Quantum Systems Architect

Your mission

At planqc, we are building scalable quantum computers based on neutral atoms, one of the most promising platforms for achieving real-world quantum advantage. Your role is to develop our achitectural vision and technically lead the product development by technically defining workpackages, interfaces and performances. At the same time you see and own the whole picture.

This role is essentially a Senior Experimental AMO Physicist role augmented by technical management and system engineering skills for efficient distribution of work in a large team. As a Quantum Systems Architect you are driving architectural decisions on our major quantum processing products and technically coordinate the work across all of its subsystems technical teams: identifying key technical risks and strategies to mitigate them, defining logic, interfaces, functions, and performance targets, running design and implementation reviews, and maintaining the technical budgets that keep the system on track to perform.

Beyond individual projects, you will help shape how planqc does systems engineering as a discipline, establishing best practices and exchanging learnings across project teams and hardware generations. This role sits at the intersection of physics and engineering, working shoulder to shoulder with mechanics, optics, electronics, software, and quantum algorithm teams. It is ideal for someone who thinks in systems, enjoys resolving the hard trade-offs between subsystems, and wants to take technical ownership of how our neutral-atom quantum computers are built — for example, our next-generation continuous atom loading system.

Your responsibilities

• Lead the architecture and design of major new systems from concept through integration and commissioning, i.e, full life cycle. To do this you
• Design, document, and manage the system architecture for planqc's quantum computing platforms.
• Perform the technical breakdown of the system architecture into well-defined workpackages, and distribute them to the relevant domain experts and teams (e.g. performance to the algorithms team, optics to the optical subsystems team).
• Technically coordinate all work packages by defining interfaces, functions, and performance requirements for each of them.
• Lead design and implementation reviews for work packages to catch integration risks early and keep subsystems aligned.
• Own and maintain technical budgets (e.g. performance budgets) to make sure the overall system meets its targets.
• Identify key questions and find solutions with experts in and outside the company, while keeping the whole system consistent with key requirements.

What you bring

• Deep understanding of neutral-atom quantum computing platforms (or closely related atomic/quantum systems) and the physics driving system design, such as atom trapping, loading, and coherent control.
• Proven experience architecting complex systems and breaking them down into well-scoped workpackages across hardware and software components.
• Proven track record of successfully leading high-impact technical projects from concept to operation.
• PhD or equivalent industry experience in physics, engineering, or a closely related field, with a strong background in AMO physics.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience designing, building, and integrating complex experimental neutral atom or ion quantum hardware systems.

Nice to have

What characterizes you

• You think in systems: you naturally see how subsystems interact and where the real bottlenecks are. It is natural for you to see the potential solution from different aspects.
• You take ownership and drive complex technical challenges to a working solution.
• You communicate clearly across disciplines and enjoy aligning diverse technical stakeholders.
• You are rigorous about requirements, interfaces, and trade-offs, without losing sight of the big picture.
• You are motivated by turning cutting-edge physics into scalable, reliable hardware.
• You enjoy sharing best practices and helping other teams learn from what has already been solved elsewhere.

Why join planqc

At planqc, you will work on one of the most promising quantum computing architectures alongside a highly driven and collaborative team spanning atomic physics, engineering, software and quantum algorithms.

We combine deep-tech research with an engineering mindset, turning scientific breakthroughs into scalable quantum systems.

Joining us means:

• Working on cutting-edge neutral atom quantum hardware
• Taking ownership of system architecture and technical direction from day one
• Collaborating with an exceptional, international team across disciplines
• Contributing to a fast-growing quantum startup at a pivotal stage

In addition, we offer a competitive benefits package including professional development opportunities, conference participation, health benefits, company pension and much more!

If you’re excited about leading the systems engineering behind next-generation neutral-atom quantum computers, we’d love to hear from you.

About us

planqc builds neutral-atom quantum computers based on arrays of optically trapped atoms controlled with high-precision laser systems. Our platform combines technologies from optical lattice clocks, quantum gas microscopes and fast Rydberg gates into a scalable computing architecture.

Founded in 2022 as a spin-off from MPQ and LMU Munich, we translate more than a decade of AMO research into deployable quantum systems. Our work spans vacuum and laser hardware, control electronics, firmware, system software and algorithm integration. We focus on turning complex experimental setups into stable, reproducible systems that operate in real computing environments.
Behind this technology is a team that pushes technical boundaries, values open exchange and shared ownership. Physicists, engineers, software developers and business specialists work closely together, often across disciplinary limits. We believe progress comes from combining deep expertise with practical engineering and from giving people the responsibility and trust to shape their domain.

As we grow across our locations in Garching, Ulm, and Innsbruck, we continue to build a company where people take ownership, learn from each other, and directly shape the systems we bring into operation.