Quantum Applied Scientist, Simulation Methods and Tools, AWS Center for Quantum Computing

The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Center for Quantum Computing (CQC) in Pasadena, CA, is looking to hire an Applied Scientist focused on development of methods and tools for simulating quantum processor devices. In this role, you will develop and apply numerical methods and software tools that address simulation problems in quantum processor design and characterization. You will be joining a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and technicians, all working at the forefront of quantum computing and will have an opportunity to make an enduring impact on the development of fault-tolerant quantum computers.

The ideal candidate should have a track record of significant technical contributions to scientific software packages and have deep expertise in developing and applying numerical methods to simulate quantum many-body systems in the context of quantum processor development.

Key job responsibilities
Simulations are a critical tool at the CQC. As an applied scientist in this role, you will help develop high quality software tools and numerical methods for simulating our devices at the circuit-QED level, allowing us to accurately and efficiently compute static and dynamical properties of our devices, such as frequencies, coupling strengths, and gate error budgets. The tools you build will directly support device development work done by CQC scientists, such as device theorists, designers, and experimentalists, on adjacent teams. You will also collaborate with these scientists to research and investigate simulation-based solutions to problems in quantum processor design and characterization, communicating your findings and delivering recommendations and examples of best practice.
You should thrive in ambiguous environments that require you to tackle problems that have not been solved before. You are able to apply strong engineering principles while maintaining scientific rigor. Your excellent written and verbal communication skills enable you to explain your work to software engineers, or scientists with different backgrounds to your own.

A day in the life

- Collaborate with designers, device theorists, and measurement scientists to identify high-impact modeling and simulation problems in quantum processor design and characterization
- Research and develop methods and algorithms that could enable or improve our workflows
- Write up your findings and discuss them with scientists and software developers
- Develop and test high-quality implementations, demonstrating them for target applications
- Stay on top of the latest developments in software and algorithms
- Attend regular seminars and discussions with Caltech scientists



About the team
Diverse Experiences
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Export Control Requirement:
Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be either a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be able to obtain a U.S export license. If you are unsure if you meet these requirements, please apply and Amazon will review your application for eligibility.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

- PhD, or Master's degree and 5+ years of science, technology, engineering or related field experience
- Experience in patents or publications at top-tier peer-reviewed conferences or journals
- Experience with programming languages such as Python, Java, C++
- Experience implementing algorithms using both toolkits and self-developed code
- Experience with any of the following: modeling quantum devices using circuit Quantum Electrodynamics, numerical simulation of quantum many-body systems, application of machine-learning methods and tools to science or engineering problems

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Experience in professional software development
- Experience applying theoretical models in an applied environment
- Fluency in Python, Julia, C++, or Rust
- Experience with QuTiP, QuantumOptics.jl, scQubits, SQcircuit, or related software packages
- Experience with using JAX, PyTorch, or other python-based solutions for automatic differentiation or GPU acceleration of self-developed linear algebra code
- Experience in any of the following areas: quantization of superconducting circuits, simulation of quantum real-time dynamics under fast driving, disorder and localization in quantum many-body systems, variational quantum states such as tensor networks, Hamiltonian inference, characterization and calibration of quantum processors, surrogate modeling (e.g. using gaussian processes, neural networks) of quantum devices

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