About Xanadu:

Xanadu’s mission is to build useful quantum computers. We are a team of learners, innovators, and problem solvers, creating technology that has never been built before. Few people get to be a part of something like this—a journey where success can lead to solving some of the world's most challenging problems and fundamentally changing the world

Your role and responsibilities:

As a Photonics Test Engineer, you will join our Test and Measurement team to build the software that drives the analysis and measurement of on-chip photonic devices—the foundational building blocks of Xanadu's Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computer. This role requires an equal balance of hands-on experience in a photonics lab and strong software engineering skills .

You will collaborate closely with physicists and engineers to develop the workflows, models, and algorithms they use to analyze complex data. You will also interface with our data engineers to ensure data integrity throughout the analysis pipeline. Your enthusiasm for software best practices and "clean code" will be crucial, as the reliability and maintainability of our code directly impacts critical design decisions. Duties may include:

• Develop and maintain robust, trustworthy analysis pipelines for photonic device data.
• Work with hardware engineers and physicists to apply software best practices to their data analysis.
• Use your mathematical, physical, and statistical skills to develop new algorithms and improve existing ones.
• Perform data analysis and interpret experimental data.
• Collaborate with data engineers to manage data sourcing and maintain data integrity.
• Support our hardware team and physicists in using the tools you develop.
• Versatile candidates may have the opportunity to expand into test engineering and test automation roles.

Basic qualifications and experience:

This role requires a unique combination of strong physical intuition and strong software engineering skills. We are looking for candidates who can demonstrate proficiency in at least one of two ways:

• Hands-on Photonics Experience: You have 1+ years of experience working in a laboratory environment with optical and/or semiconductor testing, including data collection and analysis.
• Software Engineering Experience: You have 1+ years of experience in a professional software development environment, with a proven track record of building robust data analysis tools.

Regardless of experience profile candidates should have the following skills:

• Strong programming skills:
• Proficiency in Python and experience with data analysis libraries such as NumPy , SciPy , and pandas .
• Experience with Git and the pull request workflow .
• Demonstrable understanding of software design principles.
• Photonics knowledge:
• Strong foundational understanding of photonics, optical physics, quantum physics, or related fields.
• Education:
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, or a related field.

Preferred qualifications and experience:

• Master's or PhD degree in Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• Understanding of the full software development lifecycle, including version control, code review, testing, continuous integration, logging, and documentation.
• Strong statistical or mathematical intuition, with an understanding of concepts like overfitting, underfitting, and the propagation of uncertainty.
• Experience with Bayesian methods or optimization methods in data analysis.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced research environment.

Our values are important. They are fundamental and lay the foundation for culture at Xanadu. Learn more about our values here.

At Xanadu, we are committed to building an inclusive, safe, and equitable culture and fostering an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. We are committed to meeting the needs of all individuals and support a barrier-free workplace. Should you require accommodations at any point during the recruitment process please contact Recruiting at recruiting@xanadu.ai.

Note: Xanadu will never ask you for bank account information as part of the interview process. Please report any suspicious activity to recruiting@xanadu.ai.