Research Scientist, Applications & Algorithms

Job Description

Job Title: Senior Research Scientist, Applications & Algorithms. Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA (Hybrid)

This role sits within the Applications and Algorithms team and focuses on designing, testing, and validating quantum workflows that outperform classical methods on today’s and next-generation hardware; You will work at the intersection of physics, control theory, AI, and computer science to help make quantum computers practically useful.

Duties:

• Identify and prioritize application areas such as optimization, chemistry, simulation, cryptography, and machine learning with strong potential for near-term quantum advantage.
• Design, implement, and run quantum algorithms on real quantum hardware using advanced control and performance tools.
• Perform benchmarking and ablation studies to clearly validate quantum performance gains over optimized classical approaches.
• Apply techniques from control theory, optimization, machine learning, and data analysis to improve algorithm performance;
• Develop and maintain high-quality research code, mainly using Python, for algorithm development and optimization.
• Collaborate with engineering and product teams to turn research ideas into production-ready software.
• Communicate research results clearly across teams and to external audiences;
• Publish and present research at leading journals and conferences, and collaborate with academic and industry partners.
• Support additional research tasks aligned with skills and experience.

Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Physics, Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related field; PhD preferred.
• Strong expertise in quantum computing, quantum algorithms, or quantum control.
• Deep knowledge in one or more areas such as quantum optimization, simulation, chemistry, cryptography, or quantum machine learning.
• Proven research impact through publications or conference presentations;
• Experience developing scientific software using Python.
• Familiarity with executing quantum circuits using Qiskit is a plus;
• Understanding of error suppression and mitigation techniques in quantum computing is desirable.
• Strong background in related fields such as control theory, optimization, machine learning, or data analysis.
• Experience with hardware-accelerated computing (GPUs, TPUs) is beneficial.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Benefits and Instructions:

• Competitive salary, equity potential, and comprehensive benefits.
• Flexible work culture that values outcomes over hours.
• Opportunity to work with a global, multidisciplinary quantum research team.
• Hybrid work setup based in Los Angeles;
• Q-CTRL follows fair chance hiring practices under California law.
• Official communications will only come from the @q-ctrl.com domain.
• Recruitment agencies are not accepted without prior agreement.
• Apply through Q-CTRL’s official careers page.