Full-Time
Applied Physicist
Quantum RF Sensing
Infleqtion
201-500 employees
Full-stack quantum hardware and software
Compensation Overview
$145k - $170k/yr
Louisville, CO, USA
In Person
Primarily on-site; up to 10% travel may be required.
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD
 Electrical Engineering (1) |
|---|
Get referred to Infleqtion
See people who can refer or advise you
- A bachelor's degree in physics, applied physics, optical engineering, electrical engineering, or a closely related field plus at least four years of relevant hands-on experimental experience; a master's degree plus at least two years; or a PhD with directly relevant experimental research. Equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered.
- Demonstrated hands-on experience personally building, aligning, operating, and troubleshooting complex experimental apparatus integrating at least two of lasers or optics, electronics, RF or microwave hardware, thermal or mechanical hardware, and software or controls.
- Practical experience with laser and optical alignment, photodetection, electronic instrumentation, and diagnosing noise, stability, or performance limitations.
- Working knowledge of RF measurements and experience using signal generators, spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, or vector network analyzers.
- Ability to design controlled experiments, analyze noisy data, assess measurement uncertainty and repeatability, and draw defensible conclusions from incomplete or conflicting results.
- Experience automating experiments and analyzing data using Python or a comparable scientific programming environment.
- Ability to independently plan and execute defined laboratory work, document results clearly, and collaborate across physics, engineering, and product disciplines while seeking senior direction for broader architecture and scientific strategy.
- Ability to work in a fast-moving environment where designs, schedules, and supplier constraints evolve quickly.
- Ability to work at laboratory benches for extended periods, perform fine optical and electronic alignment and adjustment tasks, and occasionally lift and carry laboratory equipment or components weighing up to forty pounds.
- Own defined experimental campaigns addressing QRF sensitivity, noise, stability, bandwidth, dynamic range, and repeatability.
- Build, align, commission, operate, maintain, and troubleshoot persistent testbeds integrating lasers and optics, atomic-sensing hardware, RF and electronic instrumentation, controls, and data acquisition.
- Design and execute controlled experiments that isolate performance limitations and convert results into specific hardware, operating-point, calibration, or control-system improvements.
- Integrate validated experimental improvements into sensor heads, subsystems, and complete QRF systems, and verify performance against quantitative requirements and documented test methods.
- Characterize vapor cells and RF resonators, including thermal, optical, geometric, material, field-delivery, and repeatability effects that influence sensor performance.
- Establish and maintain laser-frequency locks, optical-power stability, photodetection, and associated noise-characterization methods.
- Calibrate and characterize RF delivery through electrodes, resonators, antennas, transverse electromagnetic or gigahertz transverse electromagnetic cells, and related test configurations using appropriate RF and microwave instrumentation.
- Develop automated instrument-control, parameter-sweep, optimization, calibration, and data-analysis workflows using Python or comparable scientific tools.
- Analyze experimental data with appropriate uncertainty, noise, and repeatability treatment; use atomic, optical, or electromagnetic models to guide experiments, interpret results, and investigate discrepancies among predicted, benchtop, subsystem, and integrated-system performance.
- Translate findings into design recommendations, configuration records, test procedures, technical reports, and verification evidence that engineers and technicians can reproduce.
- Work with RF, optical-mechanical, electrical, embedded-software, systems, and technician personnel to make experimental configurations stable, maintainable, and transferable.
- Provide occasional support for laboratory or field demonstrations and customer-program testing while following applicable safety, export-control, configuration-control, and documentation requirements.
- Hands-on experience with Rydberg atoms, electromagnetically induced transparency, Autler–Townes spectroscopy, atomic RF electrometry, or closely related vapor-cell sensing.
- Experience with rubidium or cesium vapor cells, multi-laser spectroscopy, acousto-optic or electro-optic modulators, optical-frequency locking, optical-power stabilization, or low-noise photodetection.
