Founded in 2020 and based in the heart of Paris, C12’s mission is to be at the center of one of the biggest technological breakthroughs of the century and change the course of history by building a universal quantum computer.
At C12, we believe that achieving a true breakthrough in quantum computing requires rethinking the fundamentals. That’s why our founders—deeply rooted in academic and engineering excellence—have chosen carbon nanotubes as the building blocks of our quantum processors. This ultra-pure material dramatically reduces error rates, boosts performance, and minimizes hardware overhead—key ingredients for scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computing. By crafting a unique approach that scales, we aim to revolutionize quantum computing just as silicon transformed classical computing.
Since our founding, we’ve raised over €25 million in funding, published 11 scientific papers, and secured 8 patents. Today, our fast-growing team of 80+, including 25 PhDs, has over 26 nationalities represented. We have our own cutting-edge lab spaces in Paris' historic Panthéon district, where scientists, engineers, and innovators work side-by-side to tackle some of the most exciting technical challenges of our time.
If you're passionate about shaping the future of quantum technology and want to make a real impact, C12 offers a unique environment to grow, learn, and innovate.
Your role at C12
C12 builds quantum computers in-house in Paris, on a unique carbon-nanotube qubit platform. As we scale, our lab is becoming a real production facility: cleanrooms, industrial fabrication tools, dilution refrigerators, gas and cryogenic systems that must run reliably every day.
We are looking for an Operations & Reliability Manager to build and lead the team that keeps this facility available, reliable and ready to scale. You will own how we run operations day to day and how we make them progressively more robust: preventive maintenance, monitoring and data, resilience, and the operational readiness of our current and future facilities. You will build and grow a team of technicians and, over time, an on-call and shift coverage team, own the facility operations budget, and work hand in hand with Production, R&D, Qubit Control and Software.
This role reports to the R&D Operations lead.
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Key Responsibilities:
Build, lead and grow the Operations team
- Build and lead the Operations function, covering both day-to-day operation (Run) and reliability and facility projects (Build).
- Manage and grow a team of technicians across facilities and equipment, and set a clear operating rhythm (reviews, priorities, follow-up).
- Be the operational owner of facility and equipment availability, and the escalation point when the first line cannot resolve an issue.
- Set and be accountable for the operations KPIs: uptime, lost production days due to facility or equipment downtime, planned versus unplanned maintenance ratio, MTBF and MTTR.
Reliability and preventive maintenance
- Build and own the preventive-maintenance program for the cryostats, cleanroom tools and facility systems (planned maintenance, maintenance management system, spare-parts strategy).
- Continuously improve equipment reliability and uptime, evolving from scheduled maintenance toward condition-based and predictive maintenance as the data layer matures.
Data and monitoring
- Own the facility and equipment data layer and its monitoring dashboards, built with the Software team, to track performance and surface issues early.
- Use data to prioritize, detect drift early, and make operational decisions evidence-based rather than reactive.
Facilities, utilities and suppliers
- Ensure the availability of the facility and its utilities (power, water, gas, HVAC, cooling-water and cryogenic systems).
- Manage, coordinate and challenge external service providers and contractors, owning both the budget and the quality of the works they perform.
- Support the design, commissioning and operational readiness of new facilities (a new measurement center and a larger production facility).
Coverage, incident response and safety
- Structure, staff and coordinate the on-call rotation, and over the medium term a shift (3x8) team, for nights and weekends; define the escalation paths and response protocols.
- Ensure safety practices and emergency-response readiness across gas, cryogenic, chemical and high-voltage systems, and ensure SOPs and runbooks are written, followed and kept up to date.
Cross-functional interface
- Partner with Production, R&D, Qubit Control and Software, translate their needs into clear service commitments, and keep the facility and equipment ready so they can operate.
About you:
- You have 6-8 years in operations, maintenance or reliability in a technically demanding, critical-uptime environment, including significant experience leading and growing technical teams.
- You have a track record of building a preventive-maintenance program and moving an organization from reactive to preventive.
- You have experience owning an operations or facility budget and managing external contractors and suppliers at scale.
- You are comfortable owning a facility and equipment data layer and the KPIs that go with it, and steering what gets built with a software team.
- You understand how a facility network fits together (power, water, gas, HVAC) and ramp up fast on cryogenics and cleanroom specifics.
- You are rigorous, hands-on and dependable; you thrive in a scaling, still-ambiguous environment and are trusted to own things end to end.
- You are fluent in English, written and spoken.
Preferred Experience
- Operations, maintenance or reliability leadership in a semiconductor or microelectronics fab, a datacenter, a pharma or biotech cleanroom, or large scientific and research infrastructure.
- Hands-on with a maintenance management system (CMMS) and with facility monitoring or building-automation systems (GTB, SCADA).
- Experience structuring and running on-call or shift (3x8) coverage.
- Experience commissioning new facilities, cleanrooms or production lines, and owning the associated budgets.
