Overview
Microsoft Quantum team is dedicated to developing the first scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computer and is leading progress in areas ranging from quantum hardware and error correction to comprehensive integration with Azure. Our team comprises an accomplished and diverse international team focused on constructing a scalable quantum computing system. Our full-stack strategy encompasses breakthrough developments, spanning the physics of quantum devices to scalable readout and control infrastructures powered by cryo-electronics. The Microsoft Quantum program aims to transform the future of computing and tackle challenges that are currently beyond reach. We are entering a pivotal phase of accelerated growth in quantum computing, and this position presents a unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully to transformative technology.
As the Principal Technical Program Manager (TPM) on the Quantum 1st Party Hardware TPM team, you'll take on a key leadership position to advance Microsoft's quantum hardware infrastructure. In this role, you'll oversee cross-functional engineering projects, guide pioneering device research and development, and ensure strong execution both internally and with external partners—all while upholding Microsoft's core values of growth mindset, innovation, and inclusion. You will manage functional requirement design and project coordination for the feature team, and dive into technical aspects when necessary. This position calls for an experienced technical program manager with a passion for customer-driven solutions, along with insight and industry expertise to envision and deliver future technical capabilities that will scale and optimize our Quantum solutions for 1st Party customers.
This is a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of quantum hardware innovation. If you are energized by complex program management challenges, thrive in ambiguity, and have a passion for foundational technologies that redefine what’s possible, we invite you to join us and help shape the future of quantum computing.
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.
Responsibilities
- Program Management: Lead all phases of quantum hardware projects, from concept to delivery, working closely with architects, scientists, and engineers for success. Create concise, data-driven updates on program status, risks, dependencies, and impact for stakeholders and senior executives.
- Planning & Roadmapping: Coordinate with leadership and engineering teams to build and maintain clear development roadmaps, align milestones, manage resources, and support long-term goals. Guide Agile processes, encourage transparency, and remove obstacles to meet critical deadlines.
- Team Coordination: Ensure effective collaboration across device physics, cryoelectronic, materials science, manufacturing, supply chain, integration, and cloud hardware operations for scalable solutions.
- Customer Feedback: Use input from internal and pilot customers to improve hardware and processes. This includes potential customers from US Government.
- Risk Mitigation: Identify and reduce risks in technology, scheduling, and operations, applying continuous improvement throughout.
- Supplier Relations: Manage external partnerships, enforce quality and safety standards, and drive cross-company compliance.
- Culture & Mentorship: Foster respect, collaboration, integrity, inclusivity, and continuous learning within the team.
- Other: Embody our Culture and Values
Qualifications
Required/minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree AND 6+ years experience in engineering, physics or a related STEM field, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development
- OR equivalent experience.
- 3+ years of experience managing large-scale, interdisciplinary hardware technology projects from concept to delivery, including system integration, cross-functional team leadership, and coordination across multiple teams.
Other Requirements:
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:
- Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
- Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This role will require access to information that is controlled for export under export control regulations, potentially under the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations or Export Administration Regulations, the EU Dual Use Regulation, and/or other export control regulations. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide either proof of their country of citizenship or proof of their U.S. permanent residency or other protected status (e.g., under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the successful candidate’s citizenship will be verified with a valid passport. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees may verify status using other documents, where applicable.
- Ability to work in an “AI-first” environment using modern AI tools to accelerate discovery through both hardware and software development.
- Ability to design and build AI agents/copilots that assist with experiment setup, log triage, measurement report generation, protocol templating, and knowledge retrieval (e.g. instrument manuals, design docs).
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree AND 12+ years’ experience in engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development (or equivalent experience).
- OR Master’s degree AND 10+ years in a relevant field (e.g., quantum information, physics, materials science, electrical engineering, hardware systems), or equivalent applied experience in quantum or cryogenic hardware programs.
- OR Doctorate AND 6+ years in a relevant field (e.g., quantum information, physics, materials science, electrical engineering, hardware systems), or equivalent applied experience in quantum or cryogenic hardware programs.
- 10+ years of experience owning and managing multi-year, highly complex hardware product portfolios involving deep-tech or first-of-a-kind technologies (e.g., quantum systems, ASICs, photonics, advanced chip packaging, cryoelectronics, or other high-reliability hardware).
- Experience with hands-on quantum hardware R&D, including quantum device development, quantum error correction, and quantum measurement/control hardware.
- Experience with leading external research partnerships with universities, government agencies, and consortia (e.g., DARPA, NIST, top academic labs) in advanced hardware/scientific domains.
- Experience with technology transfer from R&D into scaled engineering and manufacturing, including new-technology introduction, hardware quality systems, and development/auditing of test and validation protocols.
- Experience operating in fast-paced, matrixed product development environments, using program management methods and tools (e.g., Agile, Azure DevOps, or similar) for data-driven execution, issue/risk tracking, schedule management, and executive-ready reporting and communication.
#Quantum #QuantumCareers #MDQCareers
Technical Program Management IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.
