Next Frontier Quantum Associate

EY; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellness incentive

Flex leave (8 weeks/year)

Parental leave (26 weeks)

Job summary

EY is seeking a Quantum Associate to drive quantum technology initiatives, with a 60‑70% focus on quantum safety and 30% on quantum compute. The role requires a strong background in quantum tech, cryptography, and software development in a fast‑moving, collaborative environment.

Applicants should have 2–3+ years of hands‑on experience in related areas, and familiarity with PKI, TLS, and modern quantum SDKs. EY offers flexible work arrangements and a competitive salary package.

Qualifications

• Foundational understanding of quantum computing principles, qubits, gates, NISQ constraints, and error mitigation.
• Working knowledge of post‑quantum cryptography, including KEMs, signature schemes, and cryptographic standards.
• Familiarity with PKI, TLS 1.3, certificate management, and key‑exchange mechanisms.
• Proficiency with one or more quantum SDKs: Qiskit, Cirq, PennyLane, AWS Braket, Azure Quantum/QDK.
• Strong Python programming capabilities, including numerical libraries (NumPy, SciPy, pandas).
• Understanding of classical optimisation, linear algebra, and probabilistic reasoning.
• Experience with version control (Git), containers (Docker), and CI/CD workflows. Languages: Python, C++, Rust, or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support development, demos, and presentations of solutions in quantum cybersecurity and quantum computing domains.
• Contribute to PQC readiness, risk assessments, migration planning, and crypto‑agility improvements.
• Develop and evaluate quantum algorithms and workflows for optimisation, ML, and simulation use cases.
• Build software kits and tools, design architectures, benchmark performance, and apply best software engineering practices.
• Produce leadership and sector presentations, assessment reports, standards, and executive‑level documents.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams including security engineering, ML/AI groups, platform teams, and product stakeholders.

Skills

Quantum concepts

Post-quantum crypto

PKI/TLS

Quantum SDKs

Python programming

GIT/CI/CD

C++

Rust

Optimization

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s in Physics, CS, Cybersecurity, EE, Applied Math

Tools

Qiskit

Cirq

PennyLane

AWS Braket

Azure Quantum QDK

Job description

At EY, we’re all in to shape your future with confidence. We’ll help you succeed in a globally connected powerhouse of diverse teams and take your career wherever you want it to go. Join EY and help to build a better working world.

About the Next Frontier

Applied Innovation’s Next Frontier focuses on emerging technologies, including Physical AI, Quantum Computing, and Next‑Generation AI among others. This initiative translates advanced capabilities into measurable outcomes, helping clients and EY teams improve decision‑making, strengthen resilience, and unlock new opportunities through technology‑driven solutions.

About the Delivery Team

EY advances innovation in Quantum by enabling regional quantum labs and supporting business‑driven initiatives. The focus is on practical quantum technologies and frameworks that deliver measurable, enterprise‑value level benefits. Next Frontier’s Quantum team is led by Kartheek Solipuram, EY Global Innovation Quantum Leader, under the leadership of Dr. Rodrigo Madanes, EY Global Innovation Next Frontier Leader.

Position Summary

The Quantum Associate will work on Quantum Technology initiatives. This role requires background, knowledge, and practical experience with the usability and impact of quantum technologies. The role will focus 60‑70% on quantum safety and 30% on quantum compute.

Essential Responsibilities of the Job

• Build & commercialise solutions: lead and support development, demos, and presentations of solutions in both quantum cybersecurity and quantum computing domains.
• Quantum safety: contribute to the organisation’s PQC (post‑quantum cryptography) readiness, including risk assessments, migration planning, and crypto‑agility improvements.
• Quantum compute: develop and evaluate quantum algorithms and workflows for optimisation, machine learning, and simulation use cases.
• Software development & implementation: build software kits and tools, design and implement architectures, benchmark performance, and employ best practices in software engineering.
• Thought leadership: produce clear leadership and sector presentations, assessment reports, standards, and executive‑level documents.
• Team‑ing: collaborate with cross‑functional teams including security engineering, ML/AI groups, platform teams, and product stakeholders.

