Team Lead – Gate-Based Quantum Chemistry

planqc; München; Hybrid; EUR 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working hours

Company pension

Health and fitness program

Job bike

Learning and development

Relocation and visa support

Multiple locations

Team events

Job summary

planqc is seeking a Team Lead for Gate-Based Quantum Chemistry to build and lead a team turning fault-tolerant quantum algorithms into credible applications for neutral-atom quantum computers. You will steer the technical direction for gate-based chemistry algorithms, work with hardware teams to align architectures, and deliver cost-aware, resource-estimated solutions.

You will hire, mentor, and manage staff while coordinating with hardware, software, and customer-focused groups to advance

Qualifications

• Post-PhD experience in quantum algorithms (academic or industry).
• Proven track record in managing a team of scientists.
• Hands-on capability with resource estimation under realistic error-correction assumptions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a team of quantum chemistry scientists, including hiring and mentoring.
• Own the technical roadmap for gate-based algorithms in quantum chemistry and materials.
• Design, analyze, and benchmark fault-tolerant quantum algorithms with end-to-end resource estimation.
• Drive hardware-software co-design by translating algorithmic needs into hardware specs.

Skills

People management

Quantum resource estimation

Cost-aware algorithm design

Fault-tolerant quantum chemistry

End-to-end hardware-software thinking

Cross-disciplinary communication

Education

PhD in Physics/CS/Math/Chemistry

Job description

Your mission

planqc builds full stack neutral-atom quantum computers. What decides whether they become useful is which applications they can run, and at what cost in real physical resources. Quantum chemistry and correlated electronic materials are the most credible candidates, and answering the question rigorously takes early fault‑tolerant algorithm design grounded in block encodings, qubitization and quantum signal processing.

As Team Lead for Gate-Based Quantum Chemistry, you will build and lead the team that turns these algorithms into a credible path to useful quantum advantage on our hardware. You will set the technical direction for our gate‑based algorithm work in quantum chemistry and correlated materials, and translate it into concrete, resource‑estimated algorithms whose costs are expressed in the operations our machines actually perform. Together with the hardware team you will identify which architectural choices matter most for end‑to‑end application performance, and feed that insight back into both algorithm design and hardware development.

The role combines technical leadership with real people responsibility. You will hire your team members, set their priorities, and give them room to grow. It suits someone who has led a research team before, who thinks end‑to‑end about cost and application value, and who is comfortable moving between hardware physicists, software engineers, and industrial customers.

Your responsibilities

• Lead and grow a team of quantum chemistry scientists, including hiring, onboarding, prioritisation, technical mentoring, career development, and performance feedback.
• Own the technical roadmap for gate‑based algorithms in quantum chemistry and correlated electronic materials, balancing scientific ambition against realistic hardware timelines.
• Design, analyse, and benchmark fault‑tolerant quantum algorithms based on block encodings, qubitization and quantum signal processing, including end‑to‑end resource estimation for application‑relevant problem instances.
• Drive hardware and software co‑design with our hardware and architecture teams, translating algorithmic requirements into hardware specifications and exploiting the specific strengths of neutral‑atom platforms in algorithm design.
• Take responsibility for internal and external projects, delivering customer, consortium, and grant‑funded work on time and at high scientific quality.
• Acquire new projects and partners by identifying industry and research opportunities, leading grant proposals, and representing planqc in customer meetings, consortia, and at conferences.
• Communicate results credibly to technical and non‑technical audiences, from publications and customer deliverables to internal decision documents.

What you bring

• PhD in Physics, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Theoretical Chemistry, or a related field.
• Several years of post‑PhD experience in academia or industry working on quantum algorithms.
• Proven track record in people management. You have led a team or research group and have experience in hiring, developing, and retaining scientists.
• Expert knowledge of fault‑tolerant quantum chemistry algorithms and techniques like block encodings, qubitization, quantum signal processing and quantum singular value transformation.
• Hands‑on experience with quantum resource estimation and algorithmic cost analysis under realistic error‑correction assumptions.

Nice to have

• Knowledge of, or clear interest in, dynamical mean‑field theory and strongly correlated materials.
• Familiarity with neutral‑atom quantum computing and its architectural features.
• Experience with tensor network methods and classical simulation of quantum systems.
• Experience writing successful grant proposals or acquiring industrial projects.
• Solid scientific Python skills and experience with collaborative software development.
• Experience working in an agile (Scrum) environment.
• German language skills.

Why join planqc

At planqc, you will work on one of the most promising quantum computing architectures alongside a highly driven and collaborative team spanning physics, engineering, and software.

We combine deep‑tech research with an engineering mindset, turning scientific breakthroughs into scalable quantum systems.

Joining Us Means

• Bringing quantum advantage to quantum chemistry use cases by leveraging hardware software co‑design workflows
• Collaborating with an exceptional, international team across disciplines
• Contributing to a fast‑growing quantum startup at a pivotal stage

Benefits At Planqc

• Flexible working: Flexible hours and hybrid work where the role allows.
• Company pension: Betriebliche Altersvorsorge with an employer contribution.
• Health and fitness: EGYM Wellpass for gyms, pools and studios, plus regular Health Days.
• Job bike: Lease a bike through planqc.
• Learning and development: Trainings and conference participation, including international conferences. Plus regular internal learning sessions where colleagues share their knowledge.
• Relocation and visa support: Practical support for international hires and their move to Germany or Austria.
• Four locations: Headquarters in Garching, an office in central Munich, plus sites in Ulm and Innsbruck.
• Team culture: Regular team and company events throughout the year, from after work socials to our summer and Christmas parties.

If you're excited about leading the team that turns fault‑tolerant quantum chemistry algorithms into a credible application for neutral‑atom quantum computers, we'd love to hear from you.

About Us

planqc builds neutral‑atom quantum computers based on arrays of optically trapped atoms controlled with high‑precision laser systems. Our platform combines technologies from optical lattice clocks, quantum gas microscopes and fast Rydberg gates into a scalable computing architecture.

Founded in 2022 as a spin‑off from MPQ and LMU Munich, we translate more than a decade of AMO research into deployable quantum systems. Our work spans vacuum and laser hardware, control electronics, firmware, system software and algorithm integration. We focus on turning complex experimental setups into stable, reproducible systems that operate in real computing environments.

Behind this technology is a team that pushes technical boundaries, values open exchange and shared ownership. Physicists, engineers, software developers and business specialists work closely together, often across disciplinary limits. We believe progress comes from combining deep expertise with practical engineering and from giving people the responsibility and trust to shape their domain.

As we grow across our locations in Garching, Ulm, and Innsbruck, we continue to build a company where people take ownership, learn from each other, and directly shape the systems we bring into operation.