Senior Quantum Software Engineer, (back - end)

Senior Back-end Engineer

As a Senior Back-end Engineer on the Boulder Opal Scale Up team, you'll be at the forefront of building the software backbone that powers the future of quantum technology. You'll work side by side with brilliant engineers and researchers, designing and delivering scalable, high-performance systems that bring groundbreaking science into the real world.

From SDKs to cloud-based platforms, your work will shape the tools researchers and customers use every day. You'll not only develop world-class backend systems but also help translate cutting-edge research into production-ready solutions, bridging the gap between quantum experiments and reliable software.

If you're excited about building robust systems, tackling complex problems, and exploring the edge where software meets quantum physics, this is your opportunity to make a real impact in one of the most exciting fields in technology today.

What you'll be doing:

• Build impactful systems: Design, develop, and optimize scalable backend applications in Python that power real-world quantum technology.
• Engineer for performance: Create high-efficiency service-to-service communication using modern protocols.
• Bridge science and engineering: Work hand-in-hand with researchers to translate cutting-edge research code into production-ready solutions, while sharing engineering best practices.
• Deliver end-to-end solutions: Partner with product, frontend, and infrastructure teams to ship integrated features used across Q-CTRL's products.
• Champion quality: Implement and enforce best practices for code quality, security, and operational excellence.
• Solve tough problems: Troubleshoot, optimize, and enhance system performance and reliability at scale.
• Shape reusable architectures: Develop product features that promote flexibility, reuse, and scalability across multiple business cases.
• Contribute broadly: Take on other responsibilities aligned with your skills and experience and grow into new ones with support and training.
• Other duties within the Employee's skills and experience, or with reasonable training.

Ideally you'll have:

• 5+ years of backend engineering experience with Python, Rust, C++, or similar.
• A track record of collaborating across research and engineering to solve hard technical challenges.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive, ownership-driven mindset.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills across agile, cross-functional groups.
• Experience designing and implementing efficient algorithms, statistical models, or large-scale data pipelines.

It would be fantastic if you have these skills/experience but not essential:

• Hands-on experience with modern APIs (gRPC, GraphQL, REST).
• Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and infrastructure management.
• Knowledge of database optimization, distributed systems, or microservices.
• Familiarity with Python web frameworks like Django, Flask, or FastAPI.
• Experience building frameworks or tools for complex computational systems (e.g., calibration, signal processing, or scientific computing).
• Understanding of data modeling for scalable and efficient processing.
• Curiosity or knowledge of quantum physics/quantum computing.
• A background in start-up or scale-up environments where speed and agility are key.
• Skills in data visualization using Plotly, Dash, or Jupyter.

Salary:

The base salary for this position is targeted between $135,000 - $213,000 and will ultimately be determined by specific job-related skills, experience, level, location and other contributing factors. Depending on the position offered, this role may be eligible for annual discretionary bonuses, equity and other forms of compensation outside of the targeted range. For more information on benefits at Q-CTRL, please visit our careers page.

Why Q-CTRL?

Flexibility: We embrace workplace flexibility so you worry more about your impact vs a rigid work schedule.

Attractive salary: You'll get to have the start-up impact without the start-up wages.

Equity: We want people to have a sense of ownership in what they do and offer the potential for equity share and annual bonuses.

Cash bonus: We recognize exceptional performance and impact by offering annual discretionary cash bonuses.

Resources: We are well funded by the world's best technology investors, letting us chase our ambitions with minimal constraints.

Parental support: We offer paid parental leave to support you and your loved ones.

Diversity: We're an equal opportunity employer and actively support initiatives like the 'Global Women in Quantum' program to help expand the quantum workforce.

Unique culture: You'll be surrounded by some of the world's leading physicists, engineers, product, marketing and design people (to name a few!) with a strong desire to learn and transfer knowledge.

Meaningful values: You'll work with an incredibly supportive team who work consistently to deliver our core values to be real, be trusted, be just and to be revered.

Personal development: We provide you with a personal development and wellness budget.

Make a dent: Last but not least you'll have the unique opportunity to help set the direction for this revolutionary technology and truly make an impact that matters!