate the systems that power our quantum computing and research workflows. In this role, you will design and design infrastructure spanning on-prem lab environments and cloud platforms, driving key trade-off decisions across reliability, security, scalability, and cost. This position requires solid expertise in infrastructure and platform engineering and strong systems thinking, along with the ability to navigate complex design problems.
Due to the need for collaboration with Atom's software, hardware, and control systems teams, this role is required to be in the office in Boulder, CO at least 3 days per week.
Job Responsibilities
- Design, build, and maintain classical compute infrastructure supporting quantum control systems
- Work closely with Atom Computing's software engineers, control systems engineers, and physicists to understand workload requirements and deliver compute infrastructure that meets them
- Own infrastructure-as-code, deployment automation, and system observability across on-prem lab environments and cloud platforms
- Establish and enforce security, access control, and compliance standards (e.g., NIST 800-53, SOC2) across systems
- Participate in on-call rotation and drive incident response, root-cause analysis, and reliability improvements
- Evaluate and integrate new infrastructure tooling, balancing build-vs-buy decisions against team velocity and operational overhead
Experience & Education
- BS or advanced degree in Computer Science
- 7+ years of post-degree experience as an infrastructure, platform, or systems engineer
Qualifications
- Have gone through a complete infrastructure build-out or major platform migration
- Currently working with infrastructure-as-code tooling (Terraform, Ansible, Pulumi, or similar)
- Currently working with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Podman, Kubernetes)
- Experience managing hybrid environments spanning on-prem hardware (Proxmox, K8S) and cloud providers (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
- Knowledge of networking fundamentals, Linux systems administration, and CI/CD pipeline design
- Expertise in monitoring, logging, and observability tooling (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, or equivalent)
Atom Computing provides a wide variety of perks and benefits, including fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for our employees and their dependents. Additionally, unlimited paid time off, 401K company matching, short- and long-term disability, FSA, dependent care benefits, and life insurance. We also offer drinks, snacks, and catered team lunches in our offices, every day!
The base salary range for this position is between $170,000 - $200,000, commensurate with experience. In addition to salary, we offer an annual bonus and equity in the company.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in Computer Science
- 7+ years of post-degree experience as an infrastructure, platform, or systems engineer
- Experience completing an infrastructure build-out or major platform migration
- Current experience with infrastructure-as-code tooling such as Terraform, Ansible, or Pulumi
- Current experience with containerization and orchestration such as Docker, Podman, or Kubernetes
- Experience managing hybrid environments spanning on-premises hardware and cloud providers
- Knowledge of networking fundamentals
- Knowledge of Linux systems administration
- Knowledge of CI/CD pipeline design
- Expertise in monitoring, logging, and observability tooling such as Prometheus, Grafana, or Datadog
Atom Computing Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Atom Computing and has not been reviewed or approved by Atom Computing.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare benefits include fully paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, plus life and disability protection. This is presented as a significant strength of the total rewards package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Unlimited paid time off is offered and highlighted in company materials and postings. This policy is intended to support work-life balance.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) company match is offered to support retirement planning. This adds meaningful long-term value alongside salary and health benefits.
Atom Computing Insights
What We Do
Scientific and technological breakthroughs take years of tireless work, fighting for resources and pushing for acceptance of new ideas. What keeps researchers and engineers plodding on to the next big discovery? It’s an obsession. A life’s calling. At Atom Computing, we’re our customers’ biggest fans on the journey of discovery. That’s why we’re obsessed with creating the world’s most scalable and reliable quantum computers—giving them the power to develop breakthroughs that change the world.
