The role
From Amazon's own posting.
The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Center for Quantum Computing (CQC) is seeking a Senior Applied Scientist to research and design cryogenic control hardware for large-scale quantum processors, with an emphasis on superconducting digital circuits. Controlling and reading out orders of magnitude more qubits than today's systems demands rethinking where classical control lives and what technology implements it; you will design and model superconducting digital logic (e.g., single-flux-quantum-family circuits) and related cryogenic electronics, evaluate them against the wiring, power, and thermal budgets of a scaled system, and co-design control approaches with the qubit devices they serve. You will carry designs from concept through simulation, layout, design review, and fabrication handoff, and your evaluations will inform which control-electronics directions the organization invests in.
Key job responsibilities
• Design and simulate superconducting digital circuits and cryogenic control/readout electronics for scalable qubit control
• Develop and validate Josephson-junction circuit models, timing and margin analyses, and verification methodology for superconducting digital designs
• Quantify system-level trade-offs — wiring count, power dissipation at each cryogenic stage, latency, footprint — across candidate control architectures, and communicate recommendations
• Co-design control interfaces with qubit-device colleagues so control electronics and quantum devices are developed as one system
• Deliver design artifacts through the organization's design-request and design-review processes, including tapeout-ready layouts and verification reports
• Present results internally and, where appropriate, publish in peer-reviewed venues
About the team
The Enabling Technologies team develops technologies and relationships facilitating scaling, including alternative quantum processor architectures, superconducting qubit device packaging, and cryogenic control device electronics. We work alongside a co-located quantum processor design team focused on current-generation devices; the two teams share design and review processes, and moving ideas between them is an explicit part of our charter.
- PhD, or Master's degree and 7+ years of applied research experience
- Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
- Experience in patents or publications at top-tier peer-reviewed conferences or journals
- Experience with circuit design and simulation
- Familiarity with superconducting qubit control and readout — pulse generation, multiplexed readout, feedback latency requirements
- Experience designing superconducting digital circuits (RSFQ/ERSFQ, adiabatic quantum phase parametron, or related single-flux-quantum logic families), including Josephson-junction circuit simulation and margin analysis
- Experience with EDA flows for custom circuit design — schematic capture, layout, physical verification, and working against a process design kit
- Knowledge of cryogenic electronics more broadly: cryo-CMOS, low-temperature amplifiers and mixers, thermal and power budgeting across refrigerator stages
- Experience with microwave engineering and signal integrity in dense cryogenic interconnect
- Experience taking chips through fabrication and correlating measured circuit behavior with design models
- Familiarity with quantum error correction decoding and the classical-processing requirements it places on control systems
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
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The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits .
USA, CA, San Francisco - 192,200.00 - 260,000.00 USD annually