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Internship Quantum Programmer Jobs in Tennessee (NOW HIRING)

... post-quantum readiness, and secure software development practices. * Serve as a technical resource for less-experienced engineers, share knowledge across teams, and mentor peers or interns ...

Internship Quantum Programmer information

What is an Internship Quantum Programmer?

An Internship Quantum Programmer is a student or recent graduate who works temporarily with a company or research institution to gain hands-on experience in quantum computing. Their tasks typically involve writing and testing quantum algorithms, learning to use quantum programming languages like Qiskit or Cirq, and assisting with research projects. These internships provide valuable exposure to cutting-edge technology and are often stepping stones to careers in quantum computing or related fields. Interns may also attend seminars, collaborate with experienced quantum engineers, and contribute to open-source projects.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an Internship Quantum Programmer, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Internship Quantum Programmer, a strong foundation in quantum mechanics, linear algebra, and programming languages such as Python is essential, often supported by enrollment in a relevant STEM degree program. Familiarity with quantum computing frameworks like Qiskit or Cirq and experience using quantum simulators or cloud-based quantum platforms are highly valuable. Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly help candidates stand out. These skills are important to effectively develop, test, and optimize quantum algorithms in a rapidly evolving field.

What is the difference between Internship Quantum Programmer vs Quantum Software Developer?

AspectInternship Quantum ProgrammerQuantum Software Developer
CredentialsTypically pursuing or recent graduate in CS, Physics, or related fieldsUsually requires a degree in CS, Physics, or related fields with some experience
Work EnvironmentInternship setting, often in research labs or tech companiesFull-time or contract roles in tech companies or research institutions
Industry UsageEntry-level, educational focus, training periodProfessional development, product development, or research projects
Search & Comparison IntentLearning about entry-level roles in quantum computingUnderstanding professional roles in quantum software development

The main difference is that an Internship Quantum Programmer is an entry-level, temporary position aimed at gaining experience, while a Quantum Software Developer is a full-time professional role focused on developing quantum algorithms and applications. Internships serve as a stepping stone into the industry, whereas developers are involved in ongoing projects and product development.

What types of projects and programming languages can I expect to work with during a Quantum Programming internship?

As a Quantum Programming intern, you'll typically work on projects involving quantum algorithms, simulations, or developing quantum software tools. Common programming languages and frameworks you'll encounter include Qiskit (Python-based), Cirq, and possibly Q# or other quantum SDKs, alongside classical programming languages like Python or C++. Projects may involve tasks such as implementing quantum circuits, optimizing algorithms, or contributing to open-source quantum computing libraries. You'll often collaborate with both quantum researchers and classical software engineers, gaining exposure to cutting-edge technology and multidisciplinary teamwork.
What job categories do people searching Internship Quantum Programmer jobs in Tennessee look for? The top searched job categories for Internship Quantum Programmer jobs in Tennessee are:
What cities in Tennessee are hiring for Internship Quantum Programmer jobs? Cities in Tennessee with the most Internship Quantum Programmer job openings:

Software Engineer

Cisco

Nashville, TN • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 4 days ago


Cisco Systems rating

8.0

Company rating: 8.0 out of 10

Based on 42 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

55th of 156 rated electronics manufacturers


Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 08/28/2026

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Meet the Team

Splunk, a Cisco company, is building a safer, more resilient digital world with an end-to-end, full-stack platform designed for hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The Platform Security team builds andoperatesfoundational security capabilities that protect Splunk services, infrastructure, and customer data at enterprise scale.

Our work spans public key infrastructure, certificate and secrets lifecycle management, service identity, encryption, compliance, zero-trust security, and cryptographic agility across AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, and traditional environments. We combine deep security and distributed systemsexpertisewith the scale and operational excellence of Splunk and Cisco's global engineering capabilities.

We are advancing automation-first and agentic development practices to build secure, well-tested, and developer-friendly platforms. Our systems enable consistentcertificateissuance, rotation, revocation, secret delivery, and service-to-service authentication while supporting evolving requirements such as FedRAMP, TLS 1.3, and post-quantum cryptography.

At Splunk, we are driven by a bold vision to make machine data accessible, usable, and valuable to everyone. We are a team of passionate builders who value technical excellence, customer impact, collaboration, trust, and curiosity. Our work directly influences reliability, scalability, developer productivity, compliance, and customer trust across Splunk.

Your Impact
  • Design, build, test, andoperatesecure, scalable platform services that support certificate management,secretsmanagement, service identity, encryption, and zero-trust capabilities across Splunk.

