Software Developer - R&D Tooling

About Xanadu:

Xanadu’s mission is to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere.

At Xanadu, we are learners, innovators, researchers, collaborators and problem solvers. We are creating something that has never been built before.  What we are doing is extremely hard, the classic moon shot. Few people in their life will be able to be a part of something like this, where if we are successful, the technologies we develop will solve some of the world’s most challenging problems and literally change the world. And that is something to be excited about!

Disclaimer: This posting covers several positions within our Tooling team, each supporting a different area of Xanadu's quantum hardware development — from chip design and photonics simulation to hardware architecture and data infrastructure. We welcome a range of backgrounds; during the interview process, we'll identify the specific team and focus area that best matches your skills and interests.

Your role and responsibilities:

As a Software Developer on the R&D Tooling team, you will contribute to the platform and infrastructure that powers Xanadu's quantum hardware development. You will work alongside hardware architects, photonic engineers, scientists, and data analysts — building the tools and services that accelerate the design, simulation, fabrication, and operation of our quantum hardware. As a result, you will completely reshape the nature of computation as we know it. You will have the opportunity to:

• Design, build, deploy, and maintain tooling, data management, and communication software products — including their supporting infrastructure — that enable various parts of our hardware development and operation processes.
• Work closely with hardware teams to translate their research and engineering needs into high-quality software solutions, spanning chip design toolkits, simulation platforms, data pipelines, and internal dashboards.
• Design APIs and full-stack web-delivered services for consumption by internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage cloud-backed data infrastructure (AWS) that stores, processes, and serves results to the broader hardware organization.
• Ensure production-quality code by maintaining automated test coverage, CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Docker), and a dynamic code review process.
• Perform DevOps tasks, including maintaining build and deployment pipelines, containerized environments, and release strategies across multiple repositories.
• At Xanadu, we primarily work with Python, Rust, TypeScript, Postgres, Docker, GitHub Actions, and AWS. Proficiency in at least a subset of these technologies is essential.

Basic qualifications and experience:

• BSc in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Math, or a related field.
• 3+ years of software development experience.
• Strong proficiency in Python; familiarity with at least one other modern language (Rust, Go, TypeScript) is an asset.
• Experience with at least one major cloud provider (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Product-minded approach to software development with a focus on delivering high-quality tools for internal stakeholders.
• Familiarity with CI/CD workflows, automated testing, and containerized development (Docker).
• In-depth knowledge of software development practices such as Test-Driven Development, Agile, and code review.
• Self-driven to deliver high-quality solutions in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills — ability to work closely with hardware engineers and scientists and translate their needs into software solutions.
• A desire to learn the fundamentals of a new domain (e.g., photonics, chip fabrication, hardware architecture) in order to build effective tooling.

Preferred qualifications and experience:

• Experience with AWS services (S3, DynamoDB, Lambda, ECS, API Gateway).
• Experience with Rust.
• Experience with simulation or EDA tooling for integrated photonics or chip design (e.g., IPKISS, GDSFactory, KLayout).
• Experience with optical or electromagnetic simulation tools (e.g., FDTD, Eigenmode Expansion, Finite Element Methods).
• Experience with ETL pipelines and multiple data storage technologies (Postgres, DynamoDB, NetCDF, HDF5).
• Experience with scientific/numerical Python libraries (NumPy, SciPy, pandas, xarray).
• Experience with front-end web development or data visualization tools (matplotlib, bokeh, WebGL).
• Experience with Docker and containerized development environments (Docker Compose, multi-architecture builds).
• Experience managing complex branching and release strategies across interdependent repositories.
• Familiarity with Jupyter notebook-based workflows for engineering teams.

This is for a new position. Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and internal benchmarks. The base salary range is 110,000 - 160,000 CAD. You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.