Senior Quantum Engineer, Gate Calibration
About the role
Role focused on driving two-qubit gate performance of tunable-coupler superconducting quantum processors. Design, execute, and interpret experiments to identify and eliminate gate errors, influencing device design, control, and production hardware.
Responsibilities
- Lead experimental programs to characterize, calibrate, and optimize two-qubit gates on tunable-coupler devices, from single-pair physics investigations to full-processor deployment.
- Identify gate-error bottlenecks (e.g., coherent control error, decoherence, leakage, crosstalk, TLS interactions) for single-pair as well as large-scale systems and isolate their physical origin through targeted experiments, benchmarking, and simulation.
- Develop and harden calibration methods using techniques such as optimal pulse shaping, dynamical decoupling, and other error suppression strategies, with an emphasis on robustness and automation at scale.
- Develop and improve metrology for full-processor Hamiltonian and characteristic extraction and correlate with gate performance. Turn that knowledge into actionable feedback for device design, fabrication, and control hardware teams, and drive those changes to closure.
- Prepare novel Rigetti devices for use by internal applications development teams and external deployment.
- Stay current with the literature and convert state-of-the-art techniques into working capability on production hardware.
- Contribute to the field of superconducting quantum computing by converting relevant findings into high-quality publications.
Qualifications
- PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
- Significant hands-on experience calibrating and characterizing two-qubit gates on superconducting quantum devices; direct experience with tunable couplers is a strong plus.
- Deep understanding of gate design, pulse engineering, and decoherence mechanisms, with a track record of connecting error diagnostics to concrete fidelity improvements.
- Demonstrated ability to independently execute complex experimental efforts from concept to validated result.
- Strong Python skills in a scientific context, and comfort building tools that others rely on.
- Dogged experimental determination, with the judgment to balance depth of investigation against speed of iteration.
- Excellent communication skills and a team-first mindset in a strongly collaborative environment.
Skills
Benefits
- Base Salary: $175,000 - $200,000 a year
- Full slate of benefits including equity, medical, dental and vision for employees, 401(k) plan, paid parental leave, rejuvenation days, and a vacation policy that aligns with local regulations and industry standards.
About Rigetti Computing
Quantum coherent supercomputing.
Rigetti Computing is building the world’s most powerful computers to help solve humanity’s most pressing and important problems. These systems will perform computations that today’s fastest supercomputers are incapable of — unlocking entirely new classes of problems and offering a direct path to solutions. We are scientists, engineers, builders, and visionaries. We believe quantum computing is going to significantly affect health care, how we treat disease, how we generate energy, and how we feed humanity. Rigetti is the only company deploying full-stack solutions for hybrid classical/quantum computing. Our 19-qubit quantum computer is available online through our Forest platform, and the first commercially useful applications are already under exploration. We were founded in 2013 by Chad Rigetti, and are located Berkeley and Fremont, California.
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