Senior Software Engineer, Internal Systems

Job description

At Rigetti, our mission is to build the world's most powerful computers to solve the world's most challenging problems. Rigetti is a pioneer in superconducting qubits and full-stack quantum computing systems. In addition to introducing the first multi-chip quantum processor, Rigetti has led the way in software systems for quantum computing, with a distributed operating environment for hybrid quantum-classical computing and a state-of-the-art characterization and measurement platform. To continue advancing this work, we're expanding our Internal Software (ISW) team. ### The Opportunity ISW enables Rigetti's physicists and fabrication engineers to build better quantum hardware. Our work spans the measurement and characterization platform our quantum engineers rely on every day; the design, layout, and process tooling in our in-house chip fabrication facility; the cloud and on-site infrastructure underneath both; and the analytic environments in between. We also support external customers through our cloud services and on-site deployments. Our users are deeply expert in their own fields, and our job is to give them software that helps them move faster and trust their results. We're a small, senior team that enjoys hard problems and working alongside people who know things we don't. The work is a mix of strengthening the experimental Python systems our scientists depend on and building new ones as the science moves forward. Because ISW touches so much of the company, there's real room to grow, whether that means going deeper in an area you care about or taking on something new as Rigetti evolves. It's a rare chance to do serious software engineering a few steps from the hardware itself: the code you write shapes how quantum chips are designed, built, and measured. We're looking for intellectually curious software engineers who want to grow alongside supportive, like-minded colleagues in an R&D-driven environment. No domain background required; you'll learn it from some of the best people in the field. ### Key Responsibilities **What You’ll Be Doing** - Own, maintain, and improve data-intensive Python services and applications, mostly backend, sometimes full stack - Work directly with internal customers, including quantum engineers and fab engineers, to understand what they actually need and turn it into scalable, sustainable software - Keep data trustworthy as systems evolve: schema migrations, compatibility across clients, testing, CI - Measure and improve performance of user-facing workflows and the observability of the platforms behind them - Help scientists and engineers outside the software team use AI coding agents safely and sustainably by building the frameworks, guardrails, and patterns that make that possible - Keep users informed on priorities and roadmap - Mentor and collaborate with other engineers on the team ### Qualifications **What You Bring** - Strong Python, with experience building and running production backend or serving systems - Experience working in large, evolving codebases, and the judgment to improve them without slowing down the people who depend on them - Working knowledge of SQL and relational databases; PostgreSQL a plus - Experience with AWS and a typical cloud stack (Kubernetes, Kafka, Postgres, Grafana or equivalents) - A track record of working cross-functionally with scientists or other deeply technical peers, and genuine enjoyment of helping them do their best work, especially as requirements change with the science - Product instinct and independence: you can sit down with a user, understand the underlying problem, define what to build, and drive it forward without close supervision - Curiosity regarding quantum computing and what Rigetti is building **Nice to Have** - Scientific computing, data-science, or AI/ML tooling backgrounds - HPC, national lab, semiconductor, or other hardware-forward R&D environments - DevOps, SRE, or cloud engineering - Frontend or data visualization experience, including building tools that help scientists explore and understand their data - Physics, math, or quantum background of any depth is a plus, but not a requirement