Staff Quantum Sensor Physicist

Job Responsibilities

• Participates in and/or leads research and development projects involving atom interferometry, atom-based inertial and gravitational sensing, cold-atom systems, laser systems, vacuum systems, controls, and quantum sensing systems
• Translates customer needs, use cases, and specifications into practical quantum sensor architectures, requirements, error budgets, trade studies, operating concepts, and development plans
• Led or supports development from concept and architecture phases all the way through test, operation, and eventual deployment
• Develops and maintains physics models, simulations, calculations, and error budgets to guide architecture decisions, performance estimates, and identification of technical risks
• Evaluates sensor concepts against real-world and deployed-system constraints including sensitivity, bandwidth, dynamic range, SWaP-C, environmental robustness, manufacturability, reliability, cost, schedule, and technical risk
• Works with electrical, mechanical, software, firmware, vacuum, laser, and controls engineering teams to develop requirements, guide design trades, and convert physics concepts into buildable and operable instrument designs
• Participates in proposal development and customer technical discussions, including practical work scope, risks, system concepts, and deployment considerations. Communicates project findings and progress to both internal stakeholders and external customers

Requirements

• PhD in atomic physics, optical physics, quantum sensing, precision measurement, or related field
• Practical experience with atom-based inertial and/or gravitational sensors, atom interferometry, or closely related AMO or precision-measurement hardware
• Strong practical judgment in balancing physics performance against constraints such as reliability, operability, integration complexity, usability, cost, schedule, SWaP-C, environmental robustness, and technical risk
• Experience designing, building, integrating, testing, operating, and debugging complex hardware and software systems
• Experience developing models, simulations, calculations, and/or error budgets to inform instrument designs
• Professional-level communication skills, including the ability to share technical information clearly with technical and non-technical staff, leadership, and customers
• Ability to work effectively with engineering teams on optical, mechanical, electrical, software, firmware, vacuum, laser, controls, packaging, and instrument-operation challenges
• Direct experience with atom interferometry, cold-atom gravimetry, gravity gradiometry, quantum inertial sensing, Bose Einstein condensates, or optical lattices
• Experience building, testing, operating, or deploying practical AMO/quantum systems, including fieldable sensors, transportable instruments, or robust laboratory prototypes
• Experience with cold or ultracold atoms, Bose-Einstein condensates, MOTs, optical lattices, or related technologies
• Demonstrated ability to translate customer needs or performance goals into implementable system architectures, requirements, engineering trades, and test approaches
• Experience writing proposals, leading technical work, serving as a Principal Investigator (PI) or technical lead, and/or working directly with customers
• 2+ years of post-PhD experience in a postdoctoral role, quantum-related industry, precision measurement, or related hardware development environment

Additional Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with cold or ultracold atoms, Bose-Einstein condensates, MOTs, optical lattices, or related technologies
• Experience building, testing, operating, or deploying practical AMO/quantum systems, including fieldable sensors, transportable instruments, or robust laboratory prototypes
• Experience with cold or ultracold atoms, Bose-Einstein condensates, MOTs, optical lattices, or related technologies
• Demonstrated ability to translate customer needs or performance goals into implementable system architectures, requirements, engineering trades, and test approaches
• Experience writing proposals, leading technical work, serving as a Principal Investigator (PI) or technical lead, and/or working directly with customers