Principal Quantum Engineer

Microsoft • Santa Barbara, CA

1d • $139,900 - $304,200

About The Position

Microsoft Quantum has assembled a talented, diverse international team to build the world’s first scalable quantum computing system. Our full‑stack approach spans innovation from the physics of the quantum plane to the delivery of global quantum services. The Microsoft Quantum program aims to fundamentally transform computing to help solve some of humanity’s most intractable problems as we enter an accelerated era of quantum advancement. We are seeking talented, focused individuals to help deliver useful quantum computers. Microsoft is pursuing topological qubits for large‑scale quantum computing and partnering with a growing ecosystem of companies to advance quantum systems across every layer of the stack and bring them to market through the Microsoft Quantum accelerator platform. We believe Artificial Intelligence (AI) can speed up the development of useful quantum computers and shorten the path to their realization. For more information about the Microsoft Quantum team, please visit https://quantum.microsoft.com/
As a Principal Quantum Engineer, you will guide process integration decisions and fabrication flows via theoretical insights and atomistic simulations. You’ll work closely with other experts in atomistic simulations and with fabrication, growth, characterization, and device engineering teams in a fast-paced, interdisciplinary environment. This role offers a unique opportunity to shape revolutionary technology and accelerate progress toward scalable quantum computing based on topological qubits.
As a Principal Quantum Engineer, you will operate at a technical leadership level, guiding development of simulation pipelines and driving decisions. This role expands beyond individual contribution to include technical direction-setting and cross-organization influence.
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Requirements

• Doctorate in Physics, Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years experience in industry or in a research and development environment OR Master's Degree in Physics, Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years experience in industry or in a research and development environment OR Bachelor's Degree in Physics, Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years experience in industry or in a research and development environment OR equivalent experience.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role.
• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
• Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This role will require access to information that is controlled for export under export control regulations, potentially under the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations or Export Administration Regulations, the EU Dual Use Regulation, and/or other export control regulations. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide either proof of their country of citizenship or proof of their U.S. permanent residency or other protected status (e.g., under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the successful candidate’s citizenship will be verified with a valid passport. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees may verify status using other documents, where applicable.

Nice To Haves

• Ability to work in an “AI-first” environment using modern AI tools to accelerate discovery through both hardware and software development.
• Ability to design and build AI agents/copilots that assist with experiment setup, log triage, measurement report generation, protocol templating, and knowledge retrieval (e.g. instrument manuals, design docs).
• Doctorate in Physics, Engineering, or related field AND 5+ years experience in industry or in a research and development environment OR Master's Degree in Physics, Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years experience in industry or in a research and development environment OR Bachelor's Degree in Physics, Engineering, or related field AND 12+ years experience in industry or in a research and development environment OR equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated technical leadership on complex, multi-disciplinary hardware programs.
• Research experience in atomistic and materials modeling in a commercial or academic setting.
• Experience with first-principles simulations (e.g., DFT) and molecular dynamics for materials and interfaces.
• Familiarity with modeling dielectric materials, defects, diffusion, and interfaces.
• Experience modeling finite-temperature dynamics and transport in materials (e.g., diffusion, reactions, amorphization) using MD and related methods.
• Proficiency with high performance computing environments.
• Experience with collaborative code development in Python.

Responsibilities

• Own the simulation roadmap, Density Functional Theory/Molecular Dynamics (DFT/MD), for crystalline and amorphous materials, defects, and interfaces.
• Build models and propose experiments for validation, benchmarking and optimization.
• Partner with growth/fab/characterization/device teams to close gaps between theory and data and translate results into process windows and material choices.
• Architect scalable workflows, libraries, and data standards for reliable, high-throughput studies on High-Performance Computing (HPC).
• Communicate clear recommendations, trade-offs, and risks to engineering and leadership.
• Embody our culture and values.

Benefits

• Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

What This Job Offers

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