Software​/Embedded Systems Engineer Quantum Experimental Control and Automation

The Trapped Ion Quantum Information group (TIQI) performs research in the quantum domain using trapped ions focusing on quantum information processing, quantum metrology, and fundamental questions in quantum physics. Our research is driven by a combination of addressing technological challenges and developing novel techniques for quantum control.

The TIQI group is closely connected to the ETHZ-PSI Quantum Computing Hub and the advertised position will involve close collaboration with its trapped-ion team, which conducts related research on scalable trapped-ion quantum-information processing.

The TIQI group operates several experimental setups which have different scientific goals but share common control system architecture and software.

Embedded and software-controlled devices are used extensively in trapped-ion experiments, for example to generate hundreds of synchronised arbitrary waveforms, perform rapid digital and analog data acquisition, enable real‑time monitoring and control, implement mixed-signal PID servo loops, or coordinate lower-level hardware across the setup.

We are looking for a Software/Embedded Systems Engineer to help develop, maintain and improve the software and firmware that support our experiments. This work spans both low‑level embedded systems and higher-level control software and includes helping to shape our experimental control system architecture over the long term.

Depending on the candidate's background, the role may focus more on embedded software and firmware for low‑level devices, or more on higher-level Python-based control software, automation and system integration. We are also very interested in candidates who are comfortable working across both domains.

• A trapped-ion experiment is operated through a multitude of electronic and computational devices, including systems-on-chip running embedded Linux or bare-metal software along with custom FPGA gateware, as well as higher-level software services running on Windows or Linux workstations
• Standalone embedded CPUs running bare-metal software or Linux are also used in devices such as the Raspberry Pi
• Together, these components are networked to form a laboratory-wide experimental control system

As a software/embedded systems engineer in our mixed team of physicists and engineers, you will:

• Develop, maintain and debug software across different layers of the control system, from low-level software and firmware on embedded hardware platforms to higher-level control, automation and monitoring software, including hardware drivers, communication APIs, control and monitoring services, specialised libraries for numerical/scientific calculations and shared software infrastructure used across the lab
• Create, improve and maintain software and firmware repositories in line with industry-standard software engineering practices such as version control, unit testing, CI/CD and documentation
• Help shape the architecture of the broader experimental control system, foresee bottlenecks and pain points, and prioritise work accordingly
• Support and advise end users of the control system and contribute to documentation, examples and training materials

• Our embedded software is currently written primarily in C/C++, while higher-level control software and services make extensive use of Python
• Our FPGA gateware is written mostly in Verilog/System Verilog for AMD FPGAs and So Cs
• Our FPGA workflow relies on a combination of open-source and AMD tools, including Vivado/Vitis, Verilator, Icarus Verilog, cocotb and Migen
• This position offers both early-career candidates and experienced engineers an opportunity to become part of the rapidly emerging field of quantum technology, combining interesting software and firmware architecture and design with cutting‑edge experimental physics, and provides exposure to a wide range of challenges and learning opportunities in a fast-moving research setting
• The position will be affiliated with the TIQI group, but your contributions will be important to both the TIQI group and the PSI Quantum Computing Hub
• The position is offered on a fixed-term contract, an extension to…