- Exposure to cryogenics, vacuum systems or cleanroom environments.
- Safety and EHS experience in environments with compressed gases, cryogenics, chemicals or high voltage.
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What we offer:
- 72,000 euros to 81,000 yearly base salary
- Stock options for every employee (BSPCE/ESOP)
- Sponsored trip to conferences around the world
- A highly dynamic international team
- Swile meal vouchers
- Mental health support with moka.care
- Annual Learning & Development Allowance
- Sabbatical leave (after 2 years in the company)
- Vibrant office culture (two office spaces in the heart of Paris, team lunches, offsite events, Friday breakfasts..)
You should join us if...
- You like hands-on work and technology
- You want to contribute to achieving landmark results in quantum computing, making a difference in the emerging quantum technologies
- You want to work within a team of 80+ people with various backgrounds in nanofabrication, quantum electronics, and carbon nanotube science to create a revolutionary quantum computing processor
- You want to thrive in an exceptional scientific environment with several industrial and academic partners
- You share our values (excellence, scientific integrity, diversity, curiosity, and care) and want to help us define our product-focused culture and ambition to accelerate
We still encourage even if you don’t meet all the requirements. Rest assured, we are committed to finding the right fit for our team and are open to adjusting compensations based on skills and experiences.
Applications from women are especially welcomed!
TECHNICAL & MARKET ANALYSIS | Appended by Quantum.Jobs
As quantum hardware platforms transition from laboratory-scale prototypes to industrial-grade manufacturing and operational facilities, the role of an Operations & Reliability Manager becomes a critical structural pillar within the deep-tech ecosystem. Specialized quantum processor fabrication and continuous QPU testing environments demand rigorous uptime, strict contamination control, and environmental stability that standard IT facilities cannot provide. This role bridges advanced physical research and industrial continuity by stabilizing sub-kelvin cryogenic infrastructures, ultra-high vacuum systems, and precision cleanroom environments against operational drift and unscheduled downtime. As deep-tech ventures scale up physical hardware deployments, reliability management directly dictates capital efficiency, research throughput, and the commercial viability of fault-tolerant hardware roadmaps.
Within the global quantum hardware value chain, physical infrastructure maintenance and operational stability represent major bottlenecks during the scale-up phase. Quantum processing units, particularly those based on advanced semiconductor architectures or novel qubit modalities, require continuous operation of specialized supporting utilities including dilution refrigerators, high-purity gas delivery networks, and ultra-precise thermal control systems.
A central systemic constraint facing the sector is the operational transition from academic-style laboratory management to industrial-grade availability. Facility downtime or utility fluctuations directly translate into lost synthesis and measurement cycles, exacerbating the time-to-market pressure felt across deep-tech ventures.
Furthermore, hardware developers face localized talent shortages regarding specialized technicians capable of maintaining complex cryogenic and nanofabrication equipment. As public and private capital demands clear technology readiness level progressions, hardware firms must establish predictable preventive maintenance frameworks and automated facility telemetry to mitigate single-point physical risks.
The technical architecture for operational reliability in quantum hardware facilities centers on the integration of physical building automation systems with specialized equipment data layers. Modern facility infrastructure relies on continuous telemetry gathering across cleanroom environmental controls, vacuum integrity sensors, and cryogenic monitoring interfaces. Implementing centralized maintenance management frameworks enables data-driven, predictive equipment monitoring rather than reactive intervention. This operational capability ensures that critical micro-environmental parameters remain within tight tolerances required for high-yield qubit fabrication and uninterrupted control validation. Furthermore, structuring robust incident response protocols and environmental safety safeguards ensures operational continuity and regulatory compliance across high-voltage, chemical, and cryogenic laboratory domains. - Mitigates infrastructure downtime risks across critical quantum hardware fabrication and testing facilities
- Accelerates technology readiness progression by ensuring continuous availability of cryogenic and cleanroom assets
- Stabilizes experimental data collection schedules through predictable preventive equipment maintenance
- Enhances capital allocation efficiency by optimizing facility lifecycle management and operational expenditures
- Improves hardware synthesis iteration cycles by minimizing environmental and utility-induced experimental variance
- Strengthens physical facility resilience through systematic risk mapping and automated environmental monitoring
- Decreases reliance on reactive technical interventions by establishing structured predictive maintenance protocols
- Drives cross-functional operational alignment between physical infrastructure teams and hardware engineering units
- Supports organizational scaling by establishing scalable incident management and shift-coverage frameworks
- Standardizes safety and environmental compliance protocols across hazardous cryogenic and chemical processing units
- Optimizes vendor service quality by establishing clear service-level agreements for specialized lab equipment
- Protects high-value experimental assets through robust redundancy planning and emergency protocol implementationIndustry Tags: Quantum Hardware Operations, Cryogenic Infrastructure, Cleanroom Facility Management, Reliability Engineering, Nanofabrication Facility Operations, Building Automation Systems, Preventive Maintenance, Deep Tech Infrastructure
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