FirstPrinciples · 18 hours ago
Member of Technical Staff, Staff Physicist, Quantum Information and AI
United States
Full-time
Remote
Lead/StaffFirstPrinciples is a non-profit organization focused on building an autonomous AI Physicist to explore the fundamental laws of the universe. The role involves contributing expertise in quantum information theory to guide research and improve AI-driven scientific methodologies.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Non Profit
Responsibilities
Review and critique model reasoning in quantum information and adjacent theory (eg; quantum error correction, cryptography, algorithms, etc)
Identify subtle conceptual errors, missing assumptions, invalid proof steps, and “sounds right” failures
Provide clear corrections, alternative derivations, and minimal counterexamples that teach the system what good physics looks like
Translate domain judgment into actionable research recommendations for model behavior, reasoning style, and tool use
Create gold-standard demonstrations and reference solutions suitable for training and fine-tuning
Provide structured preferences and rankings over candidate model outputs to improve scientific reasoning quality using expert feedback loops
Work to help us build our Collaborators program, an external group of expert peers acting like a set of reviewers
Coordinate review cycles and incorporate collaborator feedback into training priorities, benchmark design, and evaluation criteria
Align external reviewer standards with internal research goals and engineering constraints, ensuring fast iteration while maintaining scientific defensibility
Communicate progress and open questions clearly across collaborators, research, and engineering
Help drive the system to produce outputs you would be proud to put your name on
Contribute to open-science artifacts where appropriate (benchmarks, datasets, technical reports, preprints)
Qualification
Required
PhD in Physics, Quantum Information, Theoretical CS, or closely related field, plus postdoctoral-level research maturity
Demonstrated ability to do research-grade reasoning in quantum information and to critique proofs, derivations, and scientific arguments with rigor
Experience contributing to evaluation methodology, benchmarking, or systematic error analysis in research settings is strongly valued
Deep fluency in core quantum information topics (Quantum algorithms, gate quantum computer, annealing quantum computers, quantum error correction, foundation of quantum physics, quantum information theory, quantum field theory)
Strong mathematical foundations (linear algebra, probability, optimization, information-theoretic reasoning, differential equations, group theory, Lie Algebras, Hamiltonian and Lagrangian dynamics)
Scientific programming skills in Python plus standard research tooling (Git, LaTeX)
Working familiarity with modern ML training workflows and how expert feedback can be operationalized to improve model behavior
Comfort working closely with engineers and researchers in a fast-moving, cross-functional environment
Strong written communication, especially the ability to write precise critiques, crisp guidance, and benchmark specs that others can implement
Ability to coordinate external reviewers and internal teams toward a shared standard of scientific quality
Entrepreneurial & mission-driven, comfortable in a fast-growing, startup-style environment, and motivated by the ambition of tackling one of the greatest scientific challenges in history
Preferred
Experience at the intersection of quantum and machine learning
Familiarity with preference modeling, reward modeling, or building evaluation datasets for frontier models
Comfort with PyTorch and JAX or similar, and quantum tooling such as Qiskit, PennyLane, or Cirq
Publication record in high-impact physics journals
Company
FirstPrinciples
Building AI to understand the nature of reality.
Founded in 2024
11-50 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageCompany data provided by crunchbase