How the postings described credentials
| Wording in the posting | Postings |
|---|---|
| Completed PhD required | 3 |
| Doctoral enrollment required | 2 |
| PhD or doctoral enrollment is one of several pathways | 7 |
| PhD or doctoral enrollment preferred | 5 |
| Other degree or enrollment wording | 7 |
| No degree or enrollment statement found | 2 |
| Unresolved wording or incomplete evidence | 1 |
8 of 27 postings with complete relevant text named equivalent or comparable experience in a required pathway. The terms differed. QuEra’s optical-scientist posting offered equivalent experience alongside the PhD route. Its education-scientist posting paired equivalent experience with a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
Read alternatives as complete combinations. Rigetti’s deposition role paired a master’s with four to six years of relevant experience, or a PhD with at least two. The same posting separately required hands-on fabrication experience. QuEra’s error-correction internship listed a PhD under preferred qualifications.
Required and preferred wording by work family
| Work family | Total | PhD required | Enrollment required | PhD wording preferred |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Software | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Applications and systems | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Business | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
QubitWire’s work families group the roles by their main function. Within this sample, completed-PhD requirements appeared in hardware roles. Software included doctoral preferences and postings that emphasized practical engineering experience. The sample is too small and concentrated to estimate how common these patterns are across employers.
How we selected and read the postings
We started with 203 QubitWire records mapped to the five employers. 138 records had suspended source approvals and 7 did not pass a fresh source recheck. The 58 eligible records were ordered by a reproducible hash within each employer. The cap of six per employer left 31 eligible records outside the sample.
Atom Computing (6), Quantinuum (6), QuEra Computing (6), Rigetti Computing (6), Alice & Bob (3). The selected roles include internships and span four work families.
We reviewed the full relevant employer text for 27 of 27 selected postings. We coded required wording first, then alternatives and preferences. Ambiguous wording remains unresolved. Where we found no credential statement, the result describes the reviewed text. Employers may have other screening criteria.
The study records a dated sample of postings in the QubitWire directory. It provides no measure of hires, applicant success, salary, labor demand or wider industry prevalence. Individual employer links can change as postings age. See the live job sourcing policy.
Download the November 11 study data (JSON) with source URLs, checked timestamps, fingerprints, concise paraphrases and the selection rule.
Inspect the 27 source records
Optical Physicist · Atom Computing · Completed PhD required
- Required. PhD in physics, optical science or a related field, with an experimental optics focus. Source section lists[1] Required Qualifications, education bullet.
- Preferred. Postdoctoral or industry experience in precision optics, electro-optics or laser physics. Source section lists[2] Preferred Qualifications, first bullet.
Head of Photonics · Atom Computing · Completed PhD required
- Required. Related PhD and at least eight years of post-PhD work in integrated photonics, including leading a circuit program through fabrication and testing. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, first two bullets.
- Required. Experience building and leading a technical team. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, third bullet.
Principal Technical Program Manager · Atom Computing · PhD or doctoral enrollment is one of several pathways
- Required. Bachelor’s, master’s or PhD in engineering, physics or a related field. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, first bullet.
- Required. At least ten years in systems engineering, quantum work or R&D program management in multidisciplinary deep tech. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, second bullet.
Principal System Integration and Test Lead · Atom Computing · PhD or doctoral enrollment is one of several pathways
- Required. A relevant PhD or comparable professional experience. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, first bullet.
- Required. At least ten years in experimental AMO physics, quantum hardware or precision laser integration, plus at least three years of technical leadership. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, second and third bullets.
- Preferred. Laboratory automation experience is preferred. Source section lists[2] Qualifications, automated checkout bullet.
Optical Assembly and Alignment Engineer · Atom Computing · Other degree or enrollment wording
- Required. A relevant bachelor’s degree or equivalent optical engineering experience. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, first bullet.
- Preferred. An advanced degree is preferred. The level is unspecified. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, first bullet.
- Required. At least five years of practical optical assembly, alignment, coupling and characterization. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, second bullet.
Principal ASIC Verification Engineer · Atom Computing · Other degree or enrollment wording
- Required. A relevant bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, first bullet.
- Required. At least ten years in ASIC or SoC verification. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, second bullet.
