Summer 2027 Internship - Quantum Software (QSW)
Chicago, ILInternshipPosted 1w agoStill listed 4 days ago
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Job overview
This 10-to-12-week internship in Infleqtion’s Quantum Software division pairs interns with a mentor and places them alongside quantum software engineers. Interns contribute to quantum software research and development, including quantum compilation and algorithms, and may work on cloud-platform software, customer support, proposals, and research communication. The primary internship location is Chicago, Illinois.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
This internship program is within our Quantum Software (QSW) division. Interns work closely with Infleqtion’s Quantum Software Engineers and are paired with a mentor on the team. This program is intended to run for 10 to 12 weeks. Features of the program include:
- Contribution to cutting-edge quantum software solutions from application to middleware layers
- Weekly 1:1 meetings with your mentor to discuss summer projects and professional development
- Research talks from Infleqtion engineers and experts in the industry
- Primary internship location is Chicago, IL
Job Duties and Responsibilities The duties and responsibilities outlined below include potential functions of the role. Depending on business needs, this role may perform a combination of some or all of the following duties. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned.
- Conduct R&D toward cutting-edge advances in quantum technology with a focus on quantum compilation, similar to work described in https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.05157 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13247
- Deploy software optimizations to our cloud platform Superstaq using industry-grade software engineering procedures including documentation, linting, testing, and type-checking
- Interface with customers of Superstaq to understand their needs and support them in a timely fashion
- Contribute to development of government and commercial proposals and execution on global programs
- Collaborate with experimental physicists and software engineers to bridge the gap between theoretical concepts and practical implementation
- Engage with the broader scientific community by publishing research findings in scientific journals and presenting at conferences
- Stay up to date with the latest developments in quantum computer architecture, quantum compilation, quantum algorithms and applications, and related fields
- Provide guidance and support to other team members, fostering a collaborative research environment
- Tailor and apply quantum algorithms to real-world problems, analyzing their performance compared to classical methods
- Expand existing or develop new quantum algorithms for various types of real-world applications
Requirements
- Currently attending a degree program (computer science, engineering, physics, mathematics, or a directly related field) in the US, preferably in penultimate academic year when returning to degree program after completion of internship
- High proficiency in programming, with fluency in Python preferable or proficiency in alternative languages (e.g. C/C++ or Julia) with the ability to rapidly upskill in Python
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with open-source quantum software frameworks such as Cirq or Qiskit (ideal candidates will have experience not only using these libraries but also modifying them)
- Experience with advanced open-source quantum software frameworks such as Stim
- Familiarity with best practices of professional software engineering such as coverage, integration tests, type checking, unit tests, and version control
- Experience with backend development with tools such as FastAPI for web frameworks and PostgreSQL/SQLAlchemy for databases
- Experience with cloud development, especially on GCP and AWS
- Familiarity with CI/CD, automated actions, issue tracking, version control, and other features on GitHub
- Familiarity with security core best-practices such as access control, encryption at rest, key rotation, and logging
- Exposure to or interest in front-end / GUI development, e.g., HTML/CSS, React, PyQt.
Required Materials
- Resume
- Cover letter
- Optionally, sample(s) of a past project (e.g., software project, technical/scientific writing, etc.) relevant to the duties and the responsibilities for this internship.
- Sharing publicly-available GitHub (or similar) projects is strongly recommended
How this job compares
Set against the 8,689 open Software Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.
- Pay
- This postingNot listed
- Illinois median$138–224K/yr166 salary ranges
- US median$34–43/hr467 hourly ranges
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 195 open Software Engineering jobs in Illinois and 8,689 across the US. 9% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Illinois
- JPMorgan Chase17 open
- PwC17 open
- Capgemini9 open
- Experience
- Software Engineering postings that state a minimum ask for 7 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 5 to 10 years (6,620 postings).
- Education
- 2,174 of the 8,689 open Software Engineering jobs (25%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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