AI Systems Engineer

Conductor Quantum; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free healthcare, dental, and vision

Work on important technical problems

Job summary

A quantum technology company in San Francisco seeks a Member of Technical Staff to develop AI software that controls quantum hardware. This role involves designing a natural language interface and architecture for calibration and control. Candidates should have a strong background in Python, machine learning, and quantum physics, along with the drive to work on cutting-edge technology. The position offers free healthcare and the chance to work on transformative tech challenges.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in developing Python pipelines for data analysis.
• Strong skills in machine learning model development for optimization.
• Experience with full-stack web application development.

Responsibilities

• Work with quantum companies to shape product features.
• Develop and deploy machine learning models for qubit optimization.
• Integrate with control electronics for performance.

Skills

Python

Machine Learning

Quantum Physics

Data Analysis

Full-Stack Development

Reinforcement Learning

Education

PhD in Physics or related field

Tools

AWS

GCP

Azure

Job description

Conductor Quantum is building quantum superintelligence.

Quantum superintelligence is an AI that uses quantum computers to surpass the capabilities of humanity's greatest minds. We are closer to that inflection point than most people realise. Frontier models are approaching general intelligence, and AI can already generate quantum circuits faster than humans can write them. The question is no longer whether quantum and AI converge; it is who builds the infrastructure to make that convergence reliable, scalable, and useful.

That infrastructure starts with the hardware. The biggest bottleneck in quantum computing today is not qubit count; it is the manual configuration that keeps those qubits from being usable. Our software automates calibration and operations for spin and superconducting‑qubit systems, turning raw cryogenic hardware into a stable, ready‑to‑run platform accessible through a simple chat interface. By solving that bottleneck, we are enabling thousands, and eventually billions, of qubits to operate reliably at scale.

The result is a quantum computer as easy to use as ChatGPT. The first billion users are coming. The majority, we believe, will be AI agents.

Why Now

Today, AI generates production code faster and more reliably than most of the world's software engineers. AI is already generating quantum circuits. It just needs reliable hardware to run them on, well‑calibrated qubits to utilise, and a feedback loop tight enough to discover new algorithms autonomously.

The world's most capable AI models are being pointed at B2B SaaS. We are pointing ours at the frontier of science.

Role Overview

As a Member of Technical Staff you will shape Conductor's core offerings: AI software that controls quantum hardware. From agentic quantum algorithm discovery and circuit generation code tools, all the way down to calibration and control of low‑level qubit pulses. You will architect, build, and maintain the next‑generation control and calibration stack. You will also build and maintain the first natural language interface for quantum computing, suitable for both human researchers and AI agents.

This is a high‑impact, high‑ownership role for a senior engineer or ex‑founder who has built complex systems before and wants to work on something that matters. You will define best practices, influence product strategy, and help lay the foundation for Conductor's culture and growth.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Engagement and Product Strategy

• Work directly with world‑leading quantum companies and research labs to identify needs, shape product features and roadmaps, and demonstrate capabilities through demos, documentation, and interactive applications.

Data Analysis and Machine Learning

• Develop Python pipelines to analyse large device datasets.
• Build and deploy machine learning models for real‑time qubit optimisation.
• Apply advanced techniques such as Bayesian optimisation and reinforcement learning to solve calibration challenges.

Quantum Engineering and Simulation

• Analyse data from semiconductor spin qubit and superconducting qubit devices to extract quantum features, performance metrics, and optimisation opportunities.
• Develop simulation models using advanced computational techniques and quantum physics to replicate device behaviour.
• Integrate with control electronics such as arbitrary‑waveform generators, microwave sources, and digital‑to‑analog converters.

Full‑Stack Development and Scalable Infrastructure

• Build and maintain full‑stack web applications.
• Deploy machine learning models on cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure).
• Build back‑end services for data collection, labelling, and inference.
• Integrate with external systems for secure, reliable performance.
• Own the natural language interface that makes our platform accessible to both humans and AI agents.

First 30 / 60 / 90 Days

30 Days

• Deeply understand the current calibration stack, data pipelines, and customer integrations
• Own multiple customer‑facing integrations end to end
• Pair with the quantum engineers on at least one hardware‑facing task to understand the lab realities your software serves
• Have a written point of view on how to build the AI‑to‑QPU integration layer, the interface between intelligent agents and quantum hardware that the world has not seen yet

60 Days

• Have shipped your first meaningful improvement to the calibration pipeline or natural language interface
• Identify the single highest‑leverage engineering improvement and align with the team on it
• Have a clear architectural proposal for the next phase of the software stack

90 Days

• Have established engineering practices the whole team is building on
• Be shaping the product strategy and direction of the company

The Team

We are a small, passionate founding team of quantum physicists, hardware engineers, and machine learning experts. Our founders, Brandon and Joel, met each other at Oxford during their PhDs working on AI for quantum computing, where they saw first‑hand that calibration and control is a core bottleneck to scaling quantum computers.

This is your opportunity to do the best work of your life as part of that founding team.

Who We Are Looking For

High intelligence, high energy, and high integrity. People who are hungry to change the world and do not need to be told what to do next.

Perks

• Free healthcare, dental, and vision
• Work on the most important technical problem of our generation