Expert Optimal Control Scientist at Alice & Bob (Paris)
Job Description
Alice & Bob is hiring an Expert Optimal Control Scientist in Paris to design pulse-shaping and feedback-stabilisation schemes that raise gate fidelities on its cat-qubit quantum computer, from numerical models through to use on the production platform.
At a glance
- Role: Expert Optimal Control Scientist
- Where: Paris, France
- Contract: CDI (permanent)
- Experience: 4+ years of post-PhD research in control theory or a related field
- Apply: open until filled (re-checked 11 October 2026)
About the optimal control role
- Develop pulse-shaping and feedback-stabilisation schemes that maximise gate fidelity
- Apply control and stabilisation methods to the cat-qubit platform
- Build numerical models and simulations to test control strategies at scale
- Check performance and robustness before strategies are deployed on hardware
- Work with experimentalists and technical teams to implement control, and support testing and iteration through to production
- Keep a clear view of the state of the art in qubit control and strengthen the mathematics behind control design
Cat qubits store information in two coherent states of a microwave resonator, stabilised by engineered two-photon dissipation. That makes bit-flip errors extremely rare, so the remaining phase-flip errors can be handled with simpler codes, such as a repetition code. Roles at Alice & Bob are built around making that architecture work at scale.
The posting describes a staged hiring process: a screening call, an interview with the hiring manager, a technical session with the team, then leadership-team and fit interviews.
What Alice & Bob is looking for
- A PhD in applied mathematics, control theory, physics or a close field, plus 4+ years of post-PhD research in control theory or a related area
- Strong mathematical control theory: model-based and model-free optimal control, controllability and reinforcement learning
- Experience controlling dynamical systems, and numerical modelling and scientific-computing skills
- Familiarity with data-driven control and reachability analysis, and the ability to turn theory into measurable engineering results
- Rigour, autonomy, clear communication and professional-level English
Pay and location
Alice & Bob’s posting does not state a salary. The role is a CDI (permanent contract) based in Paris.
How to apply
Apply through the official Alice & Bob job posting. Alice & Bob’s posting does not give a closing date, so the role is open until filled; ResearchJobs.in will re-check this listing on 11 October 2026. Check the posting for location and work-authorisation details before you apply.
See all our quantum technology jobs, or browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in.
Hiring institution: Alice & Bob
Official advertisement: jobs.lever.co
How to prepare for this application
- Quantum optimal control: revise GRAPE, Krotov and DRAG-style pulse shaping and their limits on real hardware.
- Open systems: be comfortable with Lindblad master equations, since cat qubits are stabilised by engineered dissipation.
- Cat-qubit physics: read how two-photon dissipation suppresses bit flips and what trade-off it creates for phase flips.
- Reinforcement learning: prepare a view on when model-free control beats model-based control, with an example.
- From theory to hardware: have a story where a control method you designed was validated experimentally.
About Alice & Bob
Alice & Bob is a French company developing a universal, fault-tolerant quantum computer. Its approach uses a new kind of superconducting qubit, the Schrödinger cat qubit, which can correct some errors autonomously, so less hardware is needed for error correction than on other superconducting platforms. The company has more than 250 people from over 35 countries.
