Senior Quantum Engineer

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

1d

About The Position

The Quantum Design team at Microsoft is seeking a Senior Quantum Engineer to design and simulate next-generation quantum processing unit (QPU) chips, advancing scalable quantum computing based on topological qubits. The role involves designing chip components, including wiring and interfaces that integrate with control and readout layers, and collaborating with experts in systems design, fabrication, packaging, and control.

The position calls for experience in quantum device design and radio-frequency (RF) simulation, familiarity with integrated circuit design workflows and tool development, and a passion for advancing quantum computing. Clear communication and effective interdisciplinary collaboration are central to the role.

Microsoft’s quantum program pursues topological qubits for large-scale quantum computing and works with companies to advance quantum computer systems across the stack and bring them to market on the Microsoft Quantum accelerator platform. The company also sees AI as a means to accelerate the creation and realization of useful quantum computers.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field and at least 3 years of technical engineering experience; or bachelor's degree in one of these fields and at least 5 years of technical engineering experience; or equivalent experience.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including passing the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.
• Must provide proof of citizenship, U.S. permanent residency, or other protected status for assessment of eligibility to access export-controlled information; citizenship is verified with a valid passport, with other applicable documents accepted for lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.
• Ability to work in an AI-first environment using modern AI tools to accelerate discovery through hardware and software development.
• Ability to design and build AI agents or copilots to assist with experiment setup, log triage, measurement report generation, protocol templating, and knowledge retrieval.

Nice To Haves

• Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field and at least 3 years of technical engineering experience; or master's degree in one of these fields and at least 6 years of experience; or bachelor's degree in one of these fields and at least 8 years of experience; or equivalent experience.
• At least 3 years of chip or printed circuit board (PCB) design experience involving quantum devices, mixed-signal integrated circuits, high-speed RF/digital circuits, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Proficiency with industry-standard or custom chip and circuit design tools, including electronic design automation (EDA) tools for integrated circuit (IC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design, physical design, and verification.
• Experience with RF circuit and electromagnetic simulation for device, chip, and interconnect modeling and optimization using tools such as Ansys, Sigrity, COMSOL, Cadence, or SPICE-based simulators.
• Experience with device and chip thermal modeling, preferably in quantum or cryogenic operating regimes, using Ansys, COMSOL, or custom modeling packages.
• Experience with semiconductor device design and fabrication processes, including process design kits (PDKs), along with Python programming and collaborative development using Git/GitHub.
• Knowledge of quantum computing principles and hands-on quantum hardware experience, such as superconducting-qubit or spin-qubit systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop QPU chip designs and interfaces to readout and control layers using simulation-driven, fabrication-aware workflows.
• Perform RF simulations of QPU chips and interface layers to define design requirements and optimize control and readout performance.
• Partner with fabrication, systems, packaging, and control teams to co-design QPUs, incorporating constraints and requirements.
• Build and maintain design tools, functionalize devices into models, and enable co-design with internal teams and external partners.
• Apply integrated circuit design principles and engineering best practices to improve design processes and recommend optimizations.
• Embody Microsoft’s culture and values.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior