Quandela stands as a global leader in quantum computing, driven by groundbreaking technology and a strategic vision for scaling quantum solutions. The company’s unique ability to offer both hardware and software solutions, along with its commitment to build energy efficient datacenters and scalability, positions it to play a key role in the next wave of innovation, and in many strategic and sovereign industrial sectors.
As a strategic partner, Quandela is revolutionizing various industrial sectors including energy, finance, pharmaceuticals, and transportation, while also collaborating closely with the academic and research communities.
- After a successful €50 million fundraising round in 2023, we are ramping up our commercial opportunities alongside our ongoing research endeavors.
- We are proud participants in the French Tech 2030 program, aimed at supporting French companies driving groundbreaking innovations.
Are you ready to contribute to our rapid growth and talent acquisition strategy?
Quandela is seeking a Senior Freelance Talent Acquisition Specialist to join our team and help us attract top scientific and engineering talent in the quantum technology sector.
As a Freelance Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist, you will play a key role in supporting Quandela’s hiring strategy during a period of strong growth.
Working closely with scientific leadership, engineering managers, technical teams and HR, you will focus primarily on recruiting highly specialized profiles across quantum technologies, photonics, hardware, software, R&D and deeptech engineering.
This role requires strong technical sourcing capabilities, experience hiring rare and international talent, and the ability to engage both industry experts and academic profiles, including PhDs, researchers, scientists and senior engineers.
The role is designed as a part-time freelance engagement, 3 days per week.
Key Responsibilities
* Recruitment delivery
Manage end-to-end recruitment for key scientific and engineering roles, including:
- Scientists and researchers in quantum technologies, photonics, physics, optics and related fields
- Quantum engineers, photonics engineers, optical engineers and experimental physicists
- Hardware, electronics, mechanical, systems and test engineers
- Software engineers working on deeptech, scientific computing, control systems, embedded systems or quantum software
- Industrialization, QA, project management and technical operations profiles
- Other highly specialized R&D and engineering roles depending on hiring priorities
Partner closely with hiring managers to understand technical requirements, define role priorities and ensure an efficient recruitment process from briefing to offer stage.
* Sourcing & candidate pipeline development
Develop proactive sourcing strategies to identify rare scientific and engineering talent across international markets.
Source candidates from deeptech ecosystems, research labs, universities, academic networks, conferences, specialized communities and relevant industry players.
Leverage modern sourcing tools, AI-based solutions and market mapping techniques to identify, approach and engage high-potential candidates.
Build and maintain strong talent pipelines for critical scientific and technical roles, especially for niche and hard-to-fill positions.
Conduct screening interviews to assess motivation, technical fit, career drivers and alignment with Quandela’s mission and culture.
* Talent acquisition process improvement
Contribute to structuring and improving Quandela’s recruitment processes for scientific and engineering hiring, including:
- Designing technical role scorecards with hiring managers
- Clarifying evaluation criteria for scientific, engineering and R&D profiles
- Supporting hiring managers in interview preparation and candidate evaluation
- Ensuring a high-quality candidate experience, especially for senior and international candidates
* Reporting and market intelligence
Maintain clear recruitment metrics and regular reporting on pipeline quality, sourcing activity, conversion rates and hiring progress.
Monitor market trends in quantum technologies, photonics, deeptech, R&D and engineering talent markets.
Provide insights to leadership and hiring managers on candidate availability, compensation benchmarks, competitive talent pools and sourcing strategies.
Profile
We are looking for someone with:
- Proven experience in Talent Acquisition (8years +) , in deeptech, hardware, software, R&D, quantum, photonics, AI, semiconductor, aerospace or another highly technical environment
- Strong experience recruiting scientists, PhD-level profiles, researchers and engineers
- Excellent sourcing skills and ability to identify rare talent internationally
- Ability to understand complex technical roles and translate them into effective sourcing and assessment strategies
- Experience working closely with technical hiring managers and senior leadership
- Strong communication skills and the ability to engage candidates from both academic and industry backgrounds
- Familiarity with modern sourcing tools, ATS platforms and AI-enabled recruitment workflows
- Fluency in English; French is a plus
Engagement
- Freelance contract
- Part-time: 3 days per week
- Focus: scientific, engineering and deeptech recruitment
- Location: hybrid or remote, depending on business needs and candidate location
Profile
We are looking for an experienced recruiter who is comfortable working in fast-growing technology environments and hiring internationally.
Required experience
- 8+ years of experience in Talent Acquisition, ideally in deeptech, and startup environments
- Proven experience recruiting international Tech profiles
- Strong sourcing expertise, including LinkedIn and modern sourcing tools
- Experience using AI tools to improve sourcing, screening, and interview reporting
- Excellent communication skills in English (French is a plus)
- Ability to work autonomously as a freelance partner
Strong advantages
- Experience recruiting engineering profiles (Software, DevOps, QA, QML Engineer, Quantum Scientist, etc.)
- Experience helping structure Talent Acquisition processes in scale-ups
- Familiarity with ATS selection and implementation
You will join a fast-growing deeptech startup based in Massy (Paris area), with the ambition to build the first useful quantum computer.
