We are looking for a Senior Quantum Engineer with expertise in superconducting qubits to join our hardware R&D team.
This role is for someone who wants to work on technically difficult problems that directly shape a quantum hardware platform. You will not be optimizing within a fixed roadmap, you will help define it.
You will design, execute, and interpret experiments that push the performance and scalability of superconducting qubit systems. You will develop new gate schemes, explore advanced control protocols, and test architectural ideas that can influence platform-level decisions.
We operate in direct competition with the best-funded and most established teams in the world. We are looking for someone who finds that motivating.
You will have a high degree of autonomy and ownership while working in a collaborative environment. If you have a strong technical hypothesis, you will be expected to test it rigorously and defend it with data. Strong ideas move quickly through experimental validation.
What You Will Do
Develop experimental programs on superconducting qubit devices.
Develop and optimize high-fidelity quantum gates.
Design and test novel control and coupling strategies.
Identify fundamental performance bottlenecks and isolate their physical origin.
Analyze data with scientific rigor to extract insight, not just metrics.
Collaborate across device, fabrication, and control teams to translate ideas into hardware progress.
What We Are Looking For
PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
Extensive hands-on experience with superconducting qubits.
Strong background in gate design, pulse engineering, and decoherence mechanisms.
Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex experimental efforts from concept to validated result.
Intellectual independence, technical courage, and the ability to defend ideas with evidence.
Motivation to compete at the highest technical level in the field.
This position is best suited for someone who wants visible impact, real ownership, and the opportunity to help shape the direction of a quantum hardware platform, not just contribute to a small piece of it.
Skills Required
- PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field
- Extensive hands-on experience with superconducting qubits
- Strong background in gate design, pulse engineering, and decoherence mechanisms
- Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex experimental efforts
- Intellectual independence and technical courage
- Motivation to compete at the highest technical level in the field
What We Do
Rigetti Computing is building the world’s most powerful computers to help solve humanity’s most pressing and important problems. These systems will perform computations that today’s fastest supercomputers are incapable of — unlocking entirely new classes of problems and offering a direct path to solutions. We believe quantum computing is going to significantly affect health care, how we treat disease, how we generate energy, and how we feed humanity. Our superconducting quantum computing systems are available over the cloud via Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services. We were founded in 2013 by Chad Rigetti. We are located in Berkeley and Fremont, California, and have employees based all over the world.
