PhD Fellowship in Analog Quantum Computing

Oslo Metropolitan University; Oslo fylke; On-site; NOK 496,000 - 606,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Professional development

Pension benefits

Welfare & sports

Job summary

OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University invites applications for a PhD fellowship within the Norwegian Quantum Software Centre (NorQSoft) and OsloMet Quantum Hub. The successful candidate will conduct research on analogue quantum computing and related areas, under supervision, with opportunities to contribute to the Quantum Hub community.

The position is advertised as a 3-year full-time research role or a 4-year position with 75% research and 25% other career development tasks.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree with average grade B or better; degree to normally include 120 ECTS.
• Written and oral proficiency in English; admission to a relevant doctoral programme.

Responsibilities

• Carry out and publish research within the NorQSoft project, collaborating with supervisors and the department.
• Contribute to Quantum Hub and NorQSoft activities, e.g., seminars, summer/winter schools, and international conferences.

Skills

Python

C++

Julia

MATLAB

English language

Education

Master’s degree in physics, mathematics or computer science

Bachelor’s degree in physics, mathematics or computer science

Tools

Qiskit

HPC clusters

Job description

About the position

Oslo Metropolitan University is Norway's third largest university with 23,000 students and over 2,600 employees. We have campuses in central Oslo and at Romerike. OsloMet educates students and conducts research that contributes to the sustainability of the Norwegian welfare state and the metropolitan region.

The Faculty of Technology, Art and Design (TKD) offers higher education and research and development (R&D) activities within technical subjects, arts and design. The Faculty has approximately 4.000 students and 400 staff members and is situated at Pilestredet Campus in downtown Oslo and at Kjeller Campus in Akershus. The Department of Computer Science offers four bachelor’s degree programmes, a master’s degree programme, and is part of a cross-departmental PhD program. Academic staff at the department are pursuing research in a wide range of areas including computer science, the natural sciences, and innovation and management. Both students and researchers are also involved in an increasing number of interdisciplinary initiatives across the university.

At the Department of Computer Science, we are offering a PhD fellowship position. This position is a part of the recently established Norwegian Quantum Software Centre (NorQSoft) and the OsloMet Quantum Hub.

The scope of the NorQSoft Centre, which is hosted by Simula Research Laboratory and has OsloMet as one of its core partners, spans foundational research on quantum application software, the full quantum software stack, and quantum artificial intelligence. The aim is to pioneer quantum software technologies with real-world relevance by developing the necessary foundations, implementing them in prototype tools, and validating their feasibility and cost-effectiveness through academic and industrial case studies. The centre will also establish a world-class QC education program to lower entry barriers and train the next generation of professionals.

Your main duties and responsibility

The successful applicant’s primary duty is to carry out and publish research within the research project. This research will be performed in close collaboration with the main supervisor – in addition to other staff members at the department, at the Simula Research Laboratory and with other NorQSoft members.

It is also expected that the candidates contribute actively to the activities of the Quantum Hub and NorQSoft centre beyond the specific research tasks. This could, e.g., involve giving seminars at summer/winter schools and public dissemination work. The candidates are also expected to present research findings at international conferences and workshops.

Project description - Analogue quantum computing - in open and closed systems

The dominant realm of quantum computing is that of gate-based or digital quantum computing. However, time-continuous approaches to quantum computing, such as adiabatic quantum computing and the closely related notion of quantum annealing, remain interesting alternatives. While adiabatic quantum computing is formally equivalent to gate-based quantum computing, the approach is fundamentally different from a conceptual point of view. In this project we aim to devise and test novel approaches to solving hard optimization problems, problems which are infeasible to solve using classical computers.

Both analogue and digital quantum hardware still resides within what is called noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) hardware. Noise in general and decoherence in particular is expected to continue to affect quantum computing also in the years to come. Thus, it is of interest to investigate how such effects will affect quantum computing, including analogue quantum computing. The case of quantum annealing is particularly interesting in this regard as the same effects which typically introduce decoherence also tends to place the quantum system in its ground state. We aim to investigate to what extent this may be exploited in solving optimization problems – and how dynamical effects may be used to facilitate the process further.

Another direction of the project will be to investigate the interplay between standard digital implementations of the approximate quantum optimization algorithm (QAOA) and analogous continuous time implementations.

The project will make use of classical simulations to investigate to what extent quantum hardware may provide a speedup over classical alternatives. Running such schemes on actual quantum hardware would also be of interest.

Qualification requirements

• A relevant master’s degree with an average grade B or better, a minimum grade of B must be awarded to the master's thesis and a bachelor’s degree with an average grade C or better. The degree should be in physics, mathematics or computer science. The degree must normally include 120 credits (ECTS). If the master’s degree includes fewer than 120 ECTS credits, the applicant must, by the application deadline, submit documentation confirming that the master’s degree qualifies for admission to doctoral studies in the country where it was awarded.
• Exceptions to the grade requirements are provided on the doctoral programme’s website (PhD programme website).
• An academic profile aligned with the needs of the research group and the department.
• Written and oral proficiency in English (Language requirements for employees at OsloMet)
• Familiarity with scientific computing and programming in Python, C++, Julia, MATLAB or similar.
• Admission to a relevant doctoral programme is a prerequisite.
• General criteria for appointment to teaching and research positions are set out in the regulations in the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges.

It will be an advantage if you have:

• familiarity with quantum physics and quantum computing.
• experience in simulating dynamical quantum systems.
• familiarity with adiabatic quantum computing and quantum annealing in particular.
• experience in implementing and running quantum software using Qiskit or similar.
• experience with cluster-based simulation or high-performance computing.

Personal qualities

• are able to work autonomously while still being receptive to guidance and supervision.
• are motivated to complete a doctoral degree and have the ability to follow through on tasks.
• are eager to propose and adopt new ideas and able to see them implemented and published.
• shows analytical capacity and ability to quickly understand new problems, concepts, and theories.
• are able to communicate and disseminate their research field.

Emphasis will be placed on personal suitability.

It is important to OsloMet to reflect the population of our region, and all qualified candidates are welcome to apply. We make active endeavours to further develop OsloMet as an inclusive workplace and to adapt the workplace if required. You are also welcome to apply for a position with us if you have experienced periods where you have not been in work, education or training.

We offer

• An exciting job opportunity at Norway’s third largest and most urban university
• Opportunities for professional development
• Beneficial pension arrangements with the Norwegian State Pension Fund
• Good welfare schemes and a wide range of sports and cultural offers
• Working location in downtown Oslo with multiple cultural offers

Practical information about relocation to Oslo and living in Norway

The salary for the position is in accordance with the Basic Collective Agreement for state employees and OsloMets pay policy for PhD Candidate in code 1017, corresponding to 550 800 NOK per year. From the salary, 2% will be deducted in pension contributions for the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK).

The position is advertised as a 3-year position with 100% research, or a 4-year position with 75% research and 25% other career-advancing work. The goal must be to complete the PhD program/degree within the decided time frame. The decision on a 3- or 4-year position will be discussed as part of the interviews in the hiring process.

The current workplace for the position is at the Pilestredet campus in Oslo. In connection with the establishment of the new campus in Lillestrøm, a change of workplace may become relevant at a later stage.

Other information

OsloMet holds the EU certification HR Centre of Excellence for Charter & Code supporting researchers in career development, mobility and employee rights.

OsloMet has signed The Declaration on Research Assessment. DORA recognizes the need to improve the ways in which the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who are seen to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter law will not be considered for the position.