---
title: 'Principal Optical Engineer at QuEra Computing, Inc.'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-optical-engineer-quera-computing-inc-boston-kv88k6vg9gz0'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Principal Optical Engineer at QuEra Computing, Inc.

- **Company:** QuEra Computing, Inc.
- **Location:** Boston, MA
- **Posted:** 2026-07-21
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/queracomputinginc/jobs/5366226008

## Job description

Principal Optical Engineer

The Hardware Engineering Group at QuEra Computing is seeking strong candidates for a Principal Optical Engineer to serve as a senior individual contributor to the company’s mission of building state-of-the-art, manufacturable, and deployable neutral atom quantum computers. The Hardware Engineering Group plays a crucial role in accelerating the company’s technology leadership and translating the company’s scientific breakthroughs into products delivered to customers. To accomplish this mission, we are looking to hire a candidate with graduate-level education in optics, optical engineering, or applied physics with industry experience in an enterprise engineering environment. The ideal candidate will combine a deep, fundamental understanding of several areas of optics, design, and engineering. Although candidates with a Ph.D. in physics may be considered, applicants should ensure they have sufficient professional experience beyond academia in an enterprise engineering environment to establish themselves independently as a Principal-level engineer.

## Key Job Responsibilities

- Optical module design and development
- Work with physicists to understand requirements and architect optical systems, sub-systems, modules, and components to support QuEra’s neutral atom computers through the full development lifecycle (R&D, productization, maintenance, and beyond).
- Technically lead an interdisciplinary team of engineers (optical, electronic, mechanical, etc.) through the product development process to take an optical module from early phase concept through to implementation and production.
- Advance state-of-the-art engineering practices at QuEra through independent research, problem-solving, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Coordinate closely with the R&D/science team to enable cutting-edge R&D and translate scientific advances into the next generation of products.
- Troubleshoot technical issues at company headquarters and off-site installations at customer locations (in coordination with local support team).

## Qualifications

Required:

- Master's degree in optics, optical engineering, applied physics, or a closely related field.
- 10-15 years non-academic work experience.  Experience at an enterprise scale as well as startup preferred.
- Deep experience and knowledge of
- Free-space optics
- Lens design
- Fiber optics
- Lasers
- Optical system characterization and testing
- Opto-mechanics
- Experience bringing complex optical systems from concept to production
- Expertise with using Mechanical CAD software (e.g. Inventor, Solidworks), Product Data Management (PDM) software, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software
- Expertise with Optical simulation software (e.g. Zemax)

Preferred:

- Experience with quantum computing, especially neutral atom
- Professional work experience in commercial product development and off-site product deployment at customer premises.

## #LI-DA1

The approximate base salary range for this position is $180,000 - $220,000.

We consistently monitor external market data and update base salary ranges accordingly.  We determine base compensation decisions on several factors, including as geographic placement, role-specific knowledge, skills, and/or experience.  In addition to our base salary offerings, we also provide equity grants for all new hires.

QuEra is committed to cultivating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We highly value diversity in our current and future employees and do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

## About QuEra Computing, Inc.

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: QuEra Computing builds and commercializes neutral-atom quantum computers, aiming to deliver fault-tolerant systems for scientific, industrial, and government applications.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B)
- **Headquarters**: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founded**: 2018
- **Founders**: Mikhail Lukin (Chief Scientist, Harvard), Vladan Vuletić (CTO, MIT), and additional Harvard/MIT scientists

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Quantum computing (hardware, software, and cloud services)
- **Target customers**: High-performance computing (HPC) centers, public sector agencies, enterprise innovators, and research institutions – primarily B2B
- **Mission**: *“A world where quantum computing is a trusted tool for solving high-value problems in science, industry, and society.”* [quera.com](https://www.quera.com/about)

