R&D Site Lead

There’s no team, no lab routine and no local playbook yet. You’ll build all of it while the work is already underway. The site anchors a collaborative R&D program with a UK HPC centre and a quantum error correction partner.

Getting this interface right is central to running error-corrected quantum workloads alongside classical supercomputers. In the early phase, you’ll work hands-on in the technical work alongside your first hires. As the site grows, you move into a team-of-teams role, leading team leads rather than individual contributors.

You set up ways of working, tools, facilities, IT, compute and partner access, together with our internal support functions and partners.

You work hands-on on integrating IQM systems with HPC environments, from hybrid workflows to real-time decoding and control-stack integration, and you set the technical direction for the team.

About IQM Quantum Computers

• At IQM, we build world-leading quantum computers for the well-being of humankind.
• We design systems to tackle computational challenges beyond the practical limits of classical machines.
• Our work sits at the edge of science and engineering.
• It's complex, demanding, and deeply collaborative.
• We turn deep research into reliable, full-stack systems that drive discoveries in fields like medicine, energy, and technology, reshaping how the world computes.
• Join the team that gives quantum a heartbeat.
• The work IQM is opening an R&D site in Edinburgh, UK, and this is the first hire.
• The technical focus is where IQM quantum systems meet classical HPC: hybrid quantum-classical workflows, real-time decoding and control-stack integration.
• You’ll report to a VP in our Quantum Systems organisation and act as IQM’s technical and organisational lead in the UK partnership.
• What you’ll actually do Build the site from zero.
• You work with R&D teams at our other sites so results flow into the global roadmap and products, and knowledge moves in both directions.
• Outside IQM, you represent us in the UK quantum ecosystem and find the collaborations that let the site grow.
• What we’re looking for 5+ years leading R&D teams, including building one from scratch and scaling it.
• You also understand HPC environments and what hybrid quantum-classical computing demands: software integration, scheduling and low-latency classical processing.
• From quantum hardware to software layers and beyond, we build across the full-stack.
• We’re in the phase where top performers get noticed.
• Our people build know-how for the entire quantum ecosystem.
• We publish papers, run hackathons, and help shape a market that's still being defined.
• The future of computing won’t build itself.
• You might be one of the few who do.
• Meet our people and learn more about IQM on our stories page.
• Explore our scientific publications.

Responsibilities

• You recruit and line-manage the first engineers and scientists, then the team leads who follow, and set the culture the site grows from.
• Lead the technical work.
• Run the partnership day to day.
• You own the R&D relationship with the HPC centre and the QEC partner, which covers: joint work plans and regular technical meetings integration, testing and benchmarking clear agreements on IP and data
• With our IP team, you make sure publications and know-how transfer follow the collaboration agreements.
• Own the program’s delivery With the program’s project manager and Finance, you own the site budget and forecasts and keep costs aligned with the collaboration’s commitments.
• You prepare progress reports and milestone reviews for partners and stakeholders.
• On-time milestones and sound financial governance are part of how this role is measured Connect the UK site to the rest of IQM.
• Experience on collaborative R&D projects, including budgets, milestone reporting, cost compliance and resource planning across organisations.

Requirements

• You’ve hired, onboarded, line-managed and developed people, not only led projects.
• A strong quantum computing background, with depth in quantum error correction and/or quantum hardware and control systems, from industry or academia.
• A PhD in physics, electrical engineering, computer science or a related field, or equivalent research depth.
• You solve problems before they’re handed to you, and you explain complex work clearly to technical partners, funding bodies, IQM leadership and the wider quantum community.
• Big enough to matter.
• Small enough to move fast.

Preferred

• An existing network in the UK quantum and HPC ecosystem.
• Hands-on experience with real-time decoding, control-stack integration or hybrid workflows on HPC systems.

Why IQM?

• Flat hierarchy, direct access.
• They're friendlier than they look!

Benefits

• Feel free to approach any leaders.
• Growing between a startup and a corporation.

High-performance playground

We aim high, and we know sustainable performance only works when life outside work does too—hybrid setups, flexible hours.

Never the smartest

You won’t always be the smartest person in the room. Neither will we. Expect to learn constantly - from each other and beyond with IQM’s Learning Hub, LinkedIn Learning, and a team-based L&D budget.

We'll start interviews and move forward with hiring as soon as we meet strong candidates. Please submit your application soon. 600M€+ Total Funding | 400+ Team Members | 30+ Quantum Computers Built | 300+ Patents Filed | 10 Location Globally