  • Apply established software engineering and security best practices to improve the reliability, usability, and operational efficiency of Platform Security products and services.

  • Work independently on well-defined initiatives, using guidance from technical and engineering leaders todeterminetheappropriate implementationapproach.

  • Lead small-to-medium features from technical design through implementation, testing, deployment, and operational readiness.

  • Develop clean, maintainable code and comprehensive unit and integration tests using languages such as Go, C++ or Python.

  • Build automation for certificate issuance, renewal, rotation, revocation, secret delivery, and policy enforcement across cloud and Kubernetes environments.

  • Contribute to secure multi-cloud capabilities across AWS, GCP, and Azure, ensuring consistent security patterns across deployment environments.

  • Apply secure coding practices,participatein threat modeling, andidentifysecurity risks in the design and implementation of new features.

  • Use AI-assisted and agentic development practices to improve engineering velocity whilemaintainingappropriate testing, validation, and security guardrails.

  • Perform code reviews and provide actionable feedback that improves code quality, security, reliability, and maintainability.

  • Troubleshoot complex development and production issues,participatein on-call rotations, and contribute to incident reviews, root-cause analyses, and remediation plans.

  • Partner with engineering, infrastructure, compliance, and security teams to deliver capabilities that support requirements such as FedRAMP,mTLS, cryptographic agility, and certificate governance.

  • Build productive relationships with peer stakeholders and clearly communicate technical decisions, project progress, risks, and dependencies.

  • Monitor service health, reliability, adoption, and operational metrics to identify opportunities for improvement.

  • Stay current with developments in cloud security, PKI,secretsmanagement, cryptography, post-quantum readiness, and secure software development practices.

  • Serve as a technical resource for less-experienced engineers, share knowledge across teams, and mentor peers or interns asappropriate.

  • Identifydelivery risks early and develop practical alternatives or remediation plans to keep projects on track.


Minimum Qualifications
  • Bachelors + 5 years of related experience, or Masters + 3 years of related experience, or PhD + 0 years of professional software development experience building andoperatingsecure, scalable, production-grade systems.

  • Proficiency in C++ or Go programming languages is required, with experience in Python considered an advantage.


Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience applying AI-assisted or agentic development practices to software engineering, testing, automation, or operational workflows.

  • Hands-on experience with public key infrastructure, certificate lifecycle management, certificate authorities, TLS, and mutual TLS.

  • Demonstrated knowledgeof cloud security across AWS, GCP, or Azure, with experience supporting multi-cloud and Kubernetes-based environments.

  • Knowledge of applied cryptography, key management, encryption, digital signatures, and cryptographic agility.

  • Familiarity with security and compliance frameworks such as FedRAMP, including audit evidence, security controls, and boundary documentation.

  • Experience building distributed systems, platformservices,RESTAPIs, and automation that reduce operational toil and improve reliability.

  • Effectivecommunication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work across engineering, security, compliance, and infrastructure teams.

Why Cisco?

At Cisco, we're revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era - and beyond. We've been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you'll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:The starting salary range posted for this position is $128,600.00 to $184,900.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation*, equity, or benefits.

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco's plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks. Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco's policies:

  • 10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees

  • 1 paid day off for employee's birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco

  • Non-exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees

  • Exempt employees participate in Cisco's flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)

  • 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and up to 80 hours ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto the next

  • Additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family members

  • Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco's policies.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:

  • .75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;

  • 1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;

  • 1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and

  • Once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.

For non-quota-based sales performance elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

$155,000.00 - $256,000.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$138,100.00 - $227,900.00

* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco's sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.


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About Cisco Systems

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Cisco Systems, a global tech titan based in San Jose, CA, US, operates in the information technology and services industry. Founded in 1984, the company was derived from a project between two computer scientists from Stanford University. They aimed to connect different networks of computer systems at the university, resulting in the first multi-protocol router, and subsequently, the birth of Cisco. As an industry-leading manufacturer of networking hardware and telecommunications equipment, Cisco's product and services range includes routers, switches, firewall devices, and telecommunication technology. The company's mission, "to shape the future of the Internet by creating unprecedented value and opportunity for our customers, employees, investors, and ecosystem partners," is a testament to its pursuit of technology-forward innovation and customer satisfaction.

Industry

Computer and computer peripheral equipment and software wholesalers

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

San Jose, CA, US

Year founded

1984

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