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Building the Architecture of tomorrow

The quantum revolution presents the best and brightest in science and technology with the chance to not only embrace the future – but to shape it.  Massive investment from both government and industry has brought quantum computing to the threshold of commercial viability and adoption, meaning that now is the time to get involved at the ground floor of productization.

What’s the next ‘big hairy problem’ facing quantum computing?  Quantum networking, or the ability to connect these powerful systems in a way that preserves the quantum state.  With quantum networking, users can achieve meaningful qubit counts faster to tackle game-changing problems,  enjoy modular growth that lets customers easily grow with quantum as needs expand, and leverage truly unbreakable security that’s protected by not only encryption but literally the laws of quantum physics.

If you fit one of our open roles below, we’d love to connect with you to see if this is the right place for you to embrace your future

Open Positions

We are seeking a highly motivated Integrated Photonic Design Engineer to lead the design, simulation, and validation of our next-generation photonic integrated circuits (PICs). In this role, you will bridge the gap between quantum physics and scalable semiconductor manufacturing. You will design the optical interfaces that control and read out different qubit modalities, working closely with our materials, quantum engineering, and test/measurement teams to push the boundaries of what is possible in quantum networking.

Responsibilities 

  • Design & Simulation: Lead the design and simulation of passive and active nanophotonic devices (e.g., high-Q photonic crystal cavities, waveguides, couplers, modulators) using tools such as Ansys Lumerical, Tidy3D, or similar FDTD/FEM solvers
  • Foundry Tape-out: Manage the full lifecycle of PIC tape-outs, including layout (GDSII), design rule checking (DRC), and collaboration with commercial foundry partners (e.g., AIM Photonics) to ensure successful fabrication
  • System Integration: Work with the quantum hardware team to integrate photonic circuits with multiple optically active qubit platforms, ensuring optimal light-matter interaction and efficient qubit control/readout
  • Characterization: Collaborate with experimentalists to characterize fabricated devices in our optical labs, analyzing performance data to validate designs and drive iterative improvements
  • Tooling & Automation: Develop and maintain internal software tools (Python) for automated design generation, simulation sweeps, and data analysis

Qualifications

  • Education: Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Photonics, or a related field
  • Experience: 3+ years of hands-on experience in the design, simulation, and layout of active photonic integrated circuits (PICs)
  • Technical Skills: Proficiency with electromagnetic simulation software (Lumerical FDTD/MODE, COMSOL, Tidy3D, or similar).
    • Experience with layout tools (KLayout, Cadence, GDSFactory or similar) and scripting for P-cells
    • Strong programming skills in Python for data analysis and design automation.
  • Knowledge: Solid understanding of waveguide optics, modulator design, nonlinear optics, and limitations/behavior of photonic material platforms

Bonus Points: Experience with quantum photonic devices or solid-state qubits (NV centers, rare-earth ions, etc.).

  • Previous experience coordinating multi-project wafer (MPW) or dedicated runs with commercial foundries.
  • Experience with photonic design on thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) or silicon nitride (SiN) platforms
  • Experience developing integrated photonic components at non-telecom (visible) wavelengths
  • Background in cryogenic experiments or low-temperature photonics
  • Solid understanding of cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED) and light-matter interaction

Why Join Us?

  • Impact: innovative work that directly contributes to addressing the scaling challenges in quantum computing
  • Culture: A collaborative, fast-paced startup environment where your contributions are immediately visible
  • Growth: Opportunity to grow with the company and take on leadership responsibilities in the photonic engineering division
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, equity package, 401k and health benefits

We are seeking an Embedded Control Engineer to architect and implement the RF control systems that enable high speed optical modulation. In this role you will drive critical photonic platform development for quantum networking products. You will collaborate with a diverse team of experts, including quantum scientists, photonic engineers, and nanofabrication specialists, to develop prototypes and products. As a vital member of the team you will make key technical contributions in the area of control electronics and electronic design support as we realize sophisticated electronics for control and readout of our quantum photonic chips.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Architect and implement high-speed feedback optical control systems using commercial off-the-shelf electronics, including FPGAs, ADCs, and DACs, custom-PCBs
  • Design and validate rapid control loops for optically implemented functions such as phase and amplitude control
  • Guide and review firmware and FPGA implementations for control interfaces, performance requirements, and validation methodologies.
  • Collaborate closely with photonic integrated circuit designers to ensure PIC layouts and actuation mechanisms are compatible with controls hardware.
  • Establish and enforce best practices for control code organization, version control, documentation, and experimental traceability to enable reliable debugging, review, and long-term maintainability.

Required Qualifications and Skills:

  • Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
  • Demonstrated experience implementing fast feedback loops (hundreds of kHz to MHz) on physical hardware, typically using FPGA-based or equivalent hard realtime implementations.
  • Direct experience implementing control systems in FPGA fabric, including timing-critical and latency-bounded control loops.
  • Experience with standard peripheral interfaces, including SPI, I2C, UART, USB, TTL etc.
  • Develop and implement real-time computational and digital algorithms and systems utilizing FPGAs.
  • Familiarity with the use of complex laboratory equipment such as signal generators.

Bonus Points:

  • Experience with optical systems, photonic integrated circuits, and/or RF systems
  • Experience with quantum control software packages (e.g. QICK board, Quantum Machines)
  • Demonstrated technical leadership in small, multidisciplinary teams
  • Familiarity with Network Communication Protocols, HDL, Verilog

Why Join Us?

