PhD-Level Researcher in Quantum Computing, Benchmarking and Hybrid Quantum-Classical Systems
SoftQuantus is seeking a PhD-level quantum computing researcher to join its internal research and development team.
The researcher will contribute to experimental and applied research involving quantum algorithms, quantum workload orchestration, quantum simulation, error mitigation, cross-backend benchmarking and hybrid quantum-classical computing.
The position is connected to the development and experimental validation of QCOS, SoftQuantus’ provider-independent infrastructure for orchestrating, optimizing and verifying quantum workloads across simulators, emulators, HPC environments and physical quantum processors.
RESEARCH AREAS
The research programme includes:
• quantum algorithm development and experimental validation;
• hybrid quantum-classical algorithms;
• quantum circuit compilation and optimization;
• backend-aware circuit mapping;
• noise modelling and noisy simulation;
• measurement-error mitigation;
• zero-noise extrapolation;
• circuit cutting and workload decomposition;
• quantum benchmarking and application-level performance metrics;
• reproducibility across quantum frameworks and hardware providers;
• GPU-accelerated quantum simulation;
• HPC–quantum integration;
• quantum chemistry and optimization workloads;
• execution provenance and verifiable computational evidence;
• comparison of execution quality, stability, cost and resource consumption.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The researcher will:
• design controlled quantum computing experiments;
• implement and evaluate quantum algorithms;
• execute workloads across simulators, emulators and available quantum hardware;
• compare compilation, transpilation and optimization strategies;
• develop and validate noise and error-mitigation experiments;
• define statistically meaningful benchmark protocols;
• analyse fidelity, output distributions, execution stability and application-level performance;
• contribute to the QCOS experimental and scientific roadmap;
• generate reproducible evidence packages for quantum executions;
• prepare research reports, technical documentation and scientific publications;
• collaborate with universities, HPC centres, hardware providers and industrial partners;
• support the preparation of European and international research proposals.
REQUIRED PROFILE
Candidates should have:
• a PhD, submitted PhD thesis, advanced doctoral research experience or equivalent expertise in quantum computing, quantum information, physics, mathematics, computer science or a related field;
• strong understanding of quantum circuits and quantum algorithms;
• experience with at least one major quantum software framework;
• proficiency in Python;
• knowledge of experimental methodology, statistics and scientific computing;
• ability to analyse noisy quantum results;
• ability to produce clear and reproducible technical documentation;
• professional working proficiency in English.
Experience with Qiskit, PennyLane, Cirq, Q#, CUDA-Q, Amazon Braket, IBM Quantum, Azure Quantum, quantum chemistry, tensor networks, Slurm or GPU-based simulation is advantageous.
POSITION STRUCTURE
This is an internal industrial quantum research position within SoftQuantus.
It is not currently an accredited university PhD studentship and does not independently award a doctoral degree. A future connection with a university doctoral programme may be considered after SoftQuantus establishes a formal academic partnership.
The contractual and compensation structure will depend on experience, location, availability and research-project funding. The position may initially operate through a research collaboration, project contract, equity-linked arrangement or another mutually agreed structure, with the possibility of evolving into salaried employment as funding and commercial research projects develop.
LOCATION
Remote within Europe, with possible collaboration involving France, Estonia, European HPC centres and external quantum computing providers.
APPLICATION
Applicants should send the following information to partner@softquantus.com:
• curriculum vitae;
• publication list;
• short quantum research statement;
• links to repositories or previous experimental work;
• description of relevant algorithms, simulations or hardware experiments;
• expected availability;
• country of residence;
• preferred contractual arrangement.
Application PhD-Level Quantum Computing Researcher