QEC and Algorithms Scientist

Entangled Future; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and share options

Contributory pension scheme

Group private medical insurance

Life Assurance

Cycle-to-work Scheme

Be part of a creative, world-leading 팀

Job summary

Quantum Motion, based in London, is seeking a senior quantum researcher to help map high‑level quantum algorithms to hardware and evaluate quantum error correction strategies.

You will work with a multidisciplinary team to optimize qubit utilization and runtimes, and to communicate breakthroughs at conferences and in journals. This role requires a PhD and a track record in quantum computing research.

Qualifications

• PhD in physics, maths, computer science or related discipline.
• Track record of quantum computing research: applications, algorithms, architectures or error correction.
• Knowledge of algorithms such as quantum phase estimation, block encodings, amplitude amplification.
• Familiarity with error correction techniques, including surface codes and magic state distillation.
• Experience writing results in reports or journals.
• Ability to present scientific work to technical and non-technical audiences; willing to travel for conferences.

Responsibilities

• Develop processes to map high-level quantum algorithms to hardware-compatible instructions.
• Assess tradeoffs between quantum error correction tools; select best options.
• Consider architecture-level requirements in algorithm-to-hardware breakdown.
• Account for resources required to run target algorithms (qubits, runtime).
• Collaborate with researchers to identify new directions and communicate constraints.
• Collaborate with software engineers to automate parts of the process.
• Present research results at internal and external meetings and events.

Skills

Quantum algorithms

Quantum error correction

Python for research

Communication

Collaboration

Conference travel

Team science

Education

PhD in physics, maths, CS, or related

Tools

qualtran

Qiskit

QuEST

PennyLane

Job description

Quantum Motion is a fast-growing quantum computing scale-up based in London founded by internationally renowned researchers from UCL and Oxford University with over 40 years’ experience in developing qubits and quantum computing architectures. Bringing together state-of-the-art cryogenic facilities and an outstanding interdisciplinary team, we are developing quantum processors based on industrial-grade silicon chips, with the potential to radically transform computing power in areas such as materials modelling, medicine, artificial intelligence and more.

Since 2021 our team has been listed every year in the “Top 100 Startups worth watching”in the EE Times, and our technology breakthroughs have been featured in The Telegraph, BBC and the New Statesman. Our founders are internationally renowned researchers from UCL and Oxford University who have pioneered the development of qubits and quantum computing architectures. Our chairman is the co-founder of Cadence and Synopsys, the two leading companies in the area of Electronic Design Automation. We’re backed by a team of top-tier investors including Bosch Ventures, Porsche SE, Sony Innovation Fund, Oxford Sciences Innovations, INKEF Capital and Octopus Ventures, and we have so far raised over £62 million in equity and grant funding.

We bring together the brightest quantum engineers, integrated circuit (IC) engineers, quantum computing theoreticians and software engineers to create a unique, world-leading team, working together closely to maximise our combined expertise. Our collaborative and interdisciplinary culture is an ideal fit for anyone who thrives in a cutting-edge research and development environment focused on tackling big challenges and contributing to the development of scalable quantum computers based on silicon technology. Our team of 100+ is based in London and Oxford, with international offices in Australia (Sydney) and Spain (SanSebastián).

What you'll do

• 01 Develop processes to map high-level quantum algorithms to a hardware-compatible instruction set to realise fault-tolerant computation.
• 02 Understand the tradeoffs between various quantum error correction tools and identify the best choice.
• 03 Be familiar with architecture-level requirements and capabilities and factor them into the algorithm-to-hardware breakdown.
• 04 Carefully account for the resources required to run a target algorithm, including the number of qubits and the runtime.
• 05 Work with other researchers at the company to identify new directions and communicate constraints of existing approaches.
• 06 Work with software engineers at the company to automate parts of the process.
• 07 Present research results at internal and external meetings and events

What they're looking for

• Top tier education and PhD in physics, maths, computer science, or a related discipline.
• Track record of research into quantum computing, including work on applications and algorithms, architectures, or quantum error correction.
• Knowledge of commonly-used algorithmic techniques, such as quantum phase estimation, block encodings, amplitude amplification, etc.
• Familiarity with common error correction techniques, including surface codes and magic state distillation.
• Experience with writing up results in reports or scientific journals.
• Ability to clearly present scientific work to both technical and non-technical audiences, and an enthusiasm to travel for conferences and other events.
• Familiarity with using Python for research and development.
• Strong collaborative mindset with good communication and interpersonal skills.
• An inquisitive nature and logical approach to problem solving. A passion for tackling big challenges and, in particular, for developing quantum computers.

Nice to have

• Prior work or expertise relating to emerging “good quantum LDPC” codes, their decoders, etc.
• An understanding of silicon-spin hardware systems is a bonus. Strong candidates without this experience are encouraged to apply, with knowledge expected to develop as part of the job.
• Examples of previous work compiling quantum algorithms to a target architecture, including an accounting of the resources required.
• Prior experience working in the quantum computing industry or in a startup environment.
• Proficiency with quantum software tools such as qualtran, Qiskit, QuEST, or PennyLane.
• Use of quantum intermediate representations such as QASM or QIR.
• Experience of optimising and running software scripts on HPC resources, including the use of GPUs.

Pay and benefits

• Be part of a creative, world-leading team
• Competitive salary and share options scheme
• Contributory pension scheme
• Group private medical insurance scheme
• Life Assurance
• Cycle-to-work Scheme

Quantum Motion is a UK quantum computing company founded in 2017 out of Oxford and UCL, based in London. In September 2025 it delivered the UK's first full-stack silicon CMOS quantum computer to the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC).