Microsoft · 10 hours ago
Principal Quantum Engineer - Systems Physics & Performance
United States, California, Santa Barbara
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$163K/yr - $296K/yr
6+ years expMicrosoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft Quantum is seeking a Principal Quantum Engineer to drive advances in characterizing and optimizing complex quantum-device systems, focusing on interacting qubits and emergent disorder phenomena.
Agentic AIApplication Performance ManagementArtificial Intelligence (AI)Business DevelopmentDevOpsInformation ServicesInformation TechnologyManagement Information SystemsNetwork SecuritySoftware
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Develop frameworks for diagnosing and optimizing multi‑component quantum systems, going beyond single‑device metrics to capture interactions, emergent error sources, and disorder effects
Design and analyze computational benchmarks with known clean‑limit solutions to extract, quantify, and mitigate effective local random fields and other correlated‑error phenomena that arise in real‑world problem instances
Translate insights from interacting‑qubit physics into practical corrective procedures and architectural recommendations for next‑generation topological quantum processors. Collaborate closely with theorists, device physicists, and materials scientists to bridge physical‑model predictions with experimentally accessible observables
Provide guidance on the interpretation of advanced materials and device measurements, including morphology, chemistry, electronic states, and interfacial properties of multilayer quantum‑device stacks
Partner with internal and external teams to design measurement campaigns at large national and international metrology facilities, including x‑ray synchrotrons, and integrate results into device‑fabrication and hardware‑design feedback loops
Identify and champion novel characterization approaches that illuminate failure modes or performance bottlenecks in quantum‑device systems-while ensuring deep collaboration and alignment with existing internal metrology teams
Support exploratory, high‑impact research directions related to future‑generation readout and control schemes, such as, quantifying and reducing the fundamental time‑scales associated with topological‑device readout under realistic noise and error‑rate constraints, investigating architectures in which RF signals are distributed via optical carriers into the cryostat, including on‑chip demultiplexing strategies for scalable, high‑bandwidth readout infrastructure and collaborate with quantum‑electronics, photonics, and cryogenic‑engineering teams to evaluate practical and theoretical boundaries of these approaches
Qualification
Required
Doctorate in Physics, Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years experience in industry or in a research and development environment
OR Master's Degree in Physics, Engineering, or related field AND 10+ years experience in industry or in a research and development environment
OR Bachelor's Degree in Physics, Engineering, or related field AND 12+ years experience in industry or in a research and development environment
OR equivalent experience
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 or Export Administration Regulations, 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
Ability to work in an “AI-first” environment using modern AI tools to accelerate discovery through both hardware and software development
Ability to design and build AI agents/copilots that assist with experiment setup, log triage, measurement report generation, protocol templating, and knowledge retrieval (e.g. instrument manuals, design docs)
Preferred
Doctorate degree in Physics, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field AND 7+ years of post‑doctoral or equivalent research experience in quantum condensed‑matter physics, strongly correlated systems, quantum devices, mesoscopic physics, or related areas
Demonstrated expertise in the physics of interacting quantum systems, disorder phenomena, or complex device behavior
Experience designing, interpreting, or leading advanced experimental diagnostics (e.g., x‑ray scattering, spectroscopy, nanoscale probes, time‑resolved techniques, or equivalent)
Proven ability to drive scientific programs that integrate theory, experiment, and hardware development
Internationally recognized contributions in condensed‑matter physics, quantum materials, or quantum devices
Experience with system‑level performance modeling or physics‑based error‑analysis methodologies
Familiarity with superconducting, topological, or hybrid semiconductor‑superconductor quantum platforms
Knowledge of cryogenic measurement techniques and device‑fabrication workflows
Demonstrated ability to mentor teams and foster cross‑functional collaboration
Excellent communication, scientific‑writing, and external‑engagement skills
Ability to navigate a rapidly evolving research and engineering environment with flexibility and creativity
Company
Microsoft
Microsoft is a software corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services.
10001+ employees
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$1MKey Investors
Technology Venture Investors
2022-12-09Post Ipo Equity
1986-03-13IPO
1981-09-01Series Unknown· $1M
Leadership Team
Satya Nadella
Chairman and CEO
Vukani Mngxati
Chief Executive Officer - Microsft South Africa
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