Quantum Software Developer - FTQC Software (Intermediate to Senior)

About Xanadu

Xanadu’s mission is to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere.

At Xanadu, we are learners, innovators, researchers, collaborators and problem solvers. We are creating something that has never been built before. Few people in their life will be able to be a part of something like this, where if we are successful, the technologies we develop will solve some of the world’s most challenging problems, and literally change the world. And that is something to be excited about!

Your role and responsibilities:

As part of the Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing (FTQC) Software team, you will be responsible for bridging the critical gap between high-level logical software abstractions and real-world hardware control systems. Your mission will be to ensure our quantum software stack is fully optimized and ready to unlock the capabilities of our scaling fault-tolerant quantum hardware architectures. In this role you will:

• Design, implement, and optimize quantum compilation and Quantum Error Correction (QEC) infrastructure to ensure the framework seamlessly scales for complex, utility-scale quantum workflows.
• Turn cutting-edge theoretical breakthroughs in QEC and fault-tolerant architecture into robust, production-grade software features.
• Work directly at the hardware boundary, translating quantum circuits into optimized intermediate and low-level representations that interface with control system APIs.
• Work closely with our Core, Compilation, Performance, Architecture, Hardware, and Research teams to integrate advanced execution pipelines.
• Actively participate in the lifecycle of our Quantum Software ecosystem, maintaining high standards for new contributions, documentation, and testing.

 Basic qualifications and experience:

• MSc or PhD in Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
• Demonstrated education, training, or professional experience in quantum computing, quantum information or a related field.
• Hands-on experience developing with, or extending, quantum computing or QEC libraries.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex QEC schemes into concrete and optimized software implementations.
• Familiarity with classical or quantum compilation workflows and intermediate representations (IRs).
• Proven experience in production-grade Python and C++ software development with a focus on writing clean, modular and maintainable code.
• Demonstrated experience with modern software engineering best practices, including comprehensive unit, integration and system-level testing, continuous integration (CI/CD) pipelines, and rigorous code review workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to dissect complex mathematical or scientific descriptions (such as those found in academic research papers) and translate them into efficient, working software implementations.
• A proven ability to navigate, learn, and master advanced scientific and technical concepts quickly with minimal direction.
• Comfort working in a fast-moving dynamic environment and navigating the uncertainty of evolving quantum hardware paradigms.

Preferred qualifications and experience:

• MSc or PhD with a specific research focus on Quantum Error Correction (QEC) or Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing (FTQC)—or equivalent deep industry experience.
• Advanced understanding of existing open-source QEC frameworks and libraries.
• Proven experience contributing to, architecting, or maintaining QEC software packages.
• Hands-on experience with advanced compilation frameworks such as MLIR or LLVM
• Experience working at the boundary of hardware control systems, FPGA interfaces, or defining low-level hardware instruction sets.
• Experience architecting or maintaining large-scale software packages, complex APIs, or developer-facing toolkits rather than standalone applications.
• Proven contributions to core open-source scientific libraries, quantum computing frameworks, or directly to our PennyLane/Catalyst ecosystem.

This is for a new position. Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and internal benchmarks. The base salary range is 130,000 - 170,000 CAD. You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Our values are important. They are fundamental and lay the foundation for culture at Xanadu. Learn more about our values here.

We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. We are committed to building an inclusive, safe, and equitable culture and fostering an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. We are committed to meeting the needs of all individuals and support a barrier-free workplace. Should you require accommodations at any point during the recruitment process please contact Recruiting at [email protected].

Please be advised that we may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in the screening and assessment of applicants for this position. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.