PhD Intern - Quantum Computing

$47,694 - $72,800/Yr

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - Richland, WA

Full-time - Intern

Richland, WA

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is seeking Ph.D. interns for the summer of 2025 to join its quantum computing research team. This role involves conducting advanced research in quantum computing, focusing on areas such as quantum information processing, error correction, and high-performance computing (HPC) numerical simulation. Interns will collaborate with laboratory personnel and external researchers to develop and optimize quantum architectures and software, contributing to high-quality research outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Develop novel quantum computer architectures for fault-tolerant quantum computing
• Investigate distillation protocols for networking and quantum error correction
• Develop high-performance simulation environments in classical HPC clusters for efficient quantum circuit simulation
• Research on quantum error mitigation and error correction
• Contribute to publishable results targeting top-tier computer architecture conferences and journals
• Interact with internal and external research staff and domain scientists for collaboration purposes
• Participate in and potentially lead technical presentations on the work
• Participate in team meetings

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program at an accredited college
• Minimum GPA of 3.0

Nice-to-haves

• Quantum computing background
• Senior-level Ph.D. student with past research experience
• Experience with Qiskit
• Experience with quantum transpilation or other circuit optimization techniques
• Experience with quantum noise models or quantum error correction code

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Flexible work schedules
• Employee assistance program
• Business travel insurance
• Company funded pension plan
• 401k savings plan