Senior Quantum Software Engineer - HPC Infrastructure

Microsoft Quantum is building the world’s first scalable quantum computing system, with a full‑stack approach spanning materials, devices, systems, and cloud services. On our team, you will build and support the high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud infrastructure that Microsoft Quantum engineers and scientists use to design, simulate, and validate their work. You will collaborate closely with software engineers, physicists, hardware engineers, and security partners who depend on it to move quickly and securely. 

At Microsoft Quantum, we aim to empower science and scientists to solve the world’s biggest problems by realizing advanced computing platforms at the intersection of high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and quantum information technology. Microsoft Quantum will change the world of computing and help solve some of humankind’s currently unsolvable problems. For more information about our team, visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/quantum. 

As a Senior Quantum Software Engineer in High Performance Computing (HPC) Infrastructure, you will be the technical owner of our Linux HPC platform, including compute, job scheduling, shared storage, remote graphical desktop access for users on Windows computers, licensed engineering software, and the Microsoft Azure resources that support them. You will set the standards for how the platform is designed, operated, and supported, and you will deliver dependable, secure, and cost-effective solutions. You bring proven Linux, HPC, and Azure experience, and you keep growing and adapting as technologies and our needs evolve. 

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond. 

• You will act as a point of contact for the engineers and scientists who use our high-performance computing (HPC) environments and engage with them to understand their goals. You’ll gather requirements for new capabilities, stay aware of industry and vendor offerings, and anticipate and mitigate risks with roadmaps and plans. 

• You will drive design reviews with team members and stakeholders and apply understanding of computing power, scalability, and extendibility to the cluster architecture. You’ll build and operate complex infrastructure and tools (including Linux login, compute, license, and service nodes and job schedulers such as Slurm), drive collaborative code review discussions, and analyze and document the source of issues. 

• You will select, deploy, secure, and support a remote Linux graphical desktop service that lets users on Windows computers run graphical engineering applications (for example, OpenText Exceed or Exceed TurboX, Virtual Network Computing (VNC), Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), or NoMachine). You’ll install and maintain licensed commercial engineering and electronic design automation (EDA) software on Linux, along with its license servers (for example, FlexNet Publisher). 

• You will develop infrastructure for program needs in Microsoft Azure, including virtual machines, virtual networks, private connectivity, quotas, monitoring, and cost management. You’ll manage shared storage such as Network File System (NFS) or Azure NetApp Files (ANF), including storage quotas, snapshots, backups, and data-isolation boundaries between user groups. You’ll use infrastructure as code, drive automation, and suggest how to optimize infrastructure for performance and cost. 

• You will ensure the delivery of dependable, secure services and own the reliability of the cluster platform. You’ll manage patching, vulnerability remediation, access reviews, and least-privilege access integrated with enterprise identity; test backup and disaster-recovery plans; lead incident response and root-cause analysis, including occasional after-hours response to critical outages; and propose and implement approaches to improve processes. 

• You will participate in an iterative design process with applied scientists and engineers to bring new tools and workflows onto the platform, and you’ll mentor team members and users on system engineering best practices through clear documentation, runbooks, and onboarding. 

Other

• Embody our Culture and Values 

Required/Minimum Qualifications  

• Doctorate in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Physical Sciences, or related field AND 1+ year(s) software industry experience, including research and/or development of commercial software, compilers, scientific computing applications, or multi-component systems 

• • OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Physical Sciences, or related field AND 3+ years software industry experience, including research and/or development of commercial software, compilers, scientific computing applications, or multi-component systems 

• • OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Physical Sciences, or related field AND 4+ years software industry experience, including research and/or development of commercial software, compilers, scientific computing applications, or multi-component systems 

• • OR equivalent experience. 

• 4+ years programming experience in related programming languages. 

• 4+ years experience in a collaborative environment. 

Other Requirements 

• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: 

• • Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter. 

• • Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This role will require access to information that is controlled for export under export control regulations, potentially under the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the EU Dual Use Regulation, and/or other export control regulations. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide either proof of their country of citizenship or proof of their U.S. permanent residency or other protected status (e.g., under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3)) for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the successful candidate’s citizenship will be verified with a valid passport. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees may verify status using other documents, where applicable. 

• Experience applying artificial intelligence (AI) tools to accelerate engineering work, such as developing automation scripts, infrastructure as code, and prototype tools, while reviewing AI-generated output for accuracy and security.
• Experience leveraging AI tools to drive innovation and efficiency (for example, performance modeling and analysis, research gathering, and day-to-day task automation).  

Additional/Preferred Qualifications 

• 4+ years of experience administering Linux in production for high-performance computing (HPC) or large multi-user compute clusters, including job schedulers (for example, Slurm), shared storage, remote Linux graphical desktop access for users on Windows computers (for example, OpenText Exceed or Exceed TurboX, Virtual Network Computing (VNC), Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), or NoMachine), and licensed engineering software and license servers (for example, FlexNet Publisher). 

• 4+ years of experience managing Microsoft Azure resources (for example, virtual machines, virtual networks, storage, role-based access control (RBAC), monitoring, and cost management) using infrastructure as code and scripting (for example, Terraform, Bicep, Ansible, Python, or Bash). 

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