Program Manager

Qblox; Delft; Hybrid; EUR 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working hours

Travel allowance for commute

30 days annual leave

Company-sponsored retreats

Competitive compensation & equity plan

International travel opportunities

Job summary

Qblox in Delft, Netherlands, seeks an experienced Program Manager to translate high-level goals into actionable milestones across hardware, firmware, software, and manufacturing. You’ll manage a multi-project program with internal and external R&D activities, balancing fast iteration with robust planning.

You’ll lead resource planning, risk mitigation, and stakeholder communications while scaling our program management framework across the organization.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of PM experience leading complex R&D projects in a high-tech environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in Physical Sciences or Engineering; MBA highly regarded.
• Rigorous project planning with Agile/Kanban; Jira experience; PMP certification desirable.

Responsibilities

• Navigate projects through PLM process, finishing on time and on budget.
• Engage with R&D leads to secure resources and estimates.
• Create detailed program and project plans with resource requirements.
• Maintain program budget and spending visibility.
• Present regular program status updates to leadership and stakeholders.
• Identify bottlenecks and cross-team dependencies, implementing mitigation strategies.
• Lead Engineering Change Management within your program.
• Maintain program validation plans and test results.
• Manage internal and external stakeholders.

Skills

Program management

R&D project leadership

Agile/Kanban

Jira

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor’s in Physical Sciences or Engineering

MBA

Tools

PMP certification

Job description

At Qblox we operate at the frontier of the quantum revolution. With a dedicated team of scientists, engineers and developers we are pushing quantum technology to support scientists and institutions worldwide with our scalable and low-latency qubit control equipment. Based in Delft, the Netherlands, and being a spinoff of the Delft-based quantum technology institute QuTech enables us to implement the latest scientific insights and take a position up front in the worldwide race towards quantum computers.

It is Qblox’ mission to enable useful quantum computers. Since 2019, Qblox has grown into a dynamic company employing 100+ innovative, international minds who are dedicated to the company’s mission. We are growing exponentially and welcome talented individuals who share our enthusiasm to make a difference.

Qblox is seeking a driven and experienced program manager to join us in our mission to build industrial scale quantum computers. In this role, you will be responsible for the program level execution of our second generation platform. You will be responsible for translating high-level company goals into actionable engineering milestones, ensuring our complex roadmap transitions from visionary concepts to scalable products. This program includes a number of sub-projects, led by fellow project managers. Each project is a combination of in-house and external R&D activities spanning FPGA, RF design, embedded firmware, software, souring & manufacturing.

Furthermore, you will play a key role in scaling Qblox's methodologies and tooling, including establishing a robust requirements management framework to ensure customer and market needs are accurately translated into technical engineering specifications.

Key Responsibilities

• Navigate projects through our PLM process, finishing on time and on budget, while managing the complex interdependencies between long-cycle hardware development and rapid software/firmware sprint cycles.

• Actively engaging and aligning with the R&D team leads to secure necessary resources and work estimations.

• Create detailed program and project plans including resource requirements.

• Maintain a clear overview of project budget and spending.

• Maintain and present regular program status updates to senior leadership and stakeholders across the organization.

• Proactively identify technical bottlenecks and cross-team dependencies, implementing mitigation strategies to keep critical paths on track.

• Lead the Engineering Change Management process within your program, balancing the need for rapid innovation with the stability and quality of our active production lines.

• Maintain program validation plans, and test results.

• Internal and external stakeholder management.

Enough about us, what about you? In order to really enjoy and succeed in this role, we imagine that your background will include the following:

Experience & Technical Foundation

• Extensive PM Experience: 10+ years of professional experience, including a minimum of 5 years successfully leading complex R&D projects in a high-tech environment.

• Relevant Technical Background: Bachelor’s degree in Physical Sciences or Engineering, with working knowledge of hardware, RF engineering, embedded systems, or quantum computing. An MBA is highly regarded.

• Methodology & Tooling: Deep practical experience with rigorous project planning, Agile/Kanban methodologies, and tools like Jira. PMP certification or formal training is highly desirable.

• Data-Driven Execution: In-depth knowledge of technology tools for data management, modeling, forecasting, and reporting to ensure scalable execution.

Leadership & Core Competencies

• Cross-Functional Leadership: A natural, communicative leader capable of rallying teams, bridging functional boundaries, and building trust with both internal engineers and external partners. Must demonstrate technical fluency, with the ability to understand and communicate seamlessly with PCB designers, FPGA engineers, and software developers alike.

• Pragmatic & Action-Oriented: Thrives in the rapidly evolving quantum tech space by balancing a "just-enough process" mindset with decisive, action-oriented execution.

• Decisive Problem Solving: Highly adaptable critical thinker capable of making confident, fast decisions in ambiguous, uncertain, or high-stress situations.

• Exceptional Organization: Strong prioritization and time-management skills, coupled with a strict attention to detail and personal accountability for quality.

• Collaborative Team Builder: Adept at removing barriers, managing conflicts constructively, and providing the necessary resources to facilitate team success.

Our offer

At Qblox we celebrate equality and diversity. We’re striving to build a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, experiences, and skills. If you are to join us, you can expect:

• An international, interdisciplinary team of over 180 high-skilled physicists, engineers, designers and scientists with an open working culture

• A high-curiosity, high-performance and invigorating team dynamic

• Flexible working hours: hybrid working options and travel allowance for commute

• Favorable pension scheme

• 30 days annual leave and holiday allowance

• Company-sponsored retreats and Friday lunches

• Modern, open office with proximity to QuTech facilities, shared with Delft-based quantum startups

• Competitive compensation and participation plan

• Opportunities for international travel for conferences, partnerships and customer visits