Senior Quantum Field Engineer

Entangled Future; Berkeley (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Rigetti Computing seeks a Systems Integration Engineer on the Deployments team to bring superconducting quantum processors to life at customer sites and ensure they perform to specification in production. While the role is based in the UK, it requires travel to customer sites globally to support deployment of Rigetti quantum systems.

You will be the direct technical representative, translating complex results into clear guidance for technical and non-technical audiences.

Qualifications

• PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field; or equivalent with relevant experience.
• Hands-on experience with superconducting qubit devices.
• Proficiency in Python in a scientific/engineering context.
• Strong debugging across the measurement chain (wiring, electronics, device, software).
• Willingness to travel internationally 10–25% of the time.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical work for your track during on-site deployments: define scope, run experiments, validate against specs, document outcomes.
• Debug failures and isolate root causes across hardware, software, and infrastructure; drive cross-functional resolution.
• Act as the primary technical contact for customers during on-site engagements and translate results to diverse audiences.
• Monitor deployed systems and address regressions, drift, or outages.
• Train team members and customer personnel on procedures and workflows.
• Contribute to internal tooling, docs, and automation to improve repeatability.
• Collaborate with R&D teams to improve device performance at scale.
• Be available for international travel up to 10–25% for deployments.
• Develop detailed experimental plans for each cooldown: scope, sequence, success criteria.
• Characterise qubits and readout; validate coherence and yields against requirements.

Skills

Python

Debugging

Communication

Customer-facing

Education

PhD in Physics

MS/BS in Physics or Electrical Engineering with 3+ years' experience

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

AWS

Cryogenic hardware

Job description

As a Systems Integration Engineer on the Deployments team, you will be at the operational frontier of Rigetti's external quantum systems work — bringing processors to life at customer sites and ensuring they perform to specification in production. You will be among the first people to deploy a Rigetti system in a new environment, owning the technical work from initial bring-up through sustained cloud operation.

While this role is primarily based in the UK, it requires travel to customer sites globally to support deployment of Rigetti quantum systems. You will serve as a direct technical representative of the team, working alongside on-site personnel and translating complex experimental results into clear operational guidance for both specialist and non-specialist audiences. When not engaged with on-site deployments, you will collaborate closely with internal R&D teams to drive critical improvements to device performance and scalability.

This role has two specialization tracks. Candidates will be assessed for fit across both and placed based on experience:

Systems & Integration — focused on device bring-up, cryogenic hardware, qubit and fridge characterization, and cross-functional debug from cryo to deployment.

Gate Calibration & Deployment — focused on 1Q/2Q gate performance, automated recalibration, production monitoring, and cloud deployment workflows.

Travel Requirements: This position requires regular travel, with an expectation of approximately up to 25% travel to customer sites.

As engineering leaders, we value diversity and are committed to building a culture of inclusion to attract and engage innovative thinkers. Our technology, meant to serve all of humanity, cannot succeed if those who built it do not mirror the diversity of the communities we serve. Applications from women, minorities, and other under-represented groups are encouraged.

What you'll do

• 01 Own the technical work for your track during on-site deployments: define scope, execute experiments or calibrations, validate against specification, and document outcomes.
• 02 Debug failures and isolate root causes across hardware, software, and infrastructure; elevate findings and drive resolution cross-functionally.
• 03 Act as the primary technical point of contact for customers during on-site engagements; communicate results clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• 04 Monitor deployed systems and proactively identify and respond to regressions, drift, or outages.
• 05 Train team members and customer-side personnel on procedures, workflows, and best practices relevant to your track.
• 06 Contribute to internal tooling, documentation, and automation to improve repeatability and reduce manual effort.
• 07 Work with internal R&D teams to drive improvements to device performance at scale.
• 08 Be available for international travel up to 10–25% of the time in support of customer deployments.
• 09 Develop detailed experimental plans for each cooldown: define measurement scope, sequence, and success criteria prior to cool-down.
• 10 Characterise qubits and readout using internal tooling; validate coherence, line yield, and qubit yield against project requirements.

What they're looking for

• PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field; or equivalent degree with relevant industry or postdoctoral experience (see track requirements below).
• Hands-on experience with superconducting qubit devices.
• Proficiency in Python in a scientific or engineering context.
• Strong systematic debugging skills: able to isolate failures across the full measurement chain (wiring, electronics, device, software).
• Comfort operating in customer-facing and field environments with limited on-site infrastructure support.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to write clear experimental reports and debrief non-specialists.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally 10–25% of the time.
• MS/BS with 3+ years of relevant experience (or PhD).
• Experience troubleshooting cryogenic microwave hardware.
• Experience calibrating and characterising 1Q and 2Q gates on superconducting qubit devices.

Nice to have

• Experience operating and troubleshooting dilution refrigerators.
• Knowledge of common qubit failure modes and their signatures (e.g., TLS, flux noise, packaging issues).
• Prior experience in a customer-facing or field engineering role.
• Experience with automated or scheduled recalibration systems in a production or high-uptime environment.
• Familiarity with cloud deployment infrastructure (AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, Docker).
• Experience with pulse-level gate optimisation (DRAG, flux pulse shaping, dynamical decoupling).
• Experience supporting a rotational on-call or production-support schedule.

Rigetti Computing builds superconducting quantum computers from small chiplets, including the 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q, which you can use through Amazon Braket or Rigetti's own Quantum Cloud Services. It trades on Nasdaq as RGTI.