Inertial Quantum Physicist

Infleqtion, Inc.

Louisville (CO)

On-site

USD 135,000 - 170,000

Full time

3 days ago

Be an early applicant

Get a reply from this employer

Your resume and cover letter, tailored to exactly what they’re hiring for.

Get past ATS filters

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Vision & Dental insurance

Paid time off (Unlimited PTO)

401(k) match

Life and AD&D insurance

Flexible Spending Account

Paid FMLA / parental leave

Employee Assistance Program

Student loan repayment

Equity program

Job summary

Infleqtion, Inc. is hiring a Staff Quantum Sensor Physicist in Louisville, CO to translate customer needs into practical sensor architectures and instruments for deployable atom-based inertial and gravitational sensors.

The role combines hands-on experimentation with theory, working alongside physicists, engineers, and technicians. The successful candidate will guide development from concept to deployment, maintain physics models and error budgets, and collaborate on customer projects and

Qualifications

PhD in atomic physics, optical physics, quantum sensing, precision measurement, or related field.
Practical experience with atom-based inertial and/or gravitational sensors, atom interferometry, or related hardware.
Strong practical judgment balancing physics performance with reliability, operability, and cost.
Experience designing, building, integrating, testing, operating, and debugging complex hardware and software systems.
Ability to travel domestically and up to 10% internationally.
Authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Responsibilities

Participates in research and development projects involving atom interferometry and quantum sensing systems.
Translates customer needs into practical sensor architectures, requirements, and development plans.
Supports development from concept through deployment.
Develops models, simulations, and error budgets to guide design decisions.
Works with cross-disciplinary teams to turn physics concepts into buildable instruments.
Communicates findings to internal and external stakeholders.

Skills

Atom interferometry

AMO/precision measurement

Instruments development

System integration

Technical communication

Education

PhD in atomic physics / optical physics / quantum sensing / precision measurement

Tools

Laboratory hardware

Job description

Infleqtion is a global quantum technology company solving the world's most challenging problems. The company harnesses neutral atom quantum technology to build and integrate quantum computers, sensors, and networks. From fundamental physics to leading edge commercial products, Infleqtion enables "quantum everywhere" through our ecosystem of devices and platforms. We are recruiting for a Staff Quantum Sensor Physicist to help translate customer needs into practical architectures and devices for deployable atom-based inertial and gravitational sensors.

LOCATION

Infleqtion has 6 office locations, operating out of Boulder, CO; Louisville, CO; Madison, WI; Chicago, IL; Melbourne, AU and Oxford, UK. This position is a full-time role based in our Louisville, CO office.

POSITION SUMMARY

The newly hired physicist will contribute to research, customer-driven development, and commercial projects to turn high-level mission needs into practical sensor concepts, requirements, error budgets, system architectures, and working instruments. The Quantum Physicist's role includes a combination of self-directed and collaborative efforts with a team of fellow physicists, engineers, and technicians.

This role is highly practical, hands-on, and system oriented. The successful candidate should be motivated by turning advanced AMO physics into useful instruments that can progress from R&D prototypes toward customer demonstrations and eventual deployed operation.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

The duties and responsibilities outlined below include essential functions of the role. Depending on business needs, this role may perform a combination of some or all of the following duties. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

Participates in research and development projects involving atom interferometry, atom-based inertial and gravitational sensing, cold-atom systems, laser systems, vacuum systems, controls, and quantum sensing systems

Translates customer needs, use cases, and specifications into practical quantum sensor architectures, requirements, error budgets, trade studies, operating concepts, and development plans

Supports development from concept and architecture phases all the way through test, operation, and eventual deployment

Develops and maintains physics models, simulations, calculations, and error budgets to guide architecture decisions, performance estimates, and identification of technical risks

Evaluates sensor concepts against real-world and deployed-system constraints including sensitivity, bandwidth, dynamic range, SWaP-C, environmental robustness, manufacturability, reliability, cost, schedule, and technical risk

Works with electrical, mechanical, software, firmware, vacuum, laser, and controls engineering teams to develop requirements, guide design trades, and convert physics concepts into buildable and operable instrument designs

Participates in proposal development and customer technical discussions, including practical work scope, risks, system concepts, and deployment considerations

Communicates project findings and progress to both internal stakeholders and external customers

PhD in atomic physics, optical physics, quantum sensing, precision measurement, or related field

Practical experience with atom-based inertial and/or gravitational sensors, atom interferometry, or closely related AMO or precision-measurement hardware

Strong practical judgment in balancing physics performance against constraints such as reliability, operability, integration complexity, usability, cost, schedule, SWaP-C, environmental robustness, and technical risk

Experience designing, building, integrating, testing, operating, and debugging complex hardware and software systems

Experience developing models, simulations, calculations, and/or error budgets to inform instrument designs

Ability to work effectively with engineering teams on optical, mechanical, electrical, software, firmware, vacuum, laser, controls, packaging, and instrument-operation challenges

Professional-level communication skills, including the ability to share technical information clearly with technical and non-technical staff, leadership, and customers

Ability to travel domestically and potentially internationally up to 10%

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship

Additional Preferred Qualifications

Direct experience with atom interferometry, cold-atom gravimetry, gravity gradiometry, quantum inertial sensing, Bose Einstein condensates, or optical lattices

Experience building, testing, operating, or deploying practical AMO/quantum systems, including fieldable sensors, transportable instruments, or robust laboratory prototypes

Experience with cold or ultracold atoms, Bose-Einstein condensates, MOTs, optical lattices, or related technologies

Demonstrated ability to translate customer needs or performance goals into implementable system architectures, requirements, engineering trades, and test approaches

Experience writing proposals, leading technical work, serving as a Principal Investigator (PI) or technical lead, and/or working directly with customers

2+ years of post-PhD experience in a postdoctoral role, quantum-related industry, precision measurement, or related hardware development environment
This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Please note that any offer for employment may be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations without sponsorship for an export license.