Staff Scientist - QEC Theory

Entangled Future; Reading; In loco; GBP 120.000 - 160.000; Tempo pieno

Descrizione del lavoro

Oxford Quantum Circuits, Reading, England, seeks a Staff Scientist specializing in Quantum Error Correction (QEC) Theory to lead research shaping fault-tolerant quantum computing. You will develop hardware-aware QEC strategies for multimode superconducting processors and translate theoretical breakthroughs into practical quantum hardware.

Joining the QEC research team, you’ll be a technical authority, mentor fellow scientists, and collaborate with experimentalists and engineers to drive the

Competenze

• PhD or equivalent research experience in a relevant field.
• Strong track record of original contributions to quantum information or QEC.
• Deep understanding of quantum information theory (stabiliser, noise channels, fault tolerance).
• Expertise in topological codes (surface/colour) or qLDPC codes.
• Experience with decoding methods for erasure and Pauli noise.
• Understanding of fault-tolerant logical operations (lattice surgery, code switching, transversal gates).
• Experience with circuit-level simulation and resource analysis from experimental data.
• Strong programming skills in Python or C++ for simulation and reproducible research.
• Proven ability to lead scientific investigations and translate theory to hardware.

Mansioni

• Develop and benchmark hardware-aware QEC schemes combining detection within multimode devices with cross-encoded-qubit correction.
• Design advanced quantum codes and decoders exploiting syndrome measurements and erasure information.
• Build and validate circuit-level noise models with experimental teams, accounting for relaxation, dephasing, leakage, crosstalk and correlated errors.

Conoscenze

Quantum error correction

Quantum information theory

Python

C++

Scientific programming

Research leadership

Communication skills

Formazione

PhD in Quantum Information / Physics / Mathematics / CS

Strumenti

Simulation software

Descrizione del lavoro

Staff Scientist - QEC Theory at Oxford Quantum Circuits, Reading, England, United Kingdom. A lead-level full time position in the Research team, listed under research.

As a Staff Scientist specialising in Quantum Error Correction (QEC) Theory, you'll help shape OQC's path towards fault-tolerant quantum computing. You'll develop hardware-aware error correction strategies that combine the unique capabilities of our multimode superconducting processors with advanced codes, decoders and fault-tolerant protocols, turning theoretical breakthroughs into practical advances in quantum hardware.

The Role

Joining our Quantum Error Correction research team, you'll be a recognised technical authority, helping define the scientific direction of OQC's error correction strategy. You'll work at the intersection of quantum information theory and experimental hardware, developing QEC approaches for our next-generation OQC GENESIS platform and Dimon architecture. By combining erasure detection within individual devices with error correction across multiple encoded qubits, you'll tackle some of the most important challenges on the path to scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computing. This is a senior individual contributor role with significant scientific autonomy and influence. You'll take ownership of ambitious research projects, collaborate closely with experimentalists and engineers, mentor fellow scientists and help translate cutting-edge research into the technical requirements that shape OQC's future processors.

What You'll Be Working On

• Develop and benchmark hardware-aware QEC schemes that combine error detection within OQC's multimode devices with error correction across encoded qubit arrays.
• Design advanced quantum codes and decoders that exploit syndrome measurements and erasure information while accounting for imperfect detection and residual errors.
• Build and validate circuit-level noise models alongside experimental teams, incorporating relaxation, dephasing, leakage, crosstalk and correlated errors.

Requirements

• A PhD in Quantum Information, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science or a related discipline, or an equivalent record of significant research experience.
• A strong track record of original contributions to quantum error correction, fault-tolerant quantum computing or related quantum information research, demonstrated through publications, research software or other substantive outputs.
• Deep understanding of quantum information theory, including stabiliser formalism, quantum noise channels and fault-tolerance principles.
• Expertise in topological codes, including surface or colour codes, or quantum low-density parity-check (qLDPC) codes.
• Experience with decoding methods for erasure and Pauli noise, including matching-based approaches, belief propagation or ordered-statistics decoding.
• Strong understanding of fault-tolerant logical operations, such as lattice surgery, code switching, transversal gates or magic-state preparation and distillation.
• Experience with circuit-level simulation, logical error-rate estimation and resource analysis informed by experimental data.
• Strong scientific programming skills in Python or C++, particularly for simulation, decoder implementation and reproducible research.
• Proven ability to independently lead scientific investigations, combine analytical and numerical approaches, and translate theoretical findings into practical hardware insights.
• Excellent scientific communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence research direction and work effectively across theoretical and experimental disciplines.

Nice to Have

• Experience with erasure-aware QEC, dual-rail encodings or concatenated error correction schemes combining inner error detection with outer error correction.
• Knowledge of superconducting quantum circuits, particularly multimode transmons and their application to quantum error correction.
• Experience with microwave control, dispersive readout or modelling noise in superconducting quantum devices.
• Experience developing hardware-aware QEC strategies that account for realistic device constraints and experimental imperfections.
• An established research profile within quantum information or fault-tolerant quantum computing.
• Experience mentoring researchers and contributing to collaborative academic or industrial research programmes.
• 10+ years of R&D experience in quantum computing or quantum information, including doctoral, postdoctoral or industrial research.