Staff Control Systems Architect - Photonic Quantum Computing

Xanadu; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Ownership of control architecture

Photonics lab access

Collaborative environment

Job summary

Xanadu is building fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers. The Staff Control Systems Architect will own the central control system, coordinating real-time feedback, locking, and calibration across digital control, FPGA firmware, and optical hardware.

You will bridge FPGA, electronics, embedded software, and laser system teams to deliver scalable, reliable operation. The role requires deep expertise in control of complex physical systems, strong communication, and a PhD or equivalent with 8+

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent in physics, electrical engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in quantum or photonic hardware or related large-scale systems.
• Strong communication and cross-team collaboration.
• Track record of system architecture for multi-team projects.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture of the central control system for fault-tolerant quantum computers.
• Define interfaces between digital control, FPGA firmware, analog electronics, ASICs, embedded software and optical hardware.
• Make system-wide tradeoffs with quantified budgets on noise, latency, bandwidth, and effort.
• Collaborate with external partners and major programs to accelerate progress.
• Identify hidden dependencies and technical risks across subsystems.
• Review and guide FPGA, electronics, and embedded teams on architecture.
• Mentor engineers across these teams.

Skills

Real-time control

Feedback control

System integration

Cross-functional communication

Education

PhD or equivalent in physics/EE

Tools

FPGA design

Python

Job description

Staff Control Systems Architect - Photonic Quantum Computing

About Xanadu: 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. What we are doing is extremely hard, the classic moon shot. 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

Xanadu is building fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers. Our machines work only when hundreds of optical, electronic and digital subsystems behave as one coherent, controllable system. This includes lasers and phase locks, squeezed-light sources, photon-counting and homodyne detectors, programmable photonic circuits, and the electronics, ASIC, FPGA, and software layers that drive them. We are looking for a Staff Control Systems Architect to own that coherence.

Our ideal candidate is a senior individual contributor who thinks at the level of the whole machine and can still get an error‑signal scheme, feedback controller, or calibration algorithm right. As a team player with excellent communication skills, you will work together with engineers and scientists across our FPGA, electrical and analog‑IC, embedded software, laser system, state preparation, quantum architecture and systems integration teams. You will act as a bridge between these teams and leverage this synergy to turn a collection of subsystems into a working system and carry it through its lifecycle.

• Own the architecture of the central control system for the next generations of our fault tolerant quantum computers: real‑time feedback and locking, feedforward and switching, initialization and calibration, timing and data flow.


• Define and document the interfaces and requirements between digital control, FPGA firmware, analog/mixed‑signal electronics and ASICs, embedded software and the optical hardware, and keep them consistent as the design evolves.


• Make system‑wide tradeoffs and get them adopted: decide what is easy, what is hard, and what will hurt later, backed by quantified budgets on noise, latency, bandwidth and engineering effort.


• Leverage our collaboration with external partners and our participation in major programs to accelerate control system progress.


• Identify hidden dependencies and technical risks where different systems interact, before such issues become expensive.


• Review and guide the work of the FPGA, electronics and embedded teams against the architecture, and mentor engineers across those teams.

Required qualifications and experience

• Deep hands‑on experience in control of complex physical systems: feedback and locking, error‑signal generation, loop shaping, real‑time digital control, noise measurement and budgeting, and the electronics behind them.


• A track record of architecting a system that several teams built against, including writing interfaces and requirements documents, and multiple rounds of improvements through system‑wide tradeoffs.


• Excellent written and verbal communication and being comfortable coordinating across teams and partners with competing constraints.


• PhD or equivalent experience in physics, electrical engineering or a related field, typically with 8+ years of subsequent experience in quantum or photonic hardware, precision instrumentation, gravitational‑wave or accelerator controls, semiconductor equipment, aerospace/defense controls, or comparable large‑scale systems.

Preferred qualifications and experience

• Continuous‑variable optics: fibre and free‑space interferometry, homodyne detection, laser phase and frequency locking, piezo and electro‑optic actuators.


• FPGA development for real‑time control or DSP, including high‑speed ADC/DAC data paths.


• Familiarity with analog or digital ASIC design flows.


• Instrument‑control and lab‑automation software (Python; frameworks such as ARTIQ, EPICS or QCoDeS).


• Experience taking a research control system to a production‑quality, multi‑unit deployment.


• Experience in leveraging artificial intelligence for system architecture and software or hardware design tasks.


• Empathy for how scientists, engineers, system operators, and users interact with Xanadu’s photonic quantum computers.

This is for a new position. Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and internal benchmarks.

Benefits

• Ownership of the control architecture of a fault‑tolerant quantum computer, alongside the teams who build the software and hardware.


• Access to a state‑of‑the‑art photonics laboratory, custom integrated photonic devices and custom electronics.


• A collaborative environment in which a well‑argued technical case changes the plan.

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

We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. 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].

Please be advised that we may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in the screening and assessment of applicants for this position. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.