Quantum Software Developer - PennyLane Core

Location: Toronto, ON, Canada

Department: Software and Algorithms

About Xanadu:

Xanadu’s mission is to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere.

At Xanadu, we are learners, innovators, researchers, collaborators and problem solvers. We are creating something that has never been built before. Few people in their life will be able to be a part of something like this, where if we are successful, the technologies we develop will solve some of the world’s most challenging problems, and literally change the world. And that is something to be excited about!

Your role and responsibilities:

As part of the PennyLane Core team, you will be responsible for developing and maintaining PennyLane, our open-source framework for quantum programming. In this role you will:

• Design, implement, and optimize core infrastructure and APIs within PennyLane to ensure the framework seamlessly scales for increasingly complex, utility-scale quantum workflows.
• Turn cutting-edge theoretical breakthroughs in quantum algorithms development into robust, production-grade software features.
• Work closely with our Performance, Compilation, FTQC, Architecture and Research teams to integrate advanced execution pipelines.
• Actively participate in the open-source lifecycle of PennyLane, ensuring high standards for community contributions, documentation, and testing.

Required qualifications and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Computer Science, Engineering, Math, or a closely related technical field.
• Demonstrated education, training, or professional experience in quantum computing, quantum information or a related field.
• Proven experience in production-grade Python software development with focus on writing clean, modular and maintainable code.
• Demonstrated experience with modern software engineering best practices, including comprehensive unit testing, continuous integration (CI/CD) pipelines, and rigorous code review workflows.
• Hands-on experience developing with, or extending, quantum computing libraries or machine learning frameworks (e.g., JAX, PyTorch).
• Demonstrated ability to dissect complex mathematical or scientific descriptions (such as those found in academic research papers) and translate them into efficient, working software implementations.
• A proven ability to navigate, learn, and master advanced scientific and technical concepts quickly with minimal direction.
• Comfort working in a fast-moving dynamic environment and navigating uncertainty.

Preferred qualifications and experience:

• MSc or PhD in Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related field with a research focus on Quantum Computing or Quantum Information.
• Experience architecting or maintaining large-scale software packages, complex APIs, or developer-facing toolkits rather than standalone applications.
• Advanced understanding of machine learning libraries and their compilation internals (e.g., JAX, PyTorch).
• Proven contributions to core open-source scientific libraries, quantum computing frameworks, or directly to our PennyLane/Catalyst ecosystem.

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

We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. 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.

Please be advised that we may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in the screening and assessment of applicants for this position. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.