- Experience characterizing RF resonators, calibrated RF-field delivery, antennas, electrodes, transverse electromagnetic or gigahertz transverse electromagnetic cells, or microwave measurement systems.
- Experience integrating precision laboratory instruments into stable, repeatable, transportable, or field-capable systems.
- Familiarity with requirements-based verification, configuration-controlled hardware, and test evidence for aerospace, defense, scientific-instrumentation, or U.S. government programs.
- A current or previously held U.S. government security clearance.
- Experience using Ansys HFSS, COMSOL, Zemax, Rydiqule, or related modeling tools to design or interpret experiments.
Infleqtion builds neutral-atom quantum hardware and complementary software for computing, sensing, and security. Its hardware uses lasers to cool and trap neutral atoms and perform quantum operations, with products like Sqale for computation, Tiqker clocks for precise timing, RF receivers for spectrum sensing, and inertial sensors for GPS-denied navigation; its Superstaq software optimizes algorithms across different quantum machines. The company differentiates itself by vertically integrating hardware and software and leveraging neutral-atom technology to scale, along with a history of strategic acquisitions and a NYSE listing. Its goal is to accelerate practical quantum adoption by expanding its roadmap and serving government and commercial customers across computation, sensing, navigation, and secure communications.
Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
Growth Equity (Non-Venture Capital)
Total Funding
$936.6M
Headquarters
Louisville, Colorado
Founded
2007
Get referred to Infleqtion
See people who can refer or advise you
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- NASA added $20 million on August 27, 2026, bringing QGGPf funding to $40 million.
- DOE awarded three Genesis Mission projects on July 22, 2026, spanning AI, sensing, fusion.
- Q2 2026 revenue hit $12.6 million, up 116%, and guidance rose to $43 million.
What critics are saying
- Q2 2026 operating loss widened to $30.6 million, while cash burn stayed negative.
- Shunkai’s August 2026 launch disclosed no fidelities, benchmarks, or error-correction performance.
- If NASA and DOE contracts stall, Infleqtion becomes a capital-hungry public quantum vendor.
What makes Infleqtion unique
- Infleqtion’s neutral-atom QPUs, clocks, RF receivers, and inertial sensors span computing, sensing, security.
- Shunkai launched August 24, 2026, making Japan’s first operational full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer.
- Cisco collaboration on September 10, 2026 ties Superstaq to quantum networking hardware.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?
Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
Unlimited Paid Time Off
401(k) Company Match
Paid Maternity/Paternity Leave
Student Loan Repayment
Family Leave
Short Term & Long Term Disability
Stock Options
Company Equity
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↓ -3%1 year growth
↓ -1%2 year growth
↓ -11%Infleqtion has integrated NVIDIA CUDA-Q Logical with its qLDPC open-source library for quantum error correction research. The integration enables quantum error correction using approximately six physical data qubits per logical qubit — roughly five times fewer than surface-code approaches. Working with an early-access version of CUDA-Q Logical, Infleqtion researchers constructed and validated a high-rate quantum error correction code. This physical-to-logical qubit ratio below 10:1 represents progress toward the company's architectural target for near-term systems. The high physical-qubit overhead of error correction remains a central obstacle between current quantum computers and commercially useful ones. High-rate codes pack more logical information into the same machine, though the advantage requires the entire system to be built accordingly. Infleqtion open-sourced qLDPC last year alongside researchers from JPMorgan Chase.
