Postdoctoral Appointee – Quantum Information Science, Hybrid

This postdoctoral position is a temporary position for up to one year, which may be renewed at Sandia’s discretion up to five additional years. The PhD must have been conferred within five years prior to employment. Individuals in postdoctoral positions may bid on regular Sandia positions as internal candidates, and in some cases may be converted to regular career positions during their term if warranted by ongoing operational needs, continuing availability of funds, and satisfactory job performance.

Employees, excluding student interns, must remain in their current position for one year from their hire date before bidding on a new job. However, the hiring manager may obtain approval to consider a candidate before the one-year requirement is met via the review process. This approval must be secured prior to being interviewed for a posted position. The Application of this requirement will not supersede collective bargaining agreements. Please refer to the collective bargaining labor agreements for eligibility requirements for represented bidders.

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*These benefits vary by job classification.

We are seeking Postdoctoral Appointee candidates with a strong publication record and/or relevant experience to join Sandia’s quantum computing theory group and engage in the development and demonstration of accurate and scalable characterization methods for photonic quantum computers. As part of Sandia’s broader Quantum Information Science (QIS) program, you will have opportunities to collaborate with researchers across the industry. Postdocs in our group work at the forefront of practical and theoretical quantum computing research, publish widely, and have the freedom to identify compelling research problems, take leadership, and solve them.

On any given day, you may:

• Work with a team developing new methods to assess and understand the performance of photonic quantum computing devices
• Interact and collaborate with a diverse set of experimentalists and other theorists at Sandia, academic institutions, other national labs, and private companies
• Work with theorists and experimentalists from the Quantum New Mexico Institute (QNM-I), the University of New Mexico (UNM), or the Quantum Demonstration Facility (QDF)
• Take ownership of technical projects, publish outstanding new developments in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and present your work at conferences

The selected applicant can work a combination of onsite and offsite and must live within a reasonable distance for commuting to the Livermore or Albuquerque location when necessary.

• PhD in Physics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Chemistry, or a related science or engineering field, conferred within five years prior to employment
• Record of research as demonstrated by publications in peer-reviewed journals, competitive conference proceedings, or high-impact program deliverables

• Demonstrated research experience in quantum optics, nanophotonics, and optical science
• Demonstrated research experience in quantum computation and information science (including characterization of quantum hardware, design and modeling of qubits, quantum error correction, etc.)
• Proficiency in scientific programming, such as developing and running complex science and engineering codes on massively parallel computing clusters
• Interest in impacting applications and customers in support of DOE missions
  

The Quantum Information Science (8739) Department pursues foundational research and development to enable creation of quantum information processors (QIPs) that will provide exponential speed-ups for selected computational problems. We are a team of researchers whose expertise and pursuits include: computational modeling of physical qubits; theory and design of fault-tolerant QIPs; instruction set architectures for QIPs, evaluation of as-built qubit performance and noise characterization; logical qubit design for real-world noise; performance assessment of many-qubit QIPs; quantum algorithm development; the physics of information; and development of methods and computational simulation capabilities for all of the above pursuits. The Department staff collaborate with researchers in allied areas working on similar pursuits; closely collaborate with experimentalist groups at Sandia working on developing practical qubits in various technologies; have strong working relationships with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offices and other U.S. government agencies interested in quantum information science (QIS); and collaborate, broadly, with academic and commercial colleagues in the external QIS research community.

Through 8739 you will also have the opportunity to join the Quantum Performance Lab (QPL) and Quantum Algorithms and Application Collaboratory (QuAAC) groups, which are multidisciplinary research and development groups within Sandia. The QPL develops and deploys cutting-edge techniques for assessing and improving the performance of quantum computing hardware, serving the needs of the U.S. government, industry, and academia. It also works closely with a wide range of partners in industry and academia to develop new performance assessment tools and apply them to newly developed quantum computing platforms. The QuAAC works on all aspects of quantum algorithms, including the design and analysis of new algorithms, establishing conditions for quantum advantage, and resource estimates for problems in science and engineering. It also collaborates broadly with scientists in academia, industry, and other national labs. Both groups are geographically dispersed but maintain a strong culture of collaboration and are committed to advancing the field of quantum computing. The QPL and QuAAC teams publish their research in leading scientific journals including Nature, Nature Physics, Nature Communications, Physical Review X, PRX Quantum, and Physical Review Letters.

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the ‘posting date’. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

This position does not currently require a Department of Energy (DOE) security clearance.

Sandia will conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Furthermore, employees in New Mexico need to pass a U.S. Air Force background screen for access to Kirtland Air Force Base. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause access to be denied or terminated, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment. Under federal law, citizens and agents of the People’s Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, and the Russian Federation are generally prohibited from accessing Sandia National Laboratories. Accordingly, such individuals will not be considered for employment unless they are also a citizen of the United States.

If hired without a clearance and it subsequently becomes necessary to obtain and maintain one for the position, or you bid on positions that require a clearance, a pre-processing background review may be conducted prior to a required federal background investigation. Applicants for a DOE security clearance need to be U.S. citizens. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.

Members of the workforce (MOWs) hired at Sandia who require uncleared access for greater than 179 days during their employment, are required to go through the Uncleared Personal Identity Verification (UPIV) process. Access includes physical and/or cyber (logical) access, as well as remote access to any NNSA information technology (IT) systems. UPIV requirements are not applicable to individuals who require a DOE personnel security clearance for the performance of their SNL employment or to foreign nationals. The UPIV process will include the completion of a USAccess Enrollment, SF-85 (Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions) and OF-306 (Declaration of for Federal Employment). An unfavorable UPIV determination will result in immediate retrieval of the SNL issued badge, removal of cyber (logical) access and/or removal from SNL subcontract. All MOWs may appeal the unfavorable UPIV determination to DOE/NNSA immediately. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the MOW may try to go through the UPIV process one year after the decision date.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.