{"id":1705741,"url":"https://alion.io/job/q-block-senior-quantum-engineer","title":"Senior Quantum Engineer","company":{"id":2504443,"name":"Q Block","domain":"q-block.ca","url":"https://alion.io/company/q-block","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Breezy","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":4,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-10-05T05:45:15Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Ottawa, Canada"],"countries":["CA"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":120000,"max":160000,"currency":"CAD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":112453},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-04-19T04:39:49Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-04-19","last_verified_at":"2026-10-05T23:57:40Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":169,"trust":{"level":"stale","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale"],"days_open":169},"description":"Location: Ottawa, ON (on-site)\nEmployment type: Full-time\nSalary range: $120,000-$160,000 CAD per year\nAbout Q-Block Computing: Q-Block Computing builds quantum systems that operate in the real world. The company develops quantum timing, quantum-secure communications, and quantum computing platforms engineered for the performance, reliability, and environmental resilience that mission-critical applications demand. These are systems designed to be deployed, maintained, and trusted.\nThe long-term vision is deeper than any single platform. Q-Block is pursuing a mission to decode Nature's foundational model - to build instruments of sufficient precision and coherence that they become tools for understanding the physical universe at its most fundamental level. Every system engineered to sustain quantum coherence under real-world conditions is also an advance in what becomes scientifically possible next. The commercialization and the science reinforce each other by design.\nAbout this role: The Senior Quantum Engineer will serve as a technical leader in Q-Block's R&D engineering organization, with responsibility for driving the development, integration, and productization of quantum hardware systems from prototype to deployed capability. This role requires deep hardware expertise, sound engineering judgment, and the ability to work across subsystem boundaries - optics, photonics, electronics, control systems, and mechanical design - to bring complex quantum systems to the performance and reliability standards that operational deployment demands.\nThe Senior Quantum Engineer will own engineering decisions within their domain, mentor junior engineers, and operate as a bridge between experimental capability and deployable system. This is a role for an engineer who thrives on hard problems, holds themselves to an uncompromising standard of technical honesty, and finds satisfaction in building things that actually work in the real world under real conditions.\nResponsibilities\nLead the engineering design, integration, and qualification of quantum hardware subsystems - optical, photonic, electronic, control, and mechanical - across Q-Block's platform programs, from prototype through field-deployable system.\nOwn subsystem-level performance: define specifications, plan verification and validation campaigns, analyze failure modes, and drive technical closure on engineering issues with clear, documented reasoning.\nDrive productization and design-for-reliability efforts, including ruggedization, thermal management, environmental qualification, and manufacturing-readiness transitions for quantum system components.\nDevelop and improve fabrication, assembly, alignment, and calibration procedures for precision optical and electronic subsystems, with attention to repeatability, yield, and operator-independent performance.\nCollaborate with scientists and systems architects to translate performance requirements and physical constraints into engineering design specifications.\nLead design reviews, establish engineering standards and documentation practices, and provide technical mentorship to junior engineers on the team.\nIdentify and retire technical risks proactively; lead root-cause analysis for subsystem failures and implement robust corrective actions.\nContribute to technical proposals, engineering documentation, and IP capture processes as appropriate.\nStay current with developments in quantum hardware, photonics, precision electronics, and related engineering domains.\nRequired qualifications\nPhD degree in Engineering Physics, Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related field.\n5+ years of professional engineering experience in quantum hardware, scientific instrumentation, photonics, precision electronics, or a related deep-tech hardware domain.\nDemonstrated ownership of subsystem-level engineering deliverables: specification, design, build, test, and documentation through the full development cycle.\nStrong hands-on capability in at least one of: optical systems engineering, laser hardware and stabilization, photonic integration, precision analog electronics, or quantum control systems.\nExperience in a productization or reliability engineering context: transitioning prototype hardware to robust, repeatable, fielded systems.\nClear, disciplined technical communication: architecture documents, verification plans, test reports, and engineering specifications written for a demanding technical audience.\nPreferred qualifications\nHands-on experience with one or more of: UHV systems, neutral-atom or ion trap hardware, optical frequency metrology, fiber-optic network components, quantum key distribution hardware, or FPGA-based real-time control.\nExperience with precision timing systems, synchronization architectures, or PNT-related hardware.\nTrack record of system-level integration across optics, electronics, and software in a quantum or precision instrumentation context.\nExperience working in or alongside defense, national security, or high-assurance systems environments.\nFamiliarity with relevant standards and compliance frameworks for defense or regulated hardware programs.\nSecurity and Compliance Requirements\nMust be eligible to obtain and maintain Government of Canada security clearance, if required for assigned projects.\nMust be eligible to comply with requirements of the Controlled Goods Program, if required for assigned projects.\nMust be willing to participate in background screening, documentation, and compliance processes associated with security-sensitive work.\nAbility to work effectively within security, export-control, and compliance-sensitive technical environments is an asset.\nBenefits\nExtended health care (including dental and vision)\nLife insurance\nEqual Opportunity\nQ-Block Computing is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to treating all employees and applicants with respect and dignity. Accommodations are available on request during the application and recruiting process.\nCanadian citizens and permanent residents are strongly encouraged to apply. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6143,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"phd","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Life insurance"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Quantum Science & Computing","Quantum Computing Hardware"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-02T14:47:43Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":9,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.325,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":169,"expected_fill_days":41,"reasons":["conf:0","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-05T05:45:15Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":112453,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/q-block-senior-quantum-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/q-block-senior-quantum-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-06T00:05:44Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":52,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":4948,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":2504443},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=2504443"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fq-block-senior-quantum-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fq-block-senior-quantum-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fq-block-senior-quantum-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/q-block-senior-quantum-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fq-block-senior-quantum-engineer"}]}