Staff Experimental Physicist (Fluxonium Development) (Burnaby)

About the role

We are looking for a creative, energetic, and driven Staff Experimental Physicist to join our Processor Development (PD) team. The PD team is composed of experienced and talented superconducting designers, fabrication engineers, software developers, and physicists who work together to create the processors at the heart of our quantum computers and are constantly pushing the boundaries of the technology of the future.

Responsibilities

• Lead experimental characterization of fluxonium qubits and processor components through quantitative modeling and data-driven analysis.


• Investigate and understand decoherence and noise mechanisms, and propose improvements in device design and cryogenic operation to mitigate them.


• Develop, calibrate, and validate high fidelity single qubit and two qubit gates, reset and readout, using standard and novel benchmarking protocols.


• Develop error mitigation and performance improvement strategies.


• Diagnose scaling limitations to support near- and long-term error correction demonstrations.


• Collaborate with designers on device parameter studies and simulations to define measurement primitives and requirements for improved processor performance.


• Share your results and ideas with the broader PD team through regular and clear documentation.


• Create and contribute to Lisp software infrastructure for modeling, calibrating, and operating qubits and processors.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in quantum computing or a related experimental field plus four years experience in quantum technology development, or equivalent combination of academic and government or industrial research experience.


• Expertise in one or more of the following: superconducting devices, gate-model processor development, device fabrication, RF engineering, and low-noise electronics.


• Strong software development skills for technology development or experimentation, including familiarity with collaborative development environment and version control.


• Willingness to learn new languages and tools as needed.


• Excellent technical intuition and problem solving skills.


• Demonstrated excellence in independent research and evidence of deep understanding in your area of expertise.


• A collaborative mindset and demonstrated ability to work effectively on an interdisciplinary team and take shared accountability for successes and setbacks.


• Excellent communication skills and experience with summarizing technical information for a broad audience.


• Ability to adapt to shifting priorities in a time-sensitive environment, while maintaining focus on challenging problems.


• Exceptional candidates will have expertise in calibrating and characterizing fluxonium qubits.


• Experience with system design or systems engineering, particularly in the context of scalable gate model technologies.


• Familiarity with architecture design for low crosstalk and scalable two-qubit coupling schemes.


• Expertise in cryogenic microwave engineering for quantum control and troubleshooting RF components and setups.


• Competency in mentoring colleagues and/or evidence of previous technical leadership.


• Knowledge of superconducting qubit fabrication techniques and their impact on qubit performance.


• Experience designing and executing benchmarking protocols (for example RB, interleaved RB, XEB, gate set tomography), and familiarity with quantum error correction methods.

Compensation

The base pay range for this role is: 164,000 - 225,000 CAD per year (Burnaby)

EEO Statement

It is D-Wave Systems Inc. policy to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/provincial, local law.

Additional hiring notes

No third party candidates will be accepted.