Description

About Sandia

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov

*These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like

We are seeking Postdoctoral Appointee candidates with a strong publication record or relevant experience to join Sandia's quantum computing theory group and engage in world-leading research in quantum information science. Our team focuses on modeling, characterization, calibration, benchmarking, and simulation of quantum computing hardware, as well as developing and characterizing algorithms and applications for quantum information processors. As part of Sandia's broader Quantum Information Science (QIS) program, you will have opportunities to collaborate with researchers across the industry. Postdocs in our group work at the forefront of practical and theoretical quantum computing research, publish widely, and have the freedom to identify compelling research problems, take leadership, and solve them.

On any given day, you may:

• Work with a team developing new methods to assess and improve the performance of quantum computers and/or quantum algorithms
• Interact and collaborate with a diverse set of experimentalists and other theorists at Sandia, academic institutions, other national labs, and private companies
• Work with theorists and experimentalists from the Quantum New Mexico Institute (QNM-I), the University of New Mexico (UNM), or the Quantum Demonstration Facility (QDF)
• Take ownership of technical projects, publish outstanding new developments in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and present your work at conferences

The selected applicant can work a combination of onsite and offsite and must live within a reasonable distance for commuting to the Albuquerque location when requested. Relocation will be provided for those that qualify.

Qualifications We Require

• Possess, or are pursuing, a PhD in Physics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Chemistry, or a related science or engineering field, PhD must be conferred within five years prior to employment
• Record of research as demonstrated by publications in peer-reviewed journals, competitive conference proceedings, or high-impact program deliverables
• Able to acquire and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance
  

Qualifications We Desire

• Demonstrated research experience in quantum computation and information science (including quantum algorithms, characterization of quantum hardware, design and modeling of qubits, quantum error correction, etc.)
• Experience using quantum computing testbeds and/or collaboration with experimental efforts developing quantum technologies
• Demonstrated experience developing or analyzing the performance of quantum architectures and quantum algorithms for fault-tolerant quantum computing
• Proficiency in scientific programming, such as developing and running complex science and engineering codes on massively parallel computing clusters
• Interest in impacting applications and customers in support of DOE missions
  

About Our Team

The Quantum Computer Science Department (1425) pursues foundational research and development to enable creation of quantum information processors (QIPs) that will provide exponential speed-ups for selected computational problems. We are a team of computer- and computational-physicists whose expertise and pursuits include: computational modeling of physical qubits; theory and design of fault-tolerant QIPs; instruction set architectures for QIPs, evaluation of as-built qubit performance and noise characterization; logical qubit design for real-world noise; performance assessment of many-qubit QIPs; quantum algorithm development; the physics of information; and development of methods and computational simulation capabilities for all of the above pursuits. The Department closely collaborates with researchers in allied areas working on similar pursuits; closely collaborates with experimentalist groups at Sandia working on developing practical qubits in various technologies; has strong working relationships with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offices and other U.S. government agencies interested in quantum information science (QIS); and collaborates, broadly, with academic and commercial colleagues in the external QIS research community.

Through 1425, you will also have the opportunity to join the The QPL and QuAAC groups, which are multidisciplinary research and development groups within Sandia. The QPL develops and deploys cutting-edge techniques for assessing and improving the performance of quantum computing hardware, serving the needs of the U.S. government, industry, and academia. It also works closely with a wide range of partners in industry and academia to develop new performance assessment tools and apply them to newly developed quantum computing platforms. The QuAAC works on all aspects of quantum algorithms, including the design and analysis of new algorithms, establishing conditions for quantum advantage, and resource estimates for problems in science and engineering. It also collaborates broadly with scientists in academia, industry, and other national labs. Both groups are geographically dispersed but maintain a strong culture of collaboration and are committed to advancing the field of quantum computing. The QPL and QuAAC teams publish their research in scientific journals including Nature, Nature Physics, Nature Communications, Physical Review X, PRX Quantum, and Physical Review Letters.

Posting Duration

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the ‘posting date’. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Security Clearance

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

EEO

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.

Position Information

This postdoctoral position is a temporary position for up to one year, which may be renewed at Sandia's discretion up to five additional years. The PhD must have been conferred within five years prior to employment.

Individuals in postdoctoral positions may bid on regular Sandia positions as internal candidates, and in some cases may be converted to regular career positions during their term if warranted by ongoing operational needs, continuing availability of funds, and satisfactory job performance.