Senior Scientist - Nanofabrication (1-year fixed-term/Hybrid)

Senior Scientist - Cryogenic Photon Detectors and Nanofabrication (1-year fixed-term/Hybrid)

Xanadu’s mission is to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere.

At Xanadu, we are learners, innovators, researchers, collaborators, and problem solvers. We are creating something that has never been built before. Few people in their life will be able to be a part of something like this, where if we are successful, the technologies we develop will solve some of the world’s most challenging problems and literally change the world. And that is something to be excited about!

Your role and responsibilities:

As part of the Hardware Team, you will work with our established team of physicists and engineers to support existing efforts to improve the performance of photon number resolving (PNR) cryogenic detectors. In this role, you will contribute your experience spanning clean room fabrication, cryogenic characterization, data analysis, and device simulations all aimed at optimizing our transition edge sensors (TES). You will join the Low Temperature Devices team dedicated to the systems-level design and deployment of large-scale arrays of optical TES PNR detectors and their integration within the full Xanadu hardware stack. A key part of the role will involve travel within Canada for clean room development in partner facilities. In addition, you will interface with internal stakeholders to understand the critical requirements throughout the system.

Required Qualifications and Experience:

• PhD with 2+ years additional experience (postdoc or industry) in Physics, Engineering, Experimental Sciences, or related relevant discipline with a focus on device fabrication.
• Experienced in the operation of clean room tools including photolithography, deposition (PVD, CVD), wet & plasma etching (RIE, ICP), and characterization (AFM, ellipsometry).
• Experience in developing cleanroom recipes and keeping detailed documentation.
• Experience with analog testing equipment (VNA, spectrum analyzer, SMU, etc.).
• Experience with precision measurements of small nanovolt/nanoamp level signals.
• Understanding the physics of superconductivity and superconducting devices and circuits.
• Experienced in the independent operation and requirements of milli-Kelvin cryostats, specifically dilution refrigerators.
• Experience writing Python code.
• Experience working in a collaborative team-based development environment.
• Ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple competing priorities.

Preferred Knowledge and Experience:

• Knowledge of optical thin film stack metrology, characterization, and optimization.
• Experience fabricating and working with cryogenic detectors or their applications, for example in CMB, TES, MKID, SNSPDs.
• Knowledge of guided wave optics.
• Experience with large data set analysis and statistical reporting.

Mission: To build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere.

Values: 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 recruiting@xanadu.ai.