## Products & Services
- **Aquila**: A 256-qubit neutral-atom quantum computer that became the first publicly accessible neutral-atom system on Amazon Braket (launched 2023). Used for quantum simulation and research.
- **Gemini**: QuEra’s first commercially available gate-based neutral-atom quantum computer, deployed on-premises (first system delivered to Japan in 2023).
- **Quantum Innovation Platform**: A full-stack offering combining hardware, software, and co-design services to help partners develop quantum solutions for specific industries.
- **Roadmap to Fault Tolerance**: QuEra plans to reach megaquop logical performance with hundreds of logical qubits by 2028, and gigaquop performance with ~1,000 logical qubits shortly after. [quera.com](https://www.quera.com/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed; raised >$230M in Series B financing (backed by Google, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Valor, and later expanded by NVIDIA’s NVentures). Total known funding: $17M seed (2021) + $230M+ Series B.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding ~$247M+ (private company; revenue not publicly available)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Google, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Valor Equity Partners, NVIDIA (NVentures), and others.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Selected by Japan’s AIST for a ~$40M on-premises neutral-atom computer integrated with the NVIDIA-powered ABCI-Q supercomputer.
  - Chosen for DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) Stages A and B.
  - Demonstrated a logical quantum processor with 48 logical qubits (2024 Physics World Breakthrough).
  - Published first experimental demonstration of magic state distillation for universal logical quantum computing.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Neutral-atom technology**: Scalable to thousands of qubits using optical tweezers, offering a path to fault-tolerant quantum computing that is widely recognized as highly promising.
- **Strong academic roots**: Built on pioneering research from Harvard University and MIT, with founders who are leading physicists in the field.
- **Early ecosystem leadership**: First neutral-atom system on a public cloud (Amazon Braket), first commercially available gate-based neutral-atom system, and active partnerships with major HPC centers and governments.
- **Fault-tolerance roadmap**: Clear technical milestones (megaquop by 2028, gigaquop shortly after) backed by published breakthroughs in error correction and logical qubits.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling toward fault tolerance**: Executing a roadmap to deliver error-corrected logical quantum computers by 2028.
- **Commercial expansion**: Deploying on-premises systems to HPC centers and government labs (e.g., AIST in Japan, DARPA).
- **Ecosystem building**: Co-designing applications with enterprise and public-sector partners, and integrating with classical supercomputing infrastructure (e.g., NVIDIA GPU clusters).
- **International presence**: Establishing QuEra Computing Japan to support the country’s national quantum strategy.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as “more science, less fiction” with a focus on real physics, precision engineering, and collaborative learning across disciplines. [quera.com/careers](https://www.quera.com/careers)
- **Benefits**: Company-subsidized medical insurance with Health Reimbursement Account, 100% company-paid dental and vision, 401(k) with dollar-for-dollar match up to 5% (immediate vesting), flexible time off, paid holidays, sick leave, free parking, catered lunch-and-learns, stocked kitchens, and employee events.
- **Work environment**: Based in Boston, MA. The engineering team develops classical control systems that operate neutral-atom quantum computers, moving quantum from lab experiments to production-grade systems.
- **Team**: Leadership includes experienced executives (CEO Andy Ory, CFO Ed Durkin, CCO Yuval Boger) and world-class scientists (CTO Vladan Vuletić, Chief Scientist Mikhail Lukin). The company emphasizes internal cross-disciplinary collaboration and external partnerships.

## Sources
1. [quera.com](https://www.quera.com/) – Official website, roadmap, and product details.
2. [quera.com/careers](https://www.quera.com/careers) – Careers page with benefits and culture.
3. [quera.com/about](https://www.quera.com/about) – Company history, leadership, funding, and milestones.
4. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/quera-computing) – Company overview and financial data.
5. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/quera-computing-inc) – LinkedIn company page.

## Other roles at QuEra Computing, Inc.

- [Government Contracts Compliance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/government-contracts-compliance-manager-quera-computing-inc-albuquerque-fczg85sxe6xc) — Albuquerque, NM
- [Senior IT System Administrator](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-it-system-administrator-quera-computing-inc-boston-a1p2fc4bff49) — Boston, MA
- [Senior Manufacturing Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manufacturing-engineer-quera-computing-inc-boston-aeqtartwqtnr) — Boston, MA
- [Security Analyst](https://feeny.ai/job/security-analyst-quera-computing-inc-boston-32tvvk4pevzm) — Boston, MA
- [Sr. QPU Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-qpu-software-engineer-quera-computing-inc-boston-s4kpfs2hb3ny) — Boston, MA
- [Developer Relations Lead, Quantum Software](https://feeny.ai/job/developer-relations-lead-quantum-software-quera-computing-inc-boston-9zbjde8110qq) — Boston, MA
- [Quantum Scientist – FTQC Education](https://feeny.ai/job/quantum-scientist-ftqc-education-quera-computing-inc-boston-v1n45dt5hbga) — Boston, MA
- [Photonics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/photonics-engineer-quera-computing-inc-boston-0brtd2fkdqh6) — Boston, MA
- [Quantum Scientist](https://feeny.ai/job/quantum-scientist-quera-computing-inc-boston-0cq90d7ds5e7) — Boston, MA
- [Senior Accountant](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-accountant-quera-computing-inc-boston-bgrecmdcr3w2) — Boston, MA