Inertial Quantum Physicist

Infleqtion•Louisville, CO

2d•$135,000 - $170,000•Onsite

About The Position

Infleqtion is recruiting a full-time quantum physicist for its Louisville, Colorado office. The role contributes to research, customer-driven development, and commercial projects that translate high-level mission needs into practical sensor concepts, requirements, error budgets, system architectures, and working instruments. The work combines self-directed efforts with collaboration among physicists, engineers, and technicians. This is a practical, hands-on, system-oriented position focused on turning advanced atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics into useful instruments that can progress from research and development prototypes to customer demonstrations and eventual deployed operation. The position involves atom-based inertial and gravitational sensors and may include research, system development, customer technical discussions, and work across the instrument development lifecycle.

Requirements

PhD in atomic physics, optical physics, quantum sensing, precision measurement, or a related field.
Practical experience with atom-based inertial and/or gravitational sensors, atom interferometry, or closely related AMO or precision-measurement hardware.
Practical judgment balancing physics performance against reliability, operability, integration complexity, usability, cost, schedule, SWaP-C, environmental robustness, and technical risk.
Experience designing, building, integrating, testing, operating, and debugging complex hardware and software systems.
Experience developing models, simulations, calculations, and/or error budgets to inform instrument designs.
Ability to work effectively with engineering teams on optical, mechanical, electrical, software, firmware, vacuum, laser, controls, packaging, and instrument-operation challenges.
Professional-level communication skills, including the ability to clearly share technical information with technical and non-technical staff, leadership, and customers.
Ability to travel domestically and potentially internationally up to 10%.
Must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with atom interferometry, cold-atom gravimetry, gravity gradiometry, quantum inertial sensing, Bose-Einstein condensates, or optical lattices.
Experience building, testing, operating, or deploying practical AMO/quantum systems, including fieldable sensors, transportable instruments, or robust laboratory prototypes.
Experience with cold or ultracold atoms, Bose-Einstein condensates, MOTs, optical lattices, or related technologies.
Demonstrated ability to translate customer needs or performance goals into implementable system architectures, requirements, engineering trades, and test approaches.
Experience writing proposals, leading technical work, serving as a Principal Investigator (PI) or technical lead, and/or working directly with customers.
At least 2 years of post-PhD experience in a postdoctoral role, quantum-related industry, precision measurement, or a related hardware development environment.

Responsibilities

Participate in research and development projects involving atom interferometry, atom-based inertial and gravitational sensing, cold-atom systems, laser systems, vacuum systems, controls, and quantum sensing systems.
Translate customer needs, use cases, and specifications into practical quantum sensor architectures, requirements, error budgets, trade studies, operating concepts, and development plans.
Support development from concept and architecture through testing, operation, and eventual deployment.
Develop and maintain physics models, simulations, calculations, and error budgets to guide architecture decisions, estimate performance, and identify technical risks.
Evaluate sensor concepts against real-world and deployed-system constraints, including sensitivity, bandwidth, dynamic range, SWaP-C, environmental robustness, manufacturability, reliability, cost, schedule, and technical risk.
Work with electrical, mechanical, software, firmware, vacuum, laser, and controls engineering teams to develop requirements, guide design trades, and translate physics concepts into buildable and operable instrument designs.
Participate in proposal development and customer technical discussions, including practical work scope, risks, system concepts, and deployment considerations.
Communicate project findings and progress to internal stakeholders and external customers.