  • Impact: innovative work that directly contributes to addressing the scaling challenges in quantum computing
  • Culture: A collaborative, fast-paced startup environment where your contributions are immediately visible
  • Growth: Opportunity to grow with the company and take on leadership responsibilities in the photonic engineering division
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, equity package, 401k and health benefits

If you are someone that’s ready to embrace your future and contribute to the quantum technology revolution, we encourage you to apply. This role is targeted for our Chicago, IL headquarters location.

As a Quantum Network Architect at memQ, you will develop the theoretical frameworks necessary for distributed quantum information processing. This role focuses on designing fault-tolerant (FT) protocols for modular architectures, bridging the gap between physical hardware constraints and high-value quantum applications. You will work directly with our hardware and software teams to define the architectural specifications required for distributed quantum systems.

Responsibilities

  • Fault-Tolerant Interconnect Schemes: Co-design & evaluate quantum error correction (QEC) schemes for a modular topology under realistic hardware & network constraints.
  • Hardware-Architecture Co-Design: Work closely with the hardware team to translate QEC requirements into concrete hardware & architectural specifications. Perform numerical estimates to determine the ‘break-even’ point for hardware viability and resource requirements.
  • Remote Protocol and Circuit Optimization: Develop fault-tolerant quantum circuits for inter-module operations, integrating them into the QEC logical cycle to minimize circuit depth, latency, and idling overhead.

Educational requirement 

PhD in Physics, quantum optics, or a related field.

Experience: 3-5 years of experience in quantum information theory (PhD experience counts)

Technical Skills

A strong track record in the following skills, as demonstrated by publications in high-impact venues and conference presentations

  • A strong understanding of the theory of open quantum systems, noise mitigation, quantum error correction, and stabilizer codes.
  • Familiarity with protocols for quantum networking and distributed quantum computation.
  • Familiarity with the quantum circuit simulation and noise modelling in Qiskit/CUDA/Stim.

Bonus points

  • Knowledge of protocols and components for distributed quantum information processing (e.g., quantum repeater, quantum transducer, qRAM).
  • Knowledge of quantum algorithms and quantum resource estimation.
  • Experience co-designing a quantum error correction & mitigation scheme under realistic noise.
  • Knowledge of decoders for quantum error correction. 

Why Join Us?

  • Unique position: You will be one of the few people in the world working on the direct interface between quantum networking and neutral atom computing.
  • Autonomy: You will have significant creative freedom to design the testbed as you see fit to achieve company goals.
  • Impact: Your work will directly accelerate the timeline for distributed quantum computing.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, equity package, 401k and health benefits.Location: Chicago, IL

We are seeking an experimental AMO Physicist to lead the construction and operation of memQ’s neutral atom setup.

In this role, you will be the “internal customer.” You will design and build a neutral atom trapping apparatus (MOT/tweezers) from the ground up to serve as a test platform for memQ’s interconnect technology. You will work at the intersection of atomic physics and nanophotonics, demonstrating how our integrated photonic control systems can interface with, control, and entangle neutral atoms.

Responsibilities

  • Build the setup: Lead the design, procurement, and assembly of a neutral atom testbed. This includes the ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system, laser cooling optics, magnetic coil design, and imaging systems.
  • System operation: Achieve and maintain stable trapping and reloading of neutral atoms (e.g., Rb, Cs, or Yb) in optical tweezers or lattices.
  • Interconnect verification: Integrate memQ’s photonic devices into the atomic experiment. You will test how well our hardware delivers control pulses, collects fluorescence, or mediates entanglement between the atoms and our network fabric.
  • Interface design: Collaborate with our photonic design engineers to optimize the optical coupling between our chip-scale devices and the macroscopic vacuum system 
  • Control integration: Implement the control software (ARTIQ/Python) to synchronize the atomic experiment with memQ’s networking protocols.
  • Customer empathy: Act as the technical bridge to our neutral atom customers, translating their specific experimental constraints (wavelengths, Rabi frequencies, trap depths) into requirements for memQ’s product roadmap.

Qualifications

  • Education: Ph.D. in Physics, Applied Physics, or Optical Engineering with a specialization in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) physics.
  • Experience: 4+ years of hands-on experimental research with cold atoms or similar quantum systems.
  • Technical Expertise:
    • Vacuum & lasers: Expert knowledge of UHV assembly, bake-out procedures, and laser locking (PDH, spectroscopy).
    • Trapping: Proven track record of building or maintaining magneto-optical traps (MOTs) or dipole traps.
    • Optics: Strong experience with free-space optical alignment and imaging systems.
    • Control: Proficiency with FPGA-based control systems (Sinara/ARTIQ) and Python.
  • Leadership: Ability to own a complex project from architectural design to “first light” and beyond.

Bonus Points

  • Experience with cavity QED or strong light-matter interaction experiments.
  • Knowledge of Rydberg atom physics and gate mechanisms.
  • Familiarity with telecom-to-visible frequency conversion 
  • Experience coupling light from integrated photonic chips into vacuum systems.

Why Join Us?

  • Unique position: You will be one of the few people in the world working on the direct interface between quantum networking and neutral atom computing.
  • Autonomy: You will have significant creative freedom to design the testbed as you see fit to achieve company goals.
  • Impact: Your work will directly accelerate the timeline for distributed quantum computing.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, equity package, 401k and health benefits.

Found a role that matches your expertise?Send your resume, transcripts, and anything else that we should know to  hiring@memq.tech to start the conversation or apply below.

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