- Preferred. At least fifteen years of verification experience is preferred. Source section lists[1] Experience & Education, second bullet.
Systems Engineering Intern - 1048 · Quantinuum · PhD or doctoral enrollment is one of several pathways
- Required. Current bachelor’s, master’s or PhD enrollment with graduation in 2027 or later. Source section lists[1] You Must Have, enrollment and graduation bullets.
- Preferred. Enrollment in systems engineering or another listed engineering or science discipline is valued. Source section lists[2] We Value, field-of-study bullet.
Mechanical/Process Engineering Intern - 1087 · Quantinuum · Other degree or enrollment wording
- Required. Current bachelor’s or master’s enrollment, with graduation after December 2027. Source section lists[1] You Must Have, enrollment and graduation bullets.
- Preferred. A relevant engineering or physics program and continued enrollment after the internship are preferred. Source section lists[2] We Value, first two bullets.
Metasurface Optical Design Intern - 994 · Quantinuum · Doctoral enrollment required
- Required. Current physics or engineering PhD enrollment, with expected graduation in August 2027 or later. Source section lists[1] You Must Have, enrollment bullet.
- Preferred. At least three years of computational photonics modeling is valued, including time during doctoral study. Source section lists[2] We Value, first bullet.
Quantum Computer Operations Engineer - 1059 · Quantinuum · Other degree or enrollment wording
- Required. A relevant bachelor’s degree and at least two years of post-graduate software or R&D experience. Master’s or doctoral study can contribute to the experience count. Source section description HTML, Essential Qualifications, first two bullets.
- Preferred. Instrumentation, automation or test engineering is valued. Source section description HTML, We value, instrumentation bullet.
Quantum Computer Hardware Engineer - 1058 · Quantinuum · Other degree or enrollment wording
- Required. A relevant bachelor’s degree plus at least two years of hands-on academic or industrial lab R&D. Time during a degree can count. Source section description HTML, Essential Requirements, first two bullets.
- Preferred. A relevant master’s degree is valued. Source section description HTML, We Value, first bullet.
Metasurface Resonant Photonic Design Intern - 988 · Quantinuum · Doctoral enrollment required
- Required. Current physics or engineering PhD enrollment, with expected graduation in August 2027 or later. Source section lists[1] You Must Have, enrollment bullet.
- Preferred. At least three years of computational photonics modeling is valued, including time during doctoral study. Source section lists[2] We Value, first bullet.
Sr Technical Product Manager - Gemini · QuEra Computing · Other degree or enrollment wording
- Required. A relevant advanced degree of unspecified level, and at least seven years in product management or technical leadership. Source section content, Qualifications, first and third bullets.
- Preferred. Deep-tech experience is described as ideal. Direct quantum research, product or algorithm experience is preferred. Source section content, Qualifications, first bullet and Preferred, second bullet.
Internship - Quantum Error Correction Research · QuEra Computing · PhD or doctoral enrollment preferred
- Required. A background in quantum computing and error correction. Source section content, Qualifications, first bullet.
- Preferred. Current doctoral enrollment or a completed PhD in a relevant field is preferred. Source section content, Preferred Qualifications, first bullet.
Scientific Software Engineer - Hardware Compilation · QuEra Computing · PhD or doctoral enrollment preferred
- Required. A relevant computer-science master’s degree or equivalent professional experience. Source section content, Qualifications and 応募資格, first bullet.
- Preferred. A relevant PhD or equivalent professional experience is preferred. Source section content, Preferred Qualifications and 望ましい資格, first bullet.
- Required. Business-level Japanese and English for technical collaboration. Source section content, Qualifications and 応募資格, last bullet.
Quantum Scientist – FTQC Education · QuEra Computing · PhD or doctoral enrollment is one of several pathways
- Required. A relevant PhD, or a relevant master’s or bachelor’s degree paired with equivalent experience. Source section content, Qualifications, first bullet.
- Required. Experience running algorithms on quantum hardware and creating or teaching technical learning materials. Source section content, Qualifications, hardware and education bullets.
Optical Scientist – Quantum Systems · QuEra Computing · PhD or doctoral enrollment is one of several pathways
- Required. A relevant PhD or equivalent experience, with a strong background designing and implementing optical systems. Source section content, Qualifications, first bullet.