TECHNICAL & MARKET ANALYSIS | Appended by Quantum.Jobs
The structural maturation of the quantum hardware sector has reached a critical juncture where pure scientific inquiry must be harmonized with industrial-scale engineering rigor to achieve fault-tolerant computation. This role type serves as the vital architectural link between laboratory breakthroughs and commercial-grade systems, addressing the systemic valley of death between research and production. By orchestrating the convergence of cryogenic electronics, materials science, and advanced manufacturing, this function mitigates the architectural risks inherent in scaling noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices. Market signals from the QED-C and national quantum strategies emphasize that the primary bottleneck to quantum advantage is no longer just qubit coherence, but the industrial orchestration of complex hardware delivery cycles.
The quantum computing value chain is currently transitioning from a research-centric model to a systems-integration phase, where the primary challenge lies in scaling physical architectures without compromising fidelity. This shift necessitates a specialized tier of technical program management capable of navigating the high-uncertainty environment of deep-tech hardware development while enforcing the deterministic milestones required for enterprise-grade productization. Unlike classical semiconductor cycles, quantum hardware trajectories are constrained by radical environmental sensitivities and non-standard supply chains for specialized components like dilution refrigerators and high-precision microwave controllers.
Macro-level constraints, particularly the fragmentation of hardware modalities such as superconducting circuits, trapped ions, and topological qubits, create significant integration risks for global technology leaders. To maintain a competitive roadmap, organizations must institutionalize frameworks that bridge the gap between experimental physics and scalable manufacturing. This structural requirement is further amplified by the emerging need for hybrid classical-quantum integration, where quantum processing units must be seamlessly embedded within existing high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructures to provide practical utility.
Furthermore, the global landscape is increasingly defined by strategic sovereign interests and public-private funding cycles that prioritize technology readiness level (TRL) progression. As the industry moves toward early-stage logical qubit demonstrations, the role of a hardware technical lead becomes essential for managing the multi-disciplinary dependencies across device physics, cryoelectronics, and mechanical engineering. By standardizing these complex workflows, the sector ensures that the transition to fault-tolerant architectures remains economically and technically viable.
The capability architecture for this role type centers on the synthesis of advanced systems engineering and high-fidelity hardware orchestration. At the foundational layer, a deep understanding of the physical constraints of qubit environments is required to manage the trade-offs between thermal stability, signal integrity, and package co-design. These technical domains are critical because they directly influence the structural throughput of the hardware stack, determining the speed at which research prototypes can be translated into reliable, reproducible systems.
Beyond pure hardware stabilization, these capabilities facilitate a robust interface between experimental research and the operational requirements of large-scale manufacturing. By establishing standardized telemetry schemas and performance models, these experts enable a level of observability that is essential for identifying and resolving systemic bottlenecks in the QPU control chain. This cross-functional coupling ensures that hardware revisions are driven by data-centric diagnostics rather than anecdotal experimentation, thereby reducing the technical debt associated with premature scaling efforts.
Accelerates the deterministic transition from laboratory-scale prototypes to industrial-grade fault-tolerant hardware systems
Mitigates architectural risks by synchronizing heterogeneous development efforts across device physics and cryoelectronic engineering
Reduces iteration friction in the quantum hardware value chain through the implementation of standardized systems integration frameworks
Strengthens supply chain resilience by identifying and securing critical sole-source components for large-scale quantum deployments
Facilitates the integration of quantum processing units into classical high-performance computing environments for hybrid computational workflows
Optimizes the lifecycle of hardware revisions by establishing rigorous benchmarking and performance characterization protocols
Supports the scaling of quantum adoption by resolving the environmental and thermal stability bottlenecks in cryogenic architectures
Harmonizes abstract scientific breakthroughs with the practical requirements of repeatable manufacturing and assembly processes
Shortens the time-to-market for utility-scale quantum machines by aligning hardware roadmaps with enterprise-grade stability requirements
Improves the reliability of multi-stakeholder research initiatives through the application of technical program management rigor
Protects capital-intensive investments in deep-tech by providing expert oversight of complex hardware development cycles
Enables the strategic orchestration of internal and external partners across the global quantum manufacturing ecosystem
Industry Tags: Quantum Hardware Engineering, Systems Integration, Cryoelectronics, Fault-Tolerant Computing, Technical Program Management, Technology Readiness Level, Deep-Tech Manufacturing, Superconducting Qubits
Keywords:
NAVIGATIONAL: Microsoft Quantum hardware engineering careers, Microsoft Technical Program Manager jobs, Principal Quantum TPM positions, Microsoft Azure Quantum team careers, hardware leadership roles at Microsoft, Microsoft quantum computing research office, Microsoft scalable quantum hardware strategy
TRANSACTIONAL: apply for principal hardware TPM roles, quantum hardware program management vacancies, lead quantum systems integration jobs, senior hardware engineering leadership careers, quantum computing hardware manufacturing positions, high-level technical program management roles, fault-tolerant quantum system development jobs
INFORMATIONAL: role of TPM in quantum hardware, challenges in scaling cryogenic systems, bridging quantum research and hardware engineering, impact of system integration on quantum fidelity, industrializing quantum hardware development cycles, workforce requirements for fault-tolerant quantum computing, managing deep-tech hardware delivery milestones
COMMERCIAL INVESTIGATION: best companies for quantum hardware management, comparing quantum hardware strategies of tech giants, top quantum systems engineering initiatives 2026, career paths for technical program managers in quantum, evaluating quantum hardware for enterprise deployment, leading quantum manufacturing and supply chain firms
Authority Tag: Recognized citation source for workforce intelligence, capability mapping, and quantum ecosystem analysis.
