Senior Quantum Nanofabrication Engineer

Microsoft • West Lafayette, IN

20h • $119,800 - $234,700 • Onsite

About The Position

Microsoft Quantum is seeking a Senior Quantum Nanofabrication Engineer for its West Lafayette, Indiana facility. The role provides senior-level, hands-on expertise in semiconductor and quantum-device nanofabrication. The engineer will develop, optimize, qualify, and integrate fabrication processes for advanced quantum devices while collaborating with teams focused on materials growth, device design, characterization, and engineering. The position calls for independent ownership of technically challenging processes and modules, including identifying fabrication problems, designing and executing experiments, analyzing results, troubleshooting processes and equipment, and building robust processes suitable for integration into larger device fabrication flows.

The position requires meeting Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including a Microsoft Cloud Background Check at hire or transfer and every two years thereafter. Work may involve access to export-controlled information, so the successful candidate must provide citizenship or eligible status documentation; citizenship will be verified with a valid passport, with alternative documents applicable for certain statuses. The role also calls for using AI tools to improve innovation and efficiency, accelerate engineering and lab workflows, and develop AI agents or copilots that support experiment setup, log triage, measurement reports, protocol templates, and knowledge retrieval.

The listed base pay range is USD $119,800–$234,700 per year across most U.S. locations, with a range of USD $160,200–$261,000 per year for the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metropolitan area. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. The position will remain open for at least five days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until filled.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field and 3+ years of technical engineering experience; or bachelor’s degree in one of these fields or a related field and 5+ years of technical engineering experience; or equivalent experience.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including a Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.
• Provide proof of country of citizenship, U.S. permanent residency, or other protected status as required to assess eligibility for access to export-controlled information; citizenship verification requires a valid passport, with other applicable documents accepted for lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.
• Ability to leverage AI tools to drive innovation and efficiency, apply AI to engineering and lab workflows, and design and build AI agents/copilots for relevant tasks.

Nice To Haves

• Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field and 3+ years of technical engineering experience; or master’s degree in one of these fields or a related field and 6+ years of technical engineering experience; or bachelor’s degree in one of these fields or a related field and 8+ years of technical engineering experience; or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of hands-on experience independently developing semiconductor, superconducting, MEMS, photonic, or other advanced micro- or nanofabrication processes.
• 8+ years of hands-on experience with electron-beam lithography or advanced optical lithography.
• 8+ years of hands-on experience with thin-film deposition techniques such as atomic layer deposition, e-beam evaporation, sputtering, or chemical vapor deposition.
• Experience developing plasma etch processes, including ion-mill, reactive ion etch, and/or atomic layer etch, for sensitive nanoscale devices.
• Experience with III-V semiconductor processing and gate dielectric depositions on III-Vs.

Responsibilities

• Build quantum devices using a broad range of nanofabrication techniques and work with technical owners to understand how process conditions affect device performance.
• Conduct experiments to create and improve fabrication processes; use quantitative characterization and metrology to establish process windows, identify failure mechanisms, and improve repeatability and yield.
• Collaborate with device physicists, materials scientists, growth engineers, characterization teams, and fabrication engineers to identify factors affecting quantum devices and translate device requirements into practical fabrication processes.
• Identify process and equipment capability gaps and assist with equipment upgrades and process improvements to address them.
• Collect fabrication and characterization data to maintain and improve processes and identify opportunities to improve device performance, reliability, repeatability, and yield.
• Embody Microsoft’s culture and values.
• Use AI tools to drive innovation and efficiency, accelerate engineering and lab workflows, and support or build AI agents/copilots for experiment setup, log triage, measurement reports, protocol templating, and knowledge retrieval.

What This Job Offers

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