Infleqtion and Cisco test neutral-atom quantum network integration. Infleqtion and Cisco have begun joint R&D to connect neutral-atom quantum memory and processing units with telecom-compatible network switches, aiming to address the physical and protocol challenges of distributed quantum computing Efforts to build a scalable quantum network have moved from theory to hardware integration as Infleqtion and Cisco initiate a technical collaboration to connect neutral-atom quantum devices with conventional networking infrastructure. The project targets a persistent bottleneck in quantum computing: the inability to scale beyond the limits of a single quantum processor by linking multiple quantum nodes through optical channels compatible with existing telecom hardware. Neutral-atom hardware and optical links. Infleqtion's platform centers on cold-atom quantum processing units (QPUs), atomic clocks, and quantum memory modules based on trapped neutral cesium and rubidium atoms. These systems operate at ultracold temperatures, using optical transitions to encode and store quantum information. The company's hardware includes ensembles of neutral-atom qubits, with optical interfaces designed to support both quantum computation and high-precision sensing. The challenge is to bridge the gap between the atomic transition wavelengths and the telecom bands used in fiber-optic networks, which requires efficient wavelength conversion and low-loss photonic transduction. Cisco's contribution comes through its Quantum Labs, which have developed a software-defined networking stack and prototype hardware switches capable of routing quantum state information. The Cisco Universal Quantum Switch is designed to interconnect heterogeneous quantum devices, preserving quantum coherence during state transfer and enabling dynamic routing of entangled states between nodes. The integration aims to support distributed quantum computing clusters, where quantum memory and processing can be shared across physically separated devices. Protocol integration and software control. One of the central engineering hurdles is the synchronization of quantum operations across networked nodes. Infleqtion's Superstaq quantum software platform will be integrated with Cisco's network control layer, allowing for network-aware compilation and job scheduling. This approach enables computational tasks to be dynamically routed to remote QPUs or distributed quantum sensors, with the system monitoring link fidelity and optical queue latency in real time. The technical roadmap includes protocol-level solutions for entanglement distribution, state transduction, and error management across the network. While the companies have not disclosed detailed performance metrics, the architecture is designed to support real-time sensor telemetry, multi-node orchestration, and dynamic allocation of entanglement resources. The focus on neutral-atom memory nodes and telecom-compatible routing hardware reflects a broader industry trend toward modular quantum systems, as seen in other recent efforts to link quantum processors to classical high-performance computing clusters. For context, similar integration challenges have been reported in recent experiments connecting trapped-ion quantum processors to supercomputing infrastructure. Physical and engineering constraints. Establishing a distributed quantum network requires more than just connecting devices. Quantum states are fragile, and both photon loss and decoherence can rapidly degrade entanglement during transmission. The use of atomic clocks and quantum sensors in the Infleqtion platform is intended to provide precise timing and synchronization, but the overall fidelity of state transfer will depend on the efficiency of wavelength conversion, the stability of the optical links, and the ability to correct for errors introduced by the network. The companies have not yet published peer-reviewed results or independent benchmarks for the integrated system, and it remains to be seen how the prototype will perform under realistic operating conditions. From a technical perspective, the integration of neutral-atom quantum memory with telecom-band photonic channels is a necessary step toward building quantum networks that can operate over metropolitan or even continental distances. However, the engineering required to maintain coherence and entanglement across such links is substantial. The current collaboration is positioned as a research and development effort rather than a demonstration of a deployable quantum network, and the timeline for practical deployment will depend on progress in both hardware reliability and protocol standardization. Potential applications and industry context. The stated goal of the Infleqtion and Cisco partnership is to develop sovereign quantum communication backbones for sectors such as defense, aerospace, and high-performance computing data centers. By combining atomic quantum memory with telecom-compatible switches, the architecture could, in principle, support secure quantum communication and distributed quantum sensing. However, the transition from laboratory prototype to operational infrastructure will require not only technical advances but also independent validation and standardization across the quantum networking ecosystem. Industry interest in distributed quantum architectures is growing, but the field remains at an early stage. Most current demonstrations are limited to laboratory-scale links or short-distance fiber connections, and the integration of heterogeneous quantum hardware with classical networking remains a complex challenge. The Infleqtion and Cisco collaboration represents a concrete step toward addressing these issues, but the absence of published performance data and independent replication means that claims of scalability and practical utility should be treated with caution. Until the system is tested under real-world conditions and its error rates, coherence times, and entanglement distribution rates are independently verified, the architecture remains a promising but unproven approach to quantum networking. Quantum networking aims to distribute entanglement and quantum information between physically separated nodes, enabling new forms of secure communication, distributed sensing, and potentially scalable quantum computing. Achieving this requires not only high-fidelity quantum memories and processors but also reliable photonic interfaces that can convert quantum states between atomic and telecom wavelengths. Maintaining coherence and entanglement over long distances is technically demanding, as photon loss, noise, and imperfect conversion can rapidly degrade quantum correlations. The integration of quantum and classical networking hardware is a critical step, but the ultimate test will be the system's ability to deliver robust, reproducible performance outside the laboratory.
