Director of Quantum Error Correction (QEC)
Oxford Quantum Circuits · Reading
At OQC, we aren’t just theorising about the future; we’re building it.
Born from a philosophy of bold innovation, we’ve successfully transitioned quantum computing from an academic dream into a commercial reality.
The most exciting thing is that we’re just getting started and we’ve recently closed our £260 million Series C funding round which is the largest fundraise ever completed by a quantum computing company in Europe.
The Purpose
Shape OQC’s path to fault-tolerant quantum computing.
You’ll build the theoretical and practical frameworks that turn quantum error correction (QEC) research into logical architectures and hardware demonstrations, tailored to our multimode superconducting circuits..
The Role
You’ll lead and scale multidisciplinary teams of QEC theorists, architecture researchers and quantum engineers. You’ll own the QEC strategy, develop technical leaders and drive delivery—connecting ambitious research with the physical realities of our hardware.
This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for people, programmes and budgets, and a direct influence on OQC’s technical direction.
What You'll Be Working On
- Build and scale a world-class QEC team, developing technical leads and their teams across architecture, numerical modelling, hardware co-design and implementation.
- Make OQC’s logical architectures globally competitive, optimising physical-to-logical qubit overheads and implementing state-of-the-art error correction and mitigation protocols.
- Turn strategy into delivery, translating company roadmaps into multi-month and multi-year execution plans that bring structure to research without stifling innovation.
- Connect theory with hardware, creating a continuous feedback loop between modelling and physical demonstrations while aligning physics, control systems, software and product operations.
- Keep teams and executives aligned, communicating progress and risk, adapting plans as hardware evolves, and tackling technical bottlenecks, research dead-ends and team challenges early.
- Own QEC financial planning, forecasting and managing spend on software tools, external decoder partnerships, and compute and simulation resources.
- Represent OQC on the international stage, presenting QEC and Logical Systems milestones at major conferences and to strategic partners.
What We're Looking For
- Deep experience developing QEC codes, such as bosonic, surface or LDPC codes, or working on computationally intensive simulations, decoders and logical architectures.
- A proven track record of collaborating with hardware designers, control-system engineers and software architects to translate abstract theory into real-world physical systems.
- Strong people leadership, including managing technical leads and managers, and developing research scientists and specialist engineers at every career stage.
- Experience applying structured project management to research-heavy programmes, adapting your leadership approach across diverse teams and maintaining clear executive alignment.
- A Master’s or PhD in a scientific or engineering discipline, with a strong focus on Quantum Information Theory or a closely related field.
The 'Nice-to-Haves'
- Commercial experience developing quantum computing technologies.
- Experience designing or implementing quantum or cryogenic systems.
- Knowledge of superconducting qubit architectures or cryogenic engineering.
- Experience owning end-to-end technical project delivery in fast-paced R&D environments.
- Strong roadmapping, external partnership management and technical presentation experience.
- Experience coordinating multiple large technical teams delivering complex scientific programmes.
Why Join OQC
You will join a world-class team at the forefront of the next computational era. We offer a culture of bold innovation, the chance to work with unique lab infrastructure, and the opportunity to see your work redefine the limits of computation.
Learn more about our benefits and positive work culture here: https://oqc.tech/company/careers-at-oqc/
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