Job title:Principal Scientist Neutral Atom QPU design
A Neutral Atom Quantum Processing Unit (QPU) Designer is a specialized research scientist or hardware engineer responsible for designing, building, and optimizing quantum hardware that uses individual neutral atoms (often rubidium, cesium, or ytterbium) as qubits. They work at the intersection of atomic physics, quantum optics, and engineering to create scalable, error-corrected quantum systems. This is a leadership role, where you will be directly reporting to the CEO and strategize the data centre strategy with neutral atom QPUs integrated to Superconducting QPUs and classical compute
Core Responsibilities
- Team building and infra setup: To build a team of neutral atom QPU designers and build infrastructure for neutral atom QPU
- Cross-functional interaction: To lead interaction with the Superconducting QPU design team to enable integration of the neutral atom Quantum computing system with the superconducting QPU in a datacentre environment
- Hardware Design & Implementation: Designing, prototyping, and testing experimental setups for trapping, cooling, and manipulating neutral atoms using laser beams (optical tweezers) and vacuum apparatuses.
- Qubit Control: Developing high-fidelity control techniques, such as Rydberg excitation, to enable quantum gates and entanglement between atom qubits.
- System Architecture: Developing error-tailored architectures to improve the scalability of neutral atom processors, aiming to scale from hundreds to thousands of physical qubits.
- Error Modeling: Conducting experiments to understand, characterize, and mitigate noise and errors (e.g., atom loss, laser noise) in neutral-atom physical operations. [
- Translating Theory to Practice: Translating theoretical concepts in quantum computing, such as surface codes, into practical, physical experimental setups.
Required Skills and Qualifications
- Education: PhD in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Atomic/Molecular/Optical (AMO) Physics, or a related field.
- Technical Experience: Hands-on experience building neutral atom experiments, including experience with ultra-high vacuum (UHV) systems, lasers, and optics.
- Programming: Strong capabilities in Python for hardware control, simulation, and data analysis (e.g., NumPy, SciPy).
- Scientific Contribution: A track record of peer-reviewed publications or contributions to the field of quantum technology.
Context within Industry
- Goal: To move neutral atom computing from scientific prototypes to commercial-grade, fault-tolerant quantum computers.
- Collaboration: Working closely with quantum algorithm teams to improve gate fidelity and with software teams to optimize hardware-level instructions (pulse sequences).