- Required. Hands-on laboratory work with optical alignment, diagnostics and characterization. Source section content, Qualifications, second bullet.
Scientific Software Engineer - Compiler · QuEra Computing · PhD or doctoral enrollment preferred
- Required. A relevant computer-science master’s degree or equivalent professional experience. Source section content, Qualifications, first bullet.
- Preferred. A relevant PhD or equivalent professional experience is preferred. Source section content, Preferred Qualifications, first bullet.
- Required. Japanese and English fluency for technical conversations. Source section content, Qualifications, third bullet.
Senior Software Engineer, Internal Systems · Rigetti Computing · No degree or enrollment statement found
- Required. Production backend or serving-system experience, strong Python and a working knowledge of SQL. Source section lists[2] Qualifications, What You Bring, first and third bullets.
- Preferred. A physics, math or quantum background is a plus. Source section lists[2] Qualifications, Nice to Have, last bullet.
Senior Process Engineer - Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) · Rigetti Computing · PhD or doctoral enrollment is one of several pathways
- Required. A relevant master’s degree with four to six years of relevant experience, or a relevant PhD with at least two years of relevant experience. Source section lists[1] Qualifications, first bullet.
- Required. Hands-on PVD and semiconductor fabrication work, including sustained work with either four- or six-inch wafers. Source section lists[1] Qualifications, second bullet.
- Preferred. End-to-end process qualification and mentoring are valued. Source section lists[2] Preferred Qualifications, first and second bullets.
Field Engineer: Cryogenics & RF Hardware · Rigetti Computing · PhD or doctoral enrollment preferred
- Required. A relevant technical background or equivalent industrial experience. The background is described without a specified credential. Source section lists[1] What You Bring, first bullet.
- Preferred. A master’s degree or PhD is a plus. Source section lists[1] What You Bring, first bullet, parenthetical.
- Required. Direct operation and troubleshooting of dilution refrigerators. Source section lists[1] What You Bring, dilution-refrigerator bullet.
Director, Global Quantum System Deployment · Rigetti Computing · PhD or doctoral enrollment preferred
- Required. A relevant master’s degree, ten or more years in complex hardware deployment, integration or support, and three or more years managing people. Source section lists[1] What We’re Looking For, first three bullets.
- Preferred. A PhD is preferred. Source section lists[1] What We’re Looking For, first bullet, parenthetical.
Senior Quantum Engineer, Gate Calibration · Rigetti Computing · Completed PhD required
- Required. A relevant PhD and substantial hands-on work calibrating and characterizing superconducting two-qubit gates. Source section lists[1] Required Qualifications, first two bullets.
- Preferred. Direct work with tunable couplers is a plus. Source section lists[1] Required Qualifications, second bullet.
Senior Technical Program Manager (TPM) · Rigetti Computing · Other degree or enrollment wording
- Required. At least seven years in technical or engineering program management or systems engineering. Source section lists[1] Required Qualifications, first bullet.
- Preferred. A degree in a relevant technical field is preferred. The degree level is unspecified. Source section lists[2] Preferred Qualifications, last bullet.
Senior Software Engineer · Alice & Bob · No degree or enrollment statement found
- Required. At least eight years designing low-level software near hardware, plus Python, instrument interfaces and digital signal processing. Source section lists[1] Requirements, first five bullets.
- Preferred. Automation, product design judgment and experience shipping hardware-backed products are valued. Source section lists[1] Requirements, Nice to have, first three bullets.
Expert Quantum Physicist · Alice & Bob · Unresolved wording or incomplete evidence
- Required. The posting specifies a relevant PhD or equivalent and at least seven years of post-PhD academic or industry work. Source section lists[1] Requirements, first two bullets.
- Unresolved. The posting does not define the equivalent credential or explain how the post-PhD experience condition applies to that path. Source section lists[1] Requirements, first two bullets read together.
Physical Resource Estimation Intern M/F · Alice & Bob · PhD or doctoral enrollment is one of several pathways
- Required. Current enrollment in a physics or mathematics master’s or doctoral program. Source section lists[1] Requirements, Education bullet.
- Preferred. The listing sets no professional experience minimum and values earlier quantum research or internship experience. Source section lists[1] Requirements, Experience bullet.