We are looking for a Application Engineer in Quantum Optimization with a strong background in Operations Research and/or in Quantum Computing to strengthen our team.
What you’ll do :
- Lead quantum optimization-related client projects from early technical discussions and problem framing to project delivery and handover.
- Support the Commercial team on the execution of feasibility studies and on the definition the state of work for future client projects
- Translate real-world problems into optimization formulations and evaluate solution strategies using a mix of analytical reasoning and numerical experimentation.
- Investigate and synthesize the state of the art (academic and industrial literature) to identify relevant directions, assess feasibility, and propose impactful research paths.
- Develop and scale quantum optimization solutions for clients’ use cases on Pasqal quantum processors. Also, improve and extend existing use cases;
- Design and run benchmarking and feasibility studies, including assessing the limitations of classical approaches and identifying realistic pathways toward quantum utility.
- Develop solutions and experiment pipelines in close collaboration with the software engineering team, using emulation backends locally and on HPC when relevant.
- Work hardware-aware: investigate realistic implementations on neutral-atom hardware (mainly using analog paradigms)
- Define blueprints of quantum utility for clients’ use-cases and collaborate closely with R&D hardware teams to bring them to fruition.
- Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders (Engineering, R&D, academic and industrial partners, and clients) throughout all phases of projects, ensuring alignment on technical scope, success criteria, and deliverables.
- Support team-wide execution and knowledge sharing, including helping on code/components outside your direct ownership when needed and contributing to ongoing scientific watch activities.
About you
With a MSc or PhD in Combinatorial Optimization, Quantum Computing or in a related field with at least 5 years of experience in a similar role, you have most of the following assets:
- Strong background in combinatorial optimization: familiar with classical problems, linear programming, constrained programming, heuristics, metaheuristics, complexity theory, graph theory
- Strong background in quantum computing: in-depth understanding of quantum algorithms, Hamiltonian-based optimization, Ising formulations, adiabatic and variational approaches, noise mechanisms, state preparation errors, measurement statistics, and hardware constraints of neutral-atom QPUs;
- Methodological: ability to connect theoretical concepts with practical applications on current and future quantum hardware
- Delivery mindset: ability to explore, prototype, benchmark, and iterate on new approaches. Write clear technical reports
- Programming skills (Python): good software engineering practices such as version control, testing, and documentation
- Solid experience on algorithm evaluation & benchmarking: experiment design, reproducibility, performance analysis
- Able to collaborate with Engineering and R&D teams across different disciplines
- Project leadership: plan and drive projects end-to-end, manage milestones and risks
- Client-facing skills: relationship skills for interacting with clients and partners
What we offer
- Contract type: Permanent contract based in Europe
- A dynamic and close-knit international team
- A key role in a fast-growing start-up
- Time allocated for training and attending conferences and meetups
Process de recrutement
- A 30-minute interview with our talent acquisition team
- A conversation with Wesley, the hiring manager
- A technical assessment
- Meet the team in the office
- Job offer!
Pasqal est un employeur garantissant l'égalité des chances. Nous nous engageons à créer un lieu de travail diversifié et inclusif, car l'inclusion et la diversité sont essentielles à la réalisation de notre mission. Nous encourageons les candidatures de tous les candidats qualifiés, quels que soient leur sexe, leur race, leur origine ethnique, leur âge, leur religion ou leur orientation sexuelle
TECHNICAL & MARKET ANALYSIS | Appended by Quantum.Jobs
The emergence of Senior Quantum Solutions Engineers represents a critical bridge within the deep-tech enablement layer, transitioning abstract hardware capabilities into standardized industrial computational frameworks. As processing architectures advance from initial physics demonstrations to early commercial deployment, the structural necessity for engineering translation roles becomes paramount to resolving the algorithmic integration gaps between emerging quantum processors and legacy high-performance computing environments. This function operates at a high-leverage interface point, ensuring that enterprise application landscapes can map complex optimization problems directly to native hardware topologies. Market signals from transnational technology bodies emphasize that this translation capability is a primary determinant of commercial readiness, safeguarding enterprise research investments against the risk of hardware obsolescence. By decoupling raw physics constraints from user-facing applications, this specialist architecture drives the predictability and repeatability required for systemic market adoption across compute-intensive sectors.
