Control Systems Architect - Photonic Quantum

Job Description

Job Title: Staff Control Systems Architect - Photonic Quantum Computing. Location: Toronto, Canada

Responsibilities:

• Own the architecture of central control systems for next-generation fault-tolerant quantum computers, covering real-time feedback and locking, feedforward and switching, initialization and calibration, timing, and data flow.

• Define and document interfaces and requirements between digital control, FPGA firmware, analog/mixed-signal electronics, ASICs, embedded software, and optical hardware.

• Make system-wide design tradeoffs supported by quantified budgets for noise, latency, bandwidth, and engineering effort.

• Collaborate with external partners and major programs to accelerate control-system development;

• Identify hidden dependencies and technical risks between interacting systems before they become expensive.

• Review and guide FPGA, electronics, and embedded engineering teams to ensure alignment with the architecture.

• Mentor engineers across these teams.

Qualifications:

• Deep hands-on experience controlling complex physical systems, including feedback and locking, error-signal generation, loop shaping, real-time digital control, noise measurement and budgeting, and associated electronics.

• Demonstrated experience architecting systems implemented by multiple teams, including writing interface and requirements documents and driving improvements through system-wide tradeoffs.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to coordinate across teams and external partners with competing constraints.

• PhD or equivalent experience in physics, electrical engineering, or a related field;

• Typically, 8+ years of subsequent experience in quantum or photonic hardware, precision instrumentation, gravitational-wave or accelerator controls, semiconductor equipment, aerospace/defense controls, or comparable large-scale systems.

Preferred:

• Experience with continuous-variable optics, including fiber and free-space interferometry, homodyne detection, laser phase and frequency locking, and piezoelectric and electro-optic actuators.

• FPGA development for real-time control or digital signal processing (DSP), including high-speed ADC/DAC data paths.

• Familiarity with analog or digital ASIC design workflows.

• Experience with instrument-control and laboratory-automation software, including Python and frameworks such as ARTIQ, EPICS, or QCoDeS.

• Experience transitioning research control systems into production-quality, multi-unit deployments.

• Experience using artificial intelligence for system architecture and software or hardware design tasks.

• Understanding of how scientists, engineers, system operators, and users interact with photonic quantum computers.

Salary and Benefits:

• Salary: Not specified. Base salary will be determined based on location, experience, and internal benchmarks.

• Opportunity to own the control architecture of a fault-tolerant quantum computer alongside the teams developing its hardware and software.

• Access to a state-of-the-art photonics laboratory, custom integrated photonic devices, and custom electronics.

• A collaborative environment where well-supported technical arguments can influence project decisions.

Additional Information:

• Xanadu is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive, safe, equitable, and accessible workplace.

• Applicants requiring accommodations during recruitment can contact [email protected].

• AI tools may be used to assist with applicant screening and assessment, but they do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are made by humans.