Entry Level Software Engineer Jobs in Des Plaines, IL

This Quantum Software Engineer role will join the Compiler Team within Infleqtion's Quantum Software organization. The role will design, build, and maintain quantum compilation software, with particular responsibility for the interface between quantum circuits, error-correction software, and hardware control systems.

The role combines hands-on software development, system design, code review, and R&D. It will contribute to co-design efforts spanning applications, algorithms, compilation, error decoding, hardware, and control. Ideal candidates have a strong software engineering background and are interested in learning the quantum-computing and hardware-control context needed for the role.

This role is open to both entry-level and senior-level candidates.

• The duties and responsibilities outlined below include essential functions of the role. Depending on business needs, this role may perform a combination of some or all of the following duties. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned.
• Conduct R&D toward advances in quantum compilation, execution, and fault-tolerant quantum computing, similar to work described in https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.05157 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13247.
• Design and implement software interfaces and intermediate representations that translate compiled quantum circuits into executable control-system programs, including gate operations, timing, qubit movement, measurement, and other hardware functionality.
• Develop software that connects quantum error-correction circuits with decoding and execution systems, including representation and processing of measurement results, syndrome data, decoder outputs, and Pauli-frame updates.
• Collaborate with hardware, control, and experimental teams to define stable, well-documented interfaces between compilation software and the control system.
• Build tooling to validate, simulate, test, and debug circuit-to-control translations, including timing constraints, hardware capabilities, and execution results.
• Deploy software optimizations to our cloud platform Superstaq using industry-grade software engineering procedures, including documentation, linting, testing, type checking, and code review.
• Contribute to development of government and commercial proposals and execution on global programs.
• Collaborate with experimental physicists, control engineers, and software engineers to bridge theoretical concepts and practical implementation.
• Engage with the broader scientific community by publishing research findings in scientific journals and presenting at conferences.
• Stay up to date with developments in compiler design, quantum computer architecture, control systems, error correction, decoding, and related fields.
• Provide guidance and support to other team members, fostering a collaborative research environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, physics, or a directly related field.
• High proficiency in programming, with fluency in Python preferred. Proficiency in C++, Rust or another systems-oriented language, with the ability to rapidly upskill in Python, is also welcome.
• Experience designing, building, or maintaining complex software systems, such as compilers, intermediate representations, runtimes, simulators, distributed systems, embedded/control software, or performance-critical scientific software.
• Ability to reason clearly about software interfaces, data models, APIs, and the tradeoffs between abstraction, performance, and maintainability.
• Experience with software testing and debugging, including unit tests, integration tests, type checking, version control, and CI/CD practices.
• Demonstrated ability to work and communicate with all levels of an organization, including professional verbal, written, and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work comfortably in a highly collaborative, cross-functional, team-oriented, and matrixed environment.
• Demonstrated ability to learn new and complex topics quickly, including a willingness to develop familiarity with quantum -computing concepts through work with domain experts.
• Resourceful problem-solver who collaboratively identifies effective paths forward and can execute productization efforts.
• Passion for solving complex problems and challenges in a highly technical and scientific environment.
• Ability to be in the office any three days per week.
• Ability to travel domestically and potentially internationally up to 10%.

• Experience with compiler infrastructure, scheduling, instruction selection, intermediate representations, program analysis, or code generation.
• Experience with real-time, embedded, hardware-control, or scientific-instrumentation software; familiarity with timing-sensitive execution systems is particularly valuable.
• Experience building software that integrates measurement data, feedback, calibration data, telemetry, or other hardware-generated data into an execution pipeline.
• Familiarity with quantum error correction, decoders, stabilizer simulation, fault tolerance, or syndrome processing.
• Familiarity with quantum computing concepts such as native gate decomposition, qubit mapping and routing, circuit scheduling, and hardware-aware compilation.
• Experience with open-source quantum software frameworks such as Cirq, Qiskit, Stim, or similar tools.
• Experience developing or optimizing scientific, simulation, decoding, or data-processing workloads for high-performance computing environments, including GPU-accelerated or distributed systems.
• Experience with backend development using tools such as FastAPI, PostgreSQL, or SQLAlchemy.
• Experience with cloud development, especially on GCP or AWS.
• Familiarity with security best practices, including access control, encryption at rest, key rotation, and logging.
• Exposure to or interest in front-end or GUI development, such as HTML/CSS, React, or PyQt.

Benefits

• Salary range: $145,000 to $170,000 per year
• 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision, short/long-term disability  
• Employer-funded Health Savings Account  
• Unlimited PTO  
• 401(k) match  
• Company-paid Life and AD&D Insurance  
• Flexible Savings Account  
• Paid FMLA, Maternity/Paternity Leave  
• Employee Assistance Program  
• Student Loan Repayment 
• Equity Package

Equal Opportunity

Here you have freedom to embrace your whole self: who you love, your gender identity and expression, skin color, age, appearance, disability, neurodiversity, DNA, military/veteran status, citizenship, and other factors that make up who you are. Your uniqueness is valued, welcomed, and appreciated here. We are dedicated to providing a positive workplace and base all employment decisions on your qualifications, performance, merits, as well as business needs. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

Note

This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations for quantum computing technology. Please note that any offer for employment may be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations without sponsorship for an export license.

Contact Information

If this opportunity interests you and you fit the job description, please submit an application. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to disability, please feel free to contact us at hr@infleqtion.com.

Notice to Recruitment Agencies:

Infleqtion does not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies. Infleqtion is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.