Principal Quantum Materials Engineer

Job Title

Principal Quantum Materials Engineer

Role Summary

Lead development of superconductor–semiconductor heterostructures to enable topological qubit performance and scalability within the Microsoft Quantum hardware team. This individual contributor role owns materials growth, tooling, and materials→device feedback to translate materials innovation into device and system impact.

Experience Level

Senior. This role requires senior technical leadership and substantial R&D or industry experience; see Education Requirements for degree/experience combinations and equivalencies.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities focus on materials growth, characterization, tooling, and cross-disciplinary integration to improve qubit-relevant materials and devices.

• Define, implement, and refine MBE growth protocols for complex superconductor–semiconductor heterostructures with precise control of interfaces, composition, strain, and defects.
• Design and execute experiments that link growth conditions to structure, materials properties, and device outcomes; own the growth→structure→properties→device feedback loop.
• Design, build, upgrade, and maintain UHV MBE systems and in‑situ diagnostics (e.g., RHEED, spectroscopy); develop or integrate new diagnostics.
• Collaborate with nanofabrication, characterization, theory, and device teams to enable coherent end-to-end process development and set technical direction where materials are limiting.
• Use AI tools to accelerate experiment planning, log analysis, protocol templating, and data interpretation in an AI‑first R&D environment.
• Provide technical judgment on growth tradeoffs that influence fabrication flows and process integration.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills, security, and collaboration capabilities. Education degree details and formal experience combinations are summarized under Education Requirements below.

• Proven experience developing MBE processes for semiconductor and hybrid semiconductor–superconductor materials that materially affect device performance.
• Hands-on expertise with UHV MBE systems and in-situ diagnostics (RHEED, spectroscopy) and experience building or upgrading tooling.
• Demonstrated ability to design data-driven experiments linking materials growth to device outcomes and to drive materials→device feedback loops.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills across device physics, modeling, fabrication, and characterization teams.
• Proficiency using modern AI tools to support experiment planning, data analysis, and knowledge retrieval.
• Ability to meet Microsoft security and export-control screening requirements, including Microsoft Cloud Background Check and citizenship/permanent residency verification where required for access to export‑controlled information.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with semiconductor–superconductor hybrid materials, III‑V semiconductors, or related quantum‑relevant materials systems.
• Track record of materials process improvements that enabled new device concepts or measurable device performance gains.

Education Requirements

Doctorate (PhD) in Physics, Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Engineering, or related field (often with industry/R&D experience); alternatively Master’s or Bachelor’s degrees in Physics, Engineering, Materials Science or related fields with higher years of experience. The posting explicitly allows equivalent practical experience in lieu of degree. Specific degree+years combinations were provided in the source (e.g., PhD + 3+ years; Master’s + 6+ years; Bachelor’s + 8+ years), and equivalent experience is acceptable.

About the Company

Company: Microsoft

Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States

Microsoft is a global technology company that develops and sells software, services, devices, and solutions. Known for its Windows operating system, Office suite, and Azure cloud platform, Microsoft aims to empower individuals and organizations around the world to achieve more. The company fosters a culture of innovation and inclusion, focusing on delivering trusted experiences to customers and partners globally.