Infleqtion and Cisco announce collaboration to advance networked quantum tech. September 10, 2026 Press play to listen to this content LOUISVILLE, Colo., Sept. 10, 2026 - Infleqtion, a global leader in quantum computing and quantum sensing powered by neutral atom technology, today announced a collaboration with Cisco to pursue joint research and development focused on connecting, operating, and scaling quantum systems. Together, the companies will explore architectures to link individual devices into distributed, more capable networks, an important step toward making distributed quantum systems a reality. "The next major breakthrough in quantum will not come from building bigger isolated machines, but from networking systems together," said Ramana Kompella, VP and Head of Cisco Research. "By combining Cisco's quantum networking leadership with Infleqtion's quantum platforms, we are developing the communication architecture needed to scale quantum capabilities from standalone devices into resilient, collaborative networks." "Achieving the broadest applications of quantum computing will require many quantum systems working together. The path forward is connecting these systems together the same way the internet emerged from connecting many classical computers," said Pranav Gokhale, Chief Technology Officer at Infleqtion. "That's why this collaboration matters. Together, Infleqtion and Cisco are exploring how to connect quantum computers and sensors together into larger, more powerful quantum networks, which is a critical step toward unlocking distributed quantum." Neutral atoms interface naturally with photons, the particles of light used to carry information across networks, making them well suited to link quantum computing and quantum sensing with the photonic channels needed for quantum networking. Infleqtion's systems combine native quantum memory with multi-modal computing and sensing, providing the device-level hardware and optical interfaces needed to connect into broader networks. Realizing that vision at scale, however, will require the modality-agnostic quantum network architecture Cisco is developing through Cisco Quantum Labs to connect heterogeneous quantum computers, sensors and other quantum technologies into scalable, distributed systems. To support this distributed architecture, Cisco is advancing research and developing solutions for an end-to-end quantum networking stack designed to dynamically distribute quantum entanglement across connected devices on demand. This includes purpose-built quantum hardware and software designed to manage connections between quantum processors, memory, and sensors, enabling information to move reliably across systems. Most recently, Cisco debuted the Cisco Universal Quantum Switch, a working research prototype, to route quantum information between systems while preserving it with a conversion engine that makes a truly interoperable quantum network now possible. Infleqtion and Cisco intend to explore key research areas to advance networked quantum systems: * Convergence of Sensing and Compute: Exploring network architectures that could orchestrate data transfer between distributed quantum sensors and computational nodes. * Quantum Memory and Optical Transduction: Exploring methods to convert or transduce the quantum states held in neutral-atom quantum memory and QPUs with optical channels for quantum networking. * Network-Aware Quantum Software: Evaluating opportunities to coordinate multi-modal quantum workloads across connected neutral-atom systems. Representatives from both companies will appear at industry gatherings this fall: * Quantum World Congress, September 23-25 in College Park, Maryland: https://www.quantumworldcongress.com * Cisco Quantum Summit, October 6-7, Virtual. Register at: https://research.cisco.com/quantum-summit About Infleqtion Infleqtion, Inc. (NYSE: INFQ) is a global leader in quantum technology, delivering neutral-atom solutions for quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security. With a product portfolio spanning quantum computers, quantum optical clocks, RF receivers, and inertial sensors, Infleqtion's full-stack approach combines high-performance hardware with the company's proprietary Superstaq quantum computing software platform. Infleqtion's systems are already in use by the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, the U.K. government, and in multiple collaborations with NVIDIA. Infleqtion, in collaboration with NVIDIA, published the world's first demonstration of a materials science application using logical qubits. With operations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Infleqtion meets the demands of government and commercial customers across the space, defense, energy, finance and telecommunications sectors. Quantum practitioners should stop wondering if quantum computer hardware is ready soon and start worrying... IBM has made its Nighthawk r2 quantum processor available through the IBM Quantum Platform, with... The recently launched Genesis Mission includes a wide range of projects aimed at using advanced... Scientists running large simulations can end up with terabytes of data that then has to... Prior to the June International Supercomputing Conference, ISC High Performance 2026, in Hamburg, Germany, Sean... Over the past several days, a steady stream of Genesis Mission announcements has arrived from...