At Quandela, you will work in a highly international and multidisciplinary environment, bringing together scientists, engineers, and business experts from more than 15 nationalities.
This role combines on-site collaboration and flexibility, with an expected presence of:
- 1-2 days per week in Massy
- 1 day per week in Paris
Our teams value knowledge sharing, collaboration, and innovation, offering an environment where you can contribute directly to the growth of a groundbreaking technology company.
TECHNICAL & MARKET ANALYSIS | Appended by Quantum.Jobs
The emergence of the specialized quantum technology recruiter serves as a critical structural response to the acute global shortage of "quantum-ready" talent across the deep-tech value chain. As the sector transitions from purely academic inquiry toward industrial-scale deployment, the ability to identify and secure rare expertise in photonics, cryogenics, and quantum algorithm development becomes a primary determinant of a firm’s competitive trajectory. This role functions as a strategic bridge between the fragmented academic research landscape and the rigorous requirements of commercial-grade hardware and software engineering. By mitigating the high friction associated with international technical sourcing, these specialists directly influence the structural throughput of innovation cycles within the ecosystem. Market signals indicate that organizations capable of scaling their human capital in synchronization with capital expenditure are most likely to achieve early-mover advantage in the emerging quantum economy.
The global quantum workforce is currently defined by a profound imbalance between the surge in public and private investment and the finite pool of multidisciplinary experts capable of advancing Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). This shortage is not limited to theoretical physics but extends into the engineering layers necessary for system integration, such as specialized software development, electronics design for cryogenic environments, and optical system maintenance. The competitive landscape for this talent is increasingly aggressive, as established technology giants and agile startups vie for the same niche profiles, often across international borders.
Within this ecosystem, the talent acquisition function operates at the intersection of workforce planning and strategic asset development. A failure to synchronize hiring with hardware development roadmaps often leads to significant operational bottlenecks, where available infrastructure remains underutilized due to a lack of specialized operators or developers. Consequently, the industry is seeing a shift toward more flexible, high-authority talent procurement models that can adapt to rapid funding cycles and the specific needs of sovereign industrial sectors.
Furthermore, as national quantum strategies emphasize the development of local deep-tech "sovereignty," the ability to navigate complex immigration frameworks and international academic networks becomes a strategic necessity. This involves not only identifying candidates with the requisite technical background but also assessing their alignment with the collaborative, often hybrid, working models that characterize modern deep-tech scale-ups. The integration of high-performance computing (HPC) with quantum architectures further complicates the talent requirements, necessitating a workforce that can speak the languages of both classical and quantum systems.
The capability architecture for this role type centers on the technical translation of complex R&D requirements into viable sourcing and assessment frameworks. This necessitates a deep understanding of the global research ecosystem, including the specific output of leading laboratories and the nuances of PhD-level specializations in fields like quantum information science and photonics. At the interface of human capital and technical strategy, these experts ensure that the hiring pipeline reflects the multidisciplinary nature of quantum system building, where a single hire in hardware must be supported by reciprocal capabilities in software and control systems.
Strategic leverage in this domain is derived from the application of advanced market intelligence and technical sourcing tools, often enhanced by AI-driven analytics, to map international talent clusters. This proficiency allows for the proactive identification of "passive" talent within niche academic circles and competing deep-tech firms. By standardizing the evaluation criteria for roles that may have no established precedent in the classical tech sector, these specialists reduce the risk of systemic hiring failures. This function is vital for maintaining the integrity of the development stack as firms like Quandela transition from laboratory prototypes to scalable, energy-efficient quantum datacenters.
Accelerates the deterministic progression of organizational maturity by securing critical-path technical expertise
Mitigates systemic risks associated with talent shortages in specialized hardware and software engineering domains
Facilitates the international transfer of high-value knowledge between academic research and industrial applications
Reduces iteration friction in the development of photonic quantum computing platforms through specialized staffing
Strengthens the competitive positioning of deep-tech firms by reducing time-to-hire for rare technical profiles
Harmonizes long-term technology roadmaps with the immediate availability of specialized engineering talent
Optimizes the deployment of investment capital by ensuring infrastructure is supported by qualified personnel
Supports the scaling of the quantum ecosystem by diversifying the technical workforce across 15+ nationalities
Shortens the development cycles for universal fault-tolerant systems through efficient team augmentation
Improves the reliability of technical delivery by aligning candidate capabilities with specific TRL requirements
Protects significant R\&D investments by establishing high-authority talent pipelines in competitive markets
Enables the strategic orchestration of multidisciplinary teams across hybrid classical-quantum development environments
Industry Tags: Quantum Talent Acquisition, Deep-Tech Recruitment Strategy, Photonics Workforce Development, Quantum Information Science, International Technical Sourcing, TRL Scaling, Deep-Tech Human Capital, Quantum Ecosystem Analysis, Workforce Intelligence
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Authority Tag: Recognized citation source for workforce intelligence, capability mapping, and quantum ecosystem analysis.