Quantum Specialist Responsibilities

• Quantum cyber:
  • Assess quantum‑related risks and contribute to mitigation roadmaps.
  • Prototype and benchmark PQC algorithms (e.g., ML‑KEM/Kyber, ML‑DSA/Dilithium) within services and applications.
  • Maintain an index of how the current and upcoming proposed algorithms fare fully PQ‑safe and hybrid versions of the same against operational impacts to recommend appropriate migration roadmaps.
  • Support development of crypto‑inventory tools to detect legacy cryptography dependencies.
  • Implement and test hybrid key‑exchange schemes and measure performance impacts (latency, throughput, resource usage).
  • Assist with design and validation of crypto‑agility patterns, certificate lifecycle updates, and key‑management transitions.
  • Contribute to internal PQC migration guides, standards, and runbooks.
• Quantum compute & algorithms:
  • Develop accelerators using NISQ‑appropriate quantum algorithms (VQE, QAOA, QML) and industry SDKs for use cases.
  • Run extensive testing and validation exercises to estimate viability, usage and support road‑mapping of quantum utility for use cases.
  • Build end‑to‑end prototypes for domain‑specific use cases such as optimisation, simulations, modelling of Quantum as well as next frontier of Quantum & AI/ML tech.
  • Perform resource estimation (qubit count, gate depth, circuit complexity) and evaluate classical‑quantum trade‑offs.
  • Maintain reproducible experimentation pipelines using Python, Jupyter, containerisation, and CI workflows.

Knowledge and Skills Requirements

• Foundational understanding of quantum computing principles, qubits, gates, NISQ constraints, and error mitigation.
• Working knowledge of post‑quantum cryptography, including KEMs, signature schemes, and cryptographic standards.
• Familiarity with PKI, TLS 1.3, certificate management, and key‑exchange mechanisms.
• Proficiency with one or more quantum SDKs: Qiskit, Cirq, PennyLane, AWS Braket, Azure Quantum/QDK.
• Strong Python programming capabilities, including numerical libraries (NumPy, SciPy, pandas).
• Understanding of classical optimisation, linear algebra, and probabilistic reasoning.
• Experience with version control (Git), containers (Docker), and CI/CD workflows. Languages: Python, C++, Rust, or equivalent.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distil complex concepts for different audiences.
• Analytical thinking and a structured, hypothesis‑driven approach to problem solving.

Education & Experience

• Bachelors or Masters in Physics, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, EE, Applied Math, or related field; or equivalent hands‑on experience.
• 2‑3+ years of hands‑on experience in at least one of the following areas:
  • Post‑quantum cryptographic implementations
  • Applied cryptography or security engineering
  • Quantum algorithm development
• Experience in quantum technologies, cryptography, or related computational fields is a plus.
• Publications, preprints, hackathon projects, or open‑source contributions in quantum or applied security are highly desirable but not required.
• Familiarity with cybersecurity fundamentals (public‑key crypto, KEMs/signatures, TLS, PKI concepts).
• Understanding of post‑quantum cryptography basics and current standardisation landscape.
• Experience with at least one quantum SDK (e.g., Qiskit, PennyLane, or Azure Quantum QDK).
• Ability to design small experiments, analyse results, and write clear technical documentation.

What We Offer You

At EY, we’ll fuel you and your extraordinary talents in a diverse and inclusive culture of globally connected teams.

Career development: at EY, your career is yours to shape! We’ll develop you with future‑focused skills and equip you with world‑class experiences.

Flexible work arrangements: our flexible work policies empower you to balance your professional and personal life, fostering a culture of trust and autonomy.

A comprehensive benefits package: from a yearly wellness incentive, to access to additional 8 weeks of flex leave per year, and family‑friendly policies, including 26 weeks of gender‑neutral paid parental leave. We cater to your diverse needs to help you thrive both personally and professionally.

Salary: we offer a competitive salary which is open to negotiation pending on skills and experience.

Diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DE&I) are core to who we are, how we work and how we live our values. We encourage applications from people of all ages, nationalities, abilities, cultures, sexual orientations, and gender identities and are committed to providing an equitable and barrier‑free recruitment experience for all.

Are you ready to shape your future with confidence? Apply today.