Infleqtion's Shunkai neutral atom Quantum Computer now operational. As w.media's Global Editor-in-Chief, Grey covers the cloud and data center industry and connectivity ecosystem across APAC and EMEA. In a career spanning over two decades, Grey has dabbled in television, print and online journalism, covering a variety of beats including human rights, health, environment, politics, business and economy. September 7, 2026 at 12:55 PM GMT+8 Infleqtion, a global provider of neutral-atom solutions for quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security, has launched Japan's first operational neutral-atom full-stack quantum computer. The system, referred to as "Shunkai", is initially expected to operate with approximately 50 qubits, with plans to scale to around 500 qubits as development progresses. The project supports a research team led by Professor Kenji Ohmori at the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), part of the National Institutes of Natural Sciences. Infleqtion was selected by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) for its Quantum Moonshot program that aims to enable the transition from research and development to an operational full-stack quantum computing platform. "This milestone marks a pivotal moment for Japan's quantum ambitions as well as Infleqtion's role in advancing production-ready quantum platforms at scale," said Pranav Gokhale, Chief Technology Officer at Infleqtion. "Bringing a full-stack quantum system into production operation is a meaningful step toward fault-tolerant quantum computing that also serves as strong validation of neutral-atom architecture. Our quantum processing unit delivers the programmability, scalability and fidelity control that next-generation systems demand." As part of the next phase of the Ohmori Moonshot project that began in April 2026, the IMS team will focus on improving system integration, stability, and scalability, with the goal of realizing a high-performance neutral-atom fault-tolerant quantum computer with up to 10,000 physical qubits and quantum error detection and correction capabilities.The system is also expected to be made available to external users to support the development of applications and advance quantum error correction research across academia and industry. Research And Markets expects the global quantum computing market to reach an estimated US$ 7.7 billion by 2031, at a Compounded Average Growth Rate (CAGR) of 36.8 percent from 2025 to 2031. "The quantum computing market in Japan is also forecasted to witness strong growth over the forecast period. The major drivers for this market are the growing need for high-performance computing and the rising demand for quantum computing solutions from various industries," it says. Meanwhile, according to Grand View Horizon, Japan's quantum computing market generated a revenue of US$ 84.7 million in 2025, and is expected to reach US$ 555.5 million by 2033. It further expects the market to grow at a CAGR of 27 percent from 2026 to 2033.
