Photonics Data Analysis Engineer (Hybrid)

Xanadu; Toronto; On-site; CAD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading quantum computing company is seeking a Photonics Test Engineer in Toronto to develop software for analyzing on-chip photonic devices. The ideal candidate will possess strong programming skills in Python, a foundational understanding of photonics, and the ability to work collaboratively with a team of physicists and engineers to enable data-driven design decisions. This role emphasizes a primarily software-focused approach, making programming expertise crucial for success.

Benefits

Inclusive and equitable workplace

Commitment to diversity and accommodations

Qualifications

• Strong programming skills in Python, including data analysis libraries.
• Foundational understanding of photonics, optical physics, or quantum physics.
• Experience in a professional software development environment.

Responsibilities

• Automate analysis workflows in Jupyter notebooks into cloud processes.
• Develop algorithms and maintain existing ones for optical data analysis.
• Interfacing with data engineers to maintain data integrity and manage sourcing.

Skills

Python data analysis libraries

Understanding of Python data structures

Experience with Git

Strong statistical and mathematical intuition

Excellent communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, or related field

Master's or PhD degree in Engineering, Physics, or related field

Tools

NumPy

SciPy

pandas

Job description

About Xanadu:

Xanadu’s mission is to build useful quantum computers. We are a team of learners, innovators, and problem solvers, creating technology that has never been built before. Few people get to be a part of something like this—a journey where success can lead to solving some of the world's most challenging problems and fundamentally changing the world

Your role and responsibilities:

As a Photonics Test Engineer, you will join our Test and Measurement team to build the software that drives the analysis and measurement of on-chip photonic devices—the foundational building blocks of Xanadu's Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computer. This role requires both the ability to interpret physical data and models as well as strong software engineering skills.

You will work closely with physicists and engineers to develop the workflows, models, and algorithms they use to analyze complex physical data. You will interface with our data engineers to ensure data integrity throughout the analysis pipeline. Your enthusiasm and experience implementing software best practices and "clean code" will be crucial, as the reliability and maintainability of our code directly impacts critical design decisions.

In this role you will touch everything between the experimental data acquisition and the resulting engineering design decisions. Examples of tasks in the scope of this role are:

• Automating analysis workflows run in jupyter notebooks into cloud deployed pipelines analyzing terabytes of optical data per month.
• Using advanced mathematical, physical, and statistical skills to develop new algorithms and maintain existing ones.
• Assigning uncertainties to derived metrics of the analysis.
• Forecasting uncertainties of proposed experimental designs to measure photonic device performance at bleeding edge precision.
• Working with hardware engineers and physicists to apply software best practices to their data analysis using the latest tools and models you develop.
• Debugging unexpected results of analysis at each step in the process - determining if results are due to software failure, experimental failure or physical properties in the device.
• Interfacing with data engineers to manage data sourcing and maintain data integrity.
• Developing visualizations and metrics engineers can use to make critical engineering decisions.

While physical intuition and hands-on lab experience will be valuable, you should be comfortable working in a primarily software role.

Basic qualifications and experience:

Strong programming skills:

• Experience with python data analysis libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, and pandas.
• Understanding of python data structures and software design principles.
• Experience with Git and the pull request workflow.
• Applicants will be expected to demonstrate proficiency writing python code.

Physics Background:

• Strong foundational understanding of photonics, optical physics, quantum physics, or analogous fields.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, or a related field.

Preferred qualifications and experience:

• Master's or PhD degree in Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• 1+ years of experience in a professional software development environment.
• Understanding of the full software development lifecycle, including version control, code review, testing, continuous integration, logging, and documentation.
• Strong statistical and mathematical intuition, with an understanding of concepts like overfitting, underfitting, and propagation of uncertainty.
• Experience with Bayesian methods or optimization methods in data analysis.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced research environment.

Our values are important. They are fundamental and lay the foundation for culture at Xanadu. Learn more about our values here.

At Xanadu, we are committed to building an inclusive, safe, and equitable culture and fostering an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. We are committed to meeting the needs of all individuals and support a barrier-free workplace. Should you require accommodations at any point during the recruitment process please contact Recruiting at [e-mail].

Note: Xanadu will never ask you for bank account information as part of the interview process. Please report any suspicious activity to [e-mail].