Senior Quantum Nanofabrication Engineer

Microsoft • West Lafayette, IN

4h • $119,800 - $261,000 • 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 technical expertise in semiconductor and quantum-device nanofabrication. The engineer will develop, optimize, qualify, and integrate critical fabrication processes that support advanced quantum devices, working closely with materials growth, device design, characterization, and engineering teams.

The successful candidate will independently own technically challenging fabrication processes and modules. This includes identifying fabrication problems, designing and executing experiments, analyzing results, troubleshooting fab processes and equipment, and developing robust processes that can be integrated reliably into larger device fabrication flows. The position also involves applying AI tools to improve engineering and lab workflows, including building agents or copilots to assist with experiment setup, log triage, measurement reports, protocol templates, and knowledge retrieval.

Applicants must meet applicable Microsoft, customer, and government security screening requirements, including a Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter. The role requires access to export-controlled information, so citizenship or eligible status will be verified using a valid passport or other applicable documentation. The typical U.S. base pay range is $119,800–$234,700 per year, with a range of $160,200–$261,000 per year for specified locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metropolitan area. The position will be 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 a 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 passing the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.
• Ability to provide proof of citizenship, U.S. permanent residency, or other protected status for assessment of eligibility to access export-controlled information; citizenship will be verified with a valid passport, with other applicable documents permitted for lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.
• Ability to leverage AI tools to drive innovation and efficiency, such as performance modeling and analysis, research gathering, and day-to-day task automation.

Nice To Haves

• Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field and 3+ years of technical engineering experience; or a master’s degree in one of these fields or a related field and 6+ years of experience; or a bachelor’s degree in one of these fields or a related field and 8+ years of 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.
• Partner 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.
• Collect and use fabrication and characterization data to maintain and improve processes and identify opportunities to improve device performance, reliability, repeatability, and yield.
• Apply AI to accelerate engineering and laboratory workflows, including designing and building AI agents or copilots for experiment setup, log triage, measurement report generation, protocol templating, and knowledge retrieval.
• Embody Microsoft’s culture and values.

What This Job Offers

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