Postdoctoral Research Associate, Quantum-HPC Co-Design and Integration

Requisition Id 16984 

Overview:

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to conduct research at the intersection of quantum computing and high-performance computing (HPC). The successful candidate will contribute to the modeling, simulation, and co-design of next-generation Quantum-HPC (QHPC) architectures, with particular emphasis on integration of quantum and HPC distributed computing runtime with application and compilers to efficiently integrate quantum processors with HPC resources.

The research will explore different quantum computing modalities, their architectural characteristics and system-level requirements, and their suitability for scientific applications. The candidate will develop modeling and simulation capabilities to quantitatively evaluate quantum, classical, and hybrid quantum-classical computing approaches and investigate architectural, performance, resource, and scalability tradeoffs. The position provides opportunities to conduct cutting-edge research, collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, publish in leading scientific venues, and contribute to emerging QHPC software and system technologies.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• Develop and evaluate architectural models, system-level simulators, and performance modeling frameworks for QHPC systems, capturing relevant characteristics of quantum processing units, classical HPC resources, interconnects, system software, and heterogeneous execution environments.
• Explore and analyze different quantum computing modalities and architectures and investigate their integration with HPC systems. Use representative scientific applications and computational workloads to compare quantum, classical, and hybrid approaches and identify performance tradeoffs, system bottlenecks, resource requirements, and opportunities for quantum advantage.
• Research and develop quantum runtime technologies for heterogeneous QHPC distributed systems, including workload mapping, scheduling, resource management, execution orchestration, and optimization across quantum and classical computing resources.
• Conduct hardware-software and application-system co-design by considering interactions among quantum hardware characteristics, HPC architectures, algorithms, applications, compilers, runtimes, and system-level constraints.
• Work with project teams to formulate and evaluate novel research ideas, develop research software and prototypes, mentor students and junior researchers, collaborate with research partners and sponsors, and publish results in high-quality peer-reviewed conferences and journals.
• Collaborate with researchers across ORNL and with partners from academia, industry, government laboratories, and scientific application communities.
• Contribute to research proposals, technical reports, publications, software artifacts, and other project deliverables, including peer review of technical products to ensure quality and consistency with ORNL standards.
• Advance ORNL's research mission through professional service, technical leadership, conference participation, and dissemination of research results.
• Adhere to requirements for protecting proprietary or sensitive information and follow ORNL cybersecurity policies and guidelines.

Basic Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Quantum computing, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related discipline, with demonstrated knowledge of or research experience in quantum science, quantum computing, or related areas. Candidates who have completed all Ph.D. requirements and expect to receive their degree within the next few months are also encouraged to apply.
• Strong background in one or more of the following areas: computer architecture, high-performance computing, quantum computing systems, distributed and heterogeneous computing, runtime systems, or performance modeling and simulation.
• Experience developing and evaluating computer systems through architectural modeling, simulation, prototyping, performance analysis, or experimental evaluation.
• Strong software development skills using C/C++ and Python programming languages, with experience developing, validating, debugging, and evaluating research software.
• Demonstrated record of conducting independent research and publishing high-quality scientific results in peer-reviewed conferences and/or journals, with strong written and oral communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience developing system-level or architectural simulators and performance models for quantum, HPC, heterogeneous, or other emerging computing systems.
• Knowledge of Quantum-HPC architectures and hybrid quantum-classical workflows, including an understanding of different quantum computing modalities, quantum system characteristics, quantum resource requirements, and their implications for system architecture and application performance.
• Experience with compiler and runtime systems, including workload mapping, scheduling, resource management, intermediate representations, or execution orchestration for quantum or heterogeneous computing platforms.
• Experience with heterogeneous and parallel computing technologies, programming models, or accelerators, including CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and emerging computing technologies.
• Familiarity with quantum software frameworks such as Qiskit, CUDA-Q, PennyLane, Cirq, or equivalent platforms, and knowledge of quantum algorithms, quantum error correction, fault-tolerant computing, or quantum resource estimation.
• Experience with performance modeling, benchmarking, profiling, and quantitative comparison of emerging computing technologies against conventional HPC systems.
• Strong track record of collaborative research and publication in relevant areas such as computer architecture, HPC, quantum computing, compilers/runtime systems, or heterogeneous computing.

Special Requirements:

• Postdocs: Applicants cannot have received their Ph.D. more than five years prior to the date of application and must complete all degree requirements before starting their appointment. The appointment length will be up to 24 months with the potential for extension. Initial appointments and extensions are subject to performance and availability of funding.
• This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain an HSPD-12 PIV badge.

For employment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a Real ID compliant form of identification will be required. Additionally, ORNL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as mandated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 473.1A, which requires a favorable post-employment background investigation.

To obtain this credential, new employees must successfully complete and pass a Federal Tier 1 background check investigation. This investigation includes a declaration of illegal drug activities, including use, supply, possession, or manufacture within the last year. This includes marijuana and cannabis derivatives, which are still considered illegal under federal law, regardless of state laws.

For foreign national candidates:

If you have not resided in the U.S. for three consecutive years, you are not eligible for the PIV credential and instead will need to obtain a favorable Local Site Specific Only (LSSO) risk determination to maintain employment. Once you meet the three-year residency requirement, you will be required to obtain a PIV credential to maintain employment. 

Letters of Recommendation:

Please submit three letters of reference when applying to this position. You may upload these directly to your application or have them sent to

Instructions to upload documents to your candidate profile:

• Login to your account via jobs.ornl.gov
• View Profile
• Under the My Documents section, select Add a Document

About ORNL:

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an impressive 80-year legacy of addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges. Our team is made up of over 7,000 dedicated and innovative individuals! Our goal is to create an environment where a variety of perspectives and backgrounds are valued, ensuring ORNL is known as a top choice for employment. These principles are essential for supporting our broader mission to drive scientific breakthroughs and translate them into solutions for energy, environmental, and security challenges facing the nation.

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain individuals who demonstrate exceptional work behaviors. The laboratory provides a range of employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to support the well-being of you and your family. Employee amenities such as on-site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also available for added convenience.

Other benefits include the following: Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan, 401(k) Retirement Plan, Contributory Pension Plan, Life Insurance, Disability Benefits, Generous Vacation and Holidays, Parental Leave, Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection, Employee Assistance Plan, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, Wellness Programs, Educational Assistance, Relocation Assistance, and Employee Discounts.

This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

If you have trouble applying for a position, please email View email address on us.fitly.work.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply. UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.