Software Engineer (Quantum Compilers)

CT19; Oxford; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology company seeks a creative Scientific Software Engineer to develop advanced compilers and simulation tools for quantum computers. You will work with physicists to create compiler pipelines from low-level to high-level languages. The role requires a Ph.D. in Computer Science or similar, alongside experience in software development, compiler infrastructure, and quantum computing fundamentals. Join us in shaping the future of quantum technology!

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computer Science focused on quantum computation or equivalent experience.
• Enthusiasm for building software tools for scientists, especially physicists.
• Experience with Python semantics and CPython interpreter.
• Experience with at least one compiled language like C++, Julia, or Rust.
• Experience with SSA intermediate-representation-based compiler development.
• Knowledge of software development lifecycle including CI/CD and testing.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain compiler infrastructure for hardware engineers and scientists.
• Design novel domain-specific languages tailored to the hardware.
• Integrate existing simulation tools with the compiler pipeline and cloud service.
• Communicate with scientists and customers to meet their requirements.

Skills

Software development for scientists

Experience with Python

Compiler development

Knowledge of quantum computing

Collaboration with scientists

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

LLVM

MLIR

Cirq

Qiskit

Job description

Summary

A creative Scientific Software Engineer is sought to develop state-of-the-art compilers and simulation tools for quantum computers. You'll collaborate with physicists on cutting-edge hardware and error correction, building compiler pipelines from low-level instructions to high-level languages using advanced toolchains.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a Static Single Assignment (SSA) intermediate-representation-based compiler infrastructure and compiler components at various abstractions used by hardware engineers and scientists.
• Design novel domain-specific languages tailored to the hardware as well as the associated SDK together with the team.
• Integrate existing simulation tools with the compiler pipeline and cloud service.
• Communicate and collaborate with in‑house scientists and external customers to meet their use case requirements.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computer Science with a focus on quantum computation, architecture, programming languages, or compilers, or equivalent professional experience.
• Enthusiasm for building software tools for scientists, especially physicists.
• Experience with Python semantics, Python type hints, and the CPython interpreter.
• Experience with at least one compiled language and its type system, e.g. C++, Julia, Rust, Haskell, OCaml, etc.
• Experience with Static Single Assignment intermediate-representation-based compiler development.
• Knowledge of the full lifecycle of software development, including version control, code review, testing, CI/CD, logging, profiling, debugging, and documentation.
• Knowledge of quantum computing basics, e.g. common quantum algorithms and quantum information theory fundamentals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using LLVM or MLIR for compiler development, or experience with an existing compiler codebase.
• Background in programming language design, especially programming language theory.
• Knowledge of quantum error correction.
• Contributions to existing open-source libraries.
• Experience with existing circuit simulation tools, e.g. Cirq, Qiskit, CUDA Quantum, etc.