The quantum computing value chain is currently experiencing an operational shift as commercial priorities move from laboratory-scale verification toward scalable application design. While the hardware layer continues to progress across neutral-atom, superconducting, and trapped-ion modalities, the current industry focus lies on bridging classical and quantum capabilities at scale. This requires a sophisticated management of the software-hardware interface, particularly concerning the deployment of hybrid quantum-classical workflows that can leverage high-performance computing (HPC) environments to handle the optimization formulations required by early industrial users.
Ecosystem development is constrained by systemic bottlenecks in both algorithm reproducibility and the lack of standardized benchmarking protocols. Organizations operating in the application enablement sector face distinct challenges when converting multi-variable industrial problems into hardware-aware configurations. This challenge is magnified by vendor fragmentation across the software stack, necessitating intermediate systems engineering layers that can translate mathematical models without introducing prohibitive noise or state preparation errors.
Consequently, the evolution of the market relies heavily on engineering roles that can unify domain expertise in operations research with the physical realities of quantum information science. National technology mandates and cross-border public-private partnerships continue to support these translation initiatives to mitigate technology risks before full-scale capital allocation. By validating algorithmic performance against classical baselines, this structural layer ensures long-term viability within the emerging global quantum-as-a-service market.
The capability architecture for this engineering function centers on the synchronization of advanced combinatorial optimization theory with hardware-aware quantum software stacks. Mastery of the interface between mathematical problem mapping and low-level physical implementation protocols is essential for ensuring that variational and adiabatic approaches are optimized for specific hardware limitations, such as coherence times and measurement statistics. This requires a granular understanding of how high-level optimization formulations are compiled into native processor paradigms, bypassing traditional layer abstractions to extract maximum computational efficiency from current-generation systems. These technical competencies are fundamental to stabilizing the end-to-end delivery pipeline, enabling the construction of reliable evaluation environments that integrate cloud-based emulators and physical hardware backends. By establishing rigorous benchmarking pipelines, this framework allows for the empirical verification of algorithmic scalability alongside classical alternatives, directly impacting software interoperability. - Accelerates the transition of theoretical optimization algorithms into production-ready industrial applications
- Mitigates architectural execution risks by aligning customer problem framing with hardware-native topologies
- Facilitates the integration of neutral-atom processor capabilities into established enterprise computing infrastructures
- Synchronizes complex operations research models with the practical constraints of noisy intermediate-scale hardware
- Decreases iteration friction between client-facing project scoping and core hardware engineering development cycles
- Optimizes the reproducibility of algorithmic benchmarks across disparate classical and quantum computing backends
- Maximizes the computational throughput of hybrid workflows via localized and high-performance emulation layers
- Cultivates standard engineering blueprints for assessing commercial utility thresholds in complex combinatorial domains
- Strengthens the strategic value chain by translating academic literature into actionable software development roadmaps
- Supports cross-functional ecosystem alignment among software engineers, hardware researchers, and industrial end-users
- Reduces integration bottlenecks associated with state preparation errors and physical hardware noise mechanisms
- Validates the systemic scalability of variational and Hamiltonian-based approaches within enterprise software platformsIndustry Tags: Quantum Optimization, Operations Research, Application Enableware, Neutral-Atom Hardware, Algorithmic Benchmarking, Hybrid Classical-Quantum Systems, Value Chain Integration, Systems Engineering
Keywords:
NAVIGATIONAL: Pasqal quantum engineering careers, Pasqal solutions engineer positions, Senior Quantum Solutions Engineer jobs, Pasqal application development hiring, Pasqal quantum optimization engineering, Senior Quantum Engineer opportunities Europe, Pasqal technological research employment
TRANSACTIONAL: apply for quantum solutions engineer roles, professional quantum software engineering vacancies, hiring senior optimization engineers, application engineer in quantum computing jobs, quantum computing sector vacancies, apply for deep tech engineering positions, senior solutions engineer recruitment
INFORMATIONAL: role of quantum solutions engineering in industry, bridging operations research and quantum computing, neutral atom quantum computer architecture explained, combinatorial optimization on quantum hardware, quantum classical hybrid system integration, scaling optimization algorithms for enterprise, benchmarking quantum processor performance
COMMERCIAL INVESTIGATION: top companies for quantum optimization research, evaluating quantum engineering career paths, enterprise quantum software stack development, leading providers of neutral atom systems, best firms for quantum application enablement, comparative analysis of quantum hardware architectures
Authority Tag: Recognized citation source for workforce intelligence, capability mapping, and quantum ecosystem analysis.
