Principal Software Architect — Quantum Platform

constructorknowledgelabs; United States; Hybrid; USD 161,000 - 242,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote-first Europe

On-site Bremen presence

Engineering leadership

Job summary

constructorknowledgelabs seeks a principal software architect to lead the end-to-end architecture for a quantum computing platform. You will bridge research and production engineering, owning backend and hardware integration while coding in critical components.

You will shape interfaces for researchers, document build-versus-buy decisions, and drive platform migration to the chosen stack. English fluency and on-premise experience are required.

Qualifications

• Ten or more years building production software systems with strong depth in Python, C#/.NET, or C++.
• Practical experience with distributed systems, job scheduling, and instrument or physical hardware integration.
• Proven track record as the senior technical voice in a small team.
• History of shipping software into on-premise or restricted environments, not only cloud.
• Ability to reason about complex architectures and explain them clearly to non-engineers.
• Degree in computer science, physics, engineering, or equivalent practical experience; fluent English

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end architecture across backend services, job orchestration, hardware abstraction, and device state management.
• Shape the interface between scientific workflows and platform layers so researchers can work without engineering support.
• Make and document build-versus-buy and framework decisions, and lead the migration of the platform onto the chosen stack.
• Write production code in the system's hardest components, where both correctness and performance are non-negotiable.
• Define and uphold engineering standards for testing, review, structured logging, and dependency governance, while reducing single points of failure.
• Work daily with research physicists to translate experiments into software, and support product planning with realistic technical input.

Skills

Software architecture

Distributed systems

Python

C#/.NET

C++

On-premises deployment

Leadership

English fluency

Education

BS/MS in CS or related field

Physics/Engineering degree

Equivalent practical experience

Job description

Role overview

This principal-level role leads the software architecture for a quantum computing platform that drives physical hardware end to end. The platform covers calibration, orchestration, experiment execution, and device state, and must operate reliably in cloud, on-premise, and air-gapped customer environments. The position sits between research physicists and production engineering, carrying genuine authority over technical direction while remaining deeply hands-on.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end architecture across backend services, job orchestration, hardware abstraction, and device state management
• Shape the interface between scientific workflows and platform layers so researchers can work without engineering support
• Make and document build-versus-buy and framework decisions, and lead the migration of the platform onto the chosen stack
• Write production code in the system's hardest components, where both correctness and performance are non-negotiable
• Define and uphold engineering standards for testing, review, structured logging, and dependency governance, while reducing single points of failure
• Work daily with research physicists to translate experiments into software, and support product planning with realistic technical input

Requirements

• Ten or more years building production software systems with serious depth in Python, C#/.NET, or C++
• Practical experience with distributed systems, job scheduling, and instrument or physical hardware integration
• Proven record as the senior technical voice in a small team
• History of shipping software into on-premise or restricted environments, not only cloud
• Ability to reason about complex architectures and explain them clearly to non-engineers
• Degree in computer science, physics, engineering, or equivalent practical experience; fluent English

Nice to have

• Genuine curiosity about scientific domains (a physics degree is welcome but not required)
• Pragmatic approach that prefers shipping over polishing
• Working knowledge of German

Benefits and work setup

• Remote-first within Europe with regular on-site presence in Bremen
• Technical leadership across an engineering group, without an initial management track
• Role profile emphasizing hands-on coding and architectural authority rather than committee work