Principal Quantum Materials Engineer

Job Title

Principal Quantum Materials Engineer

Role Summary

Lead development of superconductor–semiconductor heterostructures and materials processes that enable topological qubit performance and scalability. The role owns materials growth, characterization feedback, and tooling improvements within an interdisciplinary hardware R&D team.

This is a fully on-site, hands-on engineering position working closely with device physics, fabrication, characterization, and modeling teams to translate materials advances into device and system-level outcomes.

Experience Level

Senior / Principal individual contributor. Typical senior-level experience expected (often 8+ years industry or advanced R&D experience, with variations depending on degree and prior responsibilities).

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include end-to-end materials development, tooling, and cross-functional leadership.

• Define, implement, and refine MBE growth protocols for complex superconductor–semiconductor heterostructures with control over interfaces, composition, strain, and defects.
• Design and execute experiments linking 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); integrate new diagnostics to enable improved materials performance.
• Collaborate across nanofabrication, characterization, theory, and device teams to enable coherent process development and set materials-driven technical direction.
• Apply AI tools to accelerate experiment planning, data analysis, protocol templating, and knowledge retrieval in an AI-first R&D environment.
• Provide technical judgment on growth tradeoffs that affect fabrication flows and process integration decisions.

Requirements

Must-have technical, legal, and workplace requirements for the role.

• Proven experience developing MBE processes or similar epitaxial growth methods that materially affect device performance.
• Experience with semiconductor–superconductor hybrid materials, III–V semiconductors, or related quantum-relevant materials systems preferred.
• Hands-on experience with UHV MBE tooling and in-situ diagnostics; ability to specify, integrate, and maintain complex equipment.
• Demonstrated ability to run principled, data-driven experiments and translate materials improvements into device-level metrics.
• Ability to work on-site in West Lafayette and travel as required (approximately 25–50%).
• Ability to meet security screening and export-control requirements, including citizenship or protected-status verification required for access to controlled information.
• Strong cross-functional communication and leadership in interdisciplinary R&D teams; familiarity with leveraging AI assistance for lab workflows.

Education Requirements

One of the following is required: Doctorate (PhD) in Physics, Engineering, or a related field plus 3+ years industry/R&D experience; OR Master’s degree in Physics, Engineering, or a related field plus 6+ years industry/R&D experience; OR Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Engineering, or a related field plus 8+ years industry/R&D experience; OR equivalent practical experience. Preferred fields cited include Physics, Materials Science, and Materials Engineering.

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.