Postdoctoral Research Associate, Quantum-HPC Co-Design and Integration

Oak Ridge National Laboratory • Oak Ridge, TN

7d • Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to conduct research at the intersection of quantum computing and high-performance computing (HPC). The successful candidate will contribute to the modeling, simulation, and co-design of next-generation Quantum-HPC (QHPC) architectures, with particular emphasis on integration of quantum and HPC distributed computing runtime with application and compilers to efficiently integrate quantum processors with HPC resources. The research will explore different quantum computing modalities, their architectural characteristics and system-level requirements, and their suitability for scientific applications. The candidate will develop modeling and simulation capabilities to quantitatively evaluate quantum, classical, and hybrid quantum-classical computing approaches and investigate architectural, performance, resource, and scalability tradeoffs. The position provides opportunities to conduct cutting-edge research, collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, publish in leading scientific venues, and contribute to emerging QHPC software and system technologies.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Quantum computing, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related discipline, with demonstrated knowledge of or research experience in quantum science, quantum computing, or related areas. Candidates who have completed all Ph.D. requirements and expect to receive their degree within the next few months are also encouraged to apply.
• Strong background in one or more of the following areas: computer architecture, high-performance computing, quantum computing systems, distributed and heterogeneous computing, runtime systems, or performance modeling and simulation.
• Experience developing and evaluating computer systems through architectural modeling, simulation, prototyping, performance analysis, or experimental evaluation.
• Strong software development skills using C/C++ and Python programming languages, with experience developing, validating, debugging, and evaluating research software.
• Demonstrated record of conducting independent research and publishing high-quality scientific results in peer-reviewed conferences and/or journals, with strong written and oral communication skills.
• Applicants cannot have received their Ph.D. more than five years prior to the date of application and must complete all degree requirements before starting their appointment.
• Ability to obtain and maintain an HSPD-12 PIV badge.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as mandated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 473.1A, which requires a favorable post-employment background investigation.
• Must successfully complete and pass a Federal Tier 1 background check investigation.
• Must not have declared illegal drug activities, including use, supply, possession, or manufacture within the last year.

Nice To Haves

• Experience developing system-level or architectural simulators and performance models for quantum, HPC, heterogeneous, or other emerging computing systems.
• Knowledge of Quantum-HPC architectures and hybrid quantum-classical workflows, including an understanding of different quantum computing modalities, quantum system characteristics, quantum resource requirements, and their implications for system architecture and application performance.
• Experience with compiler and runtime systems, including workload mapping, scheduling, resource management, intermediate representations, or execution orchestration for quantum or heterogeneous computing platforms.
• Experience with heterogeneous and parallel computing technologies, programming models, or accelerators, including CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and emerging computing technologies.
• Familiarity with quantum software frameworks such as Qiskit, CUDA-Q, PennyLane, Cirq, or equivalent platforms, and knowledge of quantum algorithms, quantum error correction, fault-tolerant computing, or quantum resource estimation.
• Experience with performance modeling, benchmarking, profiling, and quantitative comparison of emerging computing technologies against conventional HPC systems.
• Strong track record of collaborative research and publication in relevant areas such as computer architecture, HPC, quantum computing, compilers/runtime systems, or heterogeneous computing.

Responsibilities

• Develop and evaluate architectural models, system-level simulators, and performance modeling frameworks for QHPC systems, capturing relevant characteristics of quantum processing units, classical HPC resources, interconnects, system software, and heterogeneous execution environments.
• Explore and analyze different quantum computing modalities and architectures and investigate their integration with HPC systems. Use representative scientific applications and computational workloads to compare quantum, classical, and hybrid approaches and identify performance tradeoffs, system bottlenecks, resource requirements, and opportunities for quantum advantage.
• Research and develop quantum runtime technologies for heterogeneous QHPC distributed systems, including workload mapping, scheduling, resource management, execution orchestration, and optimization across quantum and classical computing resources.
• Conduct hardware-software and application-system co-design by considering interactions among quantum hardware characteristics, HPC architectures, algorithms, applications, compilers, runtimes, and system-level constraints.
• Work with project teams to formulate and evaluate novel research ideas, develop research software and prototypes, mentor students and junior researchers, collaborate with research partners and sponsors, and publish results in high-quality peer-reviewed conferences and journals.
• Collaborate with researchers across ORNL and with partners from academia, industry, government laboratories, and scientific application communities.
• Contribute to research proposals, technical reports, publications, software artifacts, and other project deliverables, including peer review of technical products to ensure quality and consistency with ORNL standards.
• Advance ORNL's research mission through professional service, technical leadership, conference participation, and dissemination of research results.
• Adhere to requirements for protecting proprietary or sensitive information and follow ORNL cybersecurity policies and guidelines.

Benefits

• medical and retirement plans
• flexible work hours
• on-site fitness
• banking
• cafeteria facilities
• Prescription Drug Plan
• Dental Plan
• Vision Plan
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Contributory Pension Plan
• Life Insurance
• Disability Benefits
• Generous Vacation and Holidays
• Parental Leave
• Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection
• Employee Assistance Plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• Wellness Programs
• Educational Assistance
• Relocation Assistance
• Employee Discounts

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree