Software Engineer, Compiler Services

We are hiring software engineers into Compiler Services, the team that builds the compiler for our quantum computers. OpenQASM comes in. SQC ISA instructions come out, as an executable program for the realtime control system.

Placement and routing across the mK wafer is NP-hard, with a connectivity map the physics dictates. The objective is fidelity and time budget together rather than gate count. Fault tolerance changes the compilation model rather than adding a pass, so lattice surgery and bi-layer schemes are implemented here with the QEC theory team. Calibration duty cycles and noise models are compiler inputs.

The team is growing around one deeply integrated system, so there is room to own a stage: logical compilation, optimisation, transpilation, or place and route. Specifications often arrive as a paper rather than a ticket, and Automated Calibration Services publishes the device state you compile against.

Based at our Sydney facility, you will work with quantum information scientists, the QEC theory team and the engineers who build the control plane. This is a role for someone who wants to own a compiler stage end to end, and who is comfortable when the specification arrives as a paper.

4+ years in software engineering, with production work on a compiler, solver, optimiser or comparable transformation system

Strong computer science fundamentals: algorithms, data structures, complexity, and heuristics for problems where the exact answer is out of reach

Graph algorithms, and the judgement to pick an approximation that holds up under the constraint that matters

A performance-oriented language, such as Rust or C++, and Python

Compiler construction in practice: intermediate representations, passes, rewriting, dataflow analysis

Proving a transformation correct in the ways that are available: equivalence checking, property-based testing, differential testing against a reference

The circuit model of quantum computation, including gates, measurement and what a circuit costs on real hardware (no physics degree required)

Working from research literature, and holding a technical conversation with a quantum information scientist about what a requirement means

Measuring compiler output rather than reasoning about it

Git workflow, code review, CI, and tests you trust on a codebase several people change daily

Clear technical writing

Quantum error correction: surface codes, lattice surgery, magic state distillation, or decoder design

Transpiler or compiler internals in Qiskit, TKET, Cirq or a comparable framework

Solver experience: SAT, SMT, ILP, constraint programming, or writing your own search

Place and route, EDA tooling, or hardware synthesis flows

LLVM, MLIR, or another production compiler infrastructure

Scheduling and resource allocation under hard constraints

Quantum circuit simulation, including stabiliser or tensor network methods

Profiling and optimising your own compiler's runtime, not only its output

Publications, open source contributions, or a compiler project you are willing to talk through

SQC is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse perspectives and experiences, and encourage applications from candidates who may not meet every listed requirement. If you’re excited about the role and believe you can contribute, we encourage you to apply.

This position may require access to export-controlled information or technology. Employment may be subject to applicable export control laws and may require eligibility assessment based on factors such as nationality, citizenship, or residency, and, where necessary, obtaining relevant export licenses or approvals.

SQC was founded by renowned physicist and materials scientist Michelle Simmons, who pioneered the field of atomic electronics, including the development of the world’s first single-atom transistor and the first integrated circuit built with atomic precision. Our Chair, Simon Segars, former CEO of Arm, is a leader in the semiconductor industry and was instrumental in developing the processors that powered the mobile computing revolution.

As a full-stack company with in-house QPU manufacturing, SQC can design, produce and test new quantum chips in under a week, enabling rapid iteration and a decisive advantage in the race to build the world’s first commercial-scale quantum computer.

SQC is a high-accountability environment built on a simple principle: Every Atom Counts. If you’re looking to play a meaningful role in building the next frontier of computing, we’d love to hear from you.