NASA awards Infleqtion $20M as world's 1st Quantum Gravity mission advances toward flight. August 27, 2026 Press play to listen to this content LOUISVILLE, Colo., Aug. 27, 2026 - Infleqtion, a global leader in quantum computing and quantum sensing powered by neutral-atom technology, today announced NASA has awarded the company a $20 million follow-on contract to continue development of the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPf), a mission led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) that is designed to fly the world's first space-based quantum gravity sensor. The award brings NASA's investment in the program to $40 million and advances the mission into its next phase of hardware development and testing. "This follow-on award reflects the progress our team has made and marks an important step toward the mission's next phase," said Matt Kinsella, Chief Executive Officer of Infleqtion. "The path from quantum science to a system that can fly in space takes years of engineering, testing, and collaboration. Every milestone brings quantum sensing closer to enabling entirely new ways to observe our planet from orbit." "There is an enormous amount of potential for quantum technology use cases in space. We are no longer testing the quantum technology itself, but ways we can use it in the space environment," said Dana Anderson, Chief Science Officer at Infleqtion. "As a NASA-led mission with key contributions from U.S. industry, QGGPf is demonstrating how quantum gravity sensing can operate in low Earth orbit and establishing the technical foundation for future generations of space-based instruments." The QGGPf mission is designed to demonstrate quantum sensor technologies that could transform how Earth's surface gravity is measured from space. As a technology pathfinder, the mission is expected to help inform the design of future science-grade instruments, representing a major step forward in U.S. leadership in space-based quantum sensing and strategic intelligence. U.S. Leading Quantum Innovation in Space This project, conceived by NASA, helps to push the boundaries of frontier science and technology with critical technologies provided by U.S. industry. QGGPf builds on NASA's long legacy of space-based gravity mapping, such as the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions, and applies Infleqtion's quantum engineering capabilities to enable a new class of measurement techniques designed specifically for the microgravity environment of space. By directly measuring subtle variations in Earth's gravitational field, the mission will demonstrate technologies to help reduce risk for future, high resolution, and quantum gravity instruments. These future systems could enable deeper insights into how surface and underground water, ice, and natural resources shift over time, critical data for understanding planetary health, strengthening national and world-wide resilience, and supporting long-term economic and security planning. Building the Quantum Space Sensor QGGPf builds on work done by JPL and Infleqtion on the Cold Atom Lab (CAL) program aboard the International Space Station, and on NASA's long heritage mapping Earth's gravitational field through the GRACE missions. Infleqtion's role on the QGGPf project includes the design, maturation, and integration of the atomic physics package, the quantum core of the sensor, encompassing its vacuum, laser, and control subsystems. The cold-atom system, based on ultracold rubidium atoms cooled to pico-Kelvin scale temperature, is designed to enable direct gravity gradient measurements from space. As part of the next phase of the contract, Infleqtion will work to build an initial sensor head and electronics engineering development unit and test it at the Einstein Elevator, a unique drop tower microgravity facility in Hannover, Germany. Foundation for Future Missions NASA and Infleqtion plan to complete the instrument hardware development over the next three years, followed by a flight demonstration. The work under this phase of the program is expected to be performed through 2027. The mission is expected to launch aboard a low-Earth orbit spacecraft in 2030. To learn more about how Infleqtion's quantum technologies are enabling advances in space exploration, navigation, remote sensing, and defense, visit https://infleqtion.com/space-and-frontier. About Infleqtion Infleqtion, Inc. (NYSE: INFQ) is a global leader in quantum technology, delivering neutral-atom solutions for quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security. With a product portfolio spanning quantum computers, quantum optical clocks, RF receivers, and inertial sensors, Infleqtion's full-stack approach combines high-performance hardware with the company's proprietary Superstaq quantum computing software platform. Infleqtion's systems are already in use by the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, the U.K. government, and in multiple collaborations with NVIDIA. Infleqtion, in collaboration with NVIDIA, published the world's first demonstration of a materials science application using logical qubits. With operations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Infleqtion meets the demands of government and commercial customers across the space, defense, energy, finance and telecommunications sectors. Scientists running large simulations can end up with terabytes of data that then has to... Prior to the June International Supercomputing Conference, ISC High Performance 2026, in Hamburg, Germany, Sean... Over the past several days, a steady stream of Genesis Mission announcements has arrived from... The International Supercomputing Conference, ISC High Performance 2026, drew a record 4,035 attendees and 188... Oratomic, a quantum computing startup that emerged from stealth just four months ago, has raised... As investment in Physical AI accelerates, simulation is taking on a much larger role than...