Field Engineer: Cryogenics & RF Hardware
About the role
Cryogenics and RF Field Engineer role supporting Rigetti systems at customer facilities worldwide. Hands-on, travel-heavy, operations-focused position responsible for operating, maintaining, and debugging advanced RF and cryogenic hardware in production-like environments across multiple sites and time zones.
Responsibilities
- Test, validate, and debug custom RF control systems using advanced electronic test equipment such as network analyzers, oscilloscopes, DMMs, and internally developed tools
- Operate, monitor, and debug dilution refrigerators, including cooldowns, steady-state operation, and fault diagnosis
- Operate, troubleshoot and service cryogenic and vacuum systems, including scroll pumps, turbo pumps, cryo compressors, high-vacuum components, and cold traps
- Perform helium leak detection, pump rebuilds, and thermal system management
- Assemble, validate, and install complex electro-mechanical, cryogenic, vacuum, and RF assemblies with exceptional attention to detail
- Contribute to test plan development and execute validation testing for next-generation RF hardware
- Participate in an on-call rotation to support system uptime in a customer-facing environment, potentially spanning multiple time zones
- Prepare, inspect, and package quantum chip assemblies for testing
- Follow established procedures and contribute to the creation and improvement of standard operating procedures and best practices
- Read and interpret CAD drawings, schematics, and engineering specifications
- Work directly with customer teams across different regions to support system operation, issue resolution, and ongoing optimization
- Navigate logistics of international travel, including customs/import considerations for tools and equipment, visas, and site-specific access requirements
- 35+% travel required, including international travel to customer sites; frequency and destinations will vary by program
Qualifications
- Technical background in Physics, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent industrial experience (MS or PhD a plus)
- Strong proficiency with general-purpose electronic test equipment (oscilloscopes, network analyzers, multimeters, DC power supplies, etc.)
- Direct, hands-on experience operating and troubleshooting dilution refrigerators (required)
- Substantial hands-on experience working with sub-Kelvin cryogenic systems
- Experience operating and maintaining high-availability laboratory or industrial equipment
- Experience assembling, servicing, and maintaining scientific instruments or complex electro-mechanical systems
- Familiarity with vacuum systems, vacuum plumbing, P&IDs, and standard fittings and practices; strong experience in vacuum equipment assembly and debug using helium leak detection
- Working knowledge of statistical methods for test and validation (e.g., DOE, Six Sigma, simulation)
- Attention to detail in documentation (writing and following Work Instructions and Standard Operating Procedures) plus excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Experience working with external vendors, partners, or customers across different regions and cultural contexts
- Willingness and ability to travel internationally on short notice, and to hold or obtain necessary travel documentation (passport, visas)
Skills
Benefits
- Competitive salaries
- Equity
- Medical, dental and vision benefits
- 401(k) plan
- Paid parental leave program
- Rejuvenation days
- Vacation policy aligned 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.
More open roles at Rigetti Computing
- Network & Infrastructure Engineer4d agoHybrid (Berkeley, CA), Hybrid (Fremont, CA) · Systems & Services – Infrastructure Engineering
- Senior Counsel, Commercial & Government Contracts2w agoRemote · Business Operations – Legal
- Senior Software Engineer, Internal Systems2w agoHybrid (Berkeley, CA or Fremont, CA) · Systems & Services – Internal Software Engineering
- Facilities Coordinator2w agoHybrid (Berkeley, CA / Fremont, CA) · Fabrication – Equipment, Facilities & EHS
- Senior Mechanical Engineer3w agoHybrid (Berkeley, CA) · QPU – Hardware Engineering