Technergetics

Researcher

• The day-to-day activities of DARPA’s QBI team include performing tasks to identify, select, capture, evaluate, and document the metrics and approaches that DARPA’s commercial Performers are developing and applying to build fault-tolerant, utility-scale quantum computers (USQC).
• The QBI team is responsible for generating and executing plans to assess the timeline, performance and operation metrics, and plausibility of each Performer’s technology.
• Candidates will verify a Performer’s ability to build a USQC that operates as intended, and they will document, report, and justify the findings.
• Typical work can be divided into three categories:
• Review and Evaluation
• Rapidly digest large quantities of complex Performer-specific technical details, perform relevant independent evaluations, and generate standardized Government artifacts summarizing independent assessments of that material
• Evaluate quantum computing architectures, devices, algorithms, and applications including utility and maturity
• Identify Performer subsystems and components required to successfully design and construct the system
• Discover, develop, implement, execute, evaluate, analyze, articulate, and justify models and simulations at the component, subsystem, and system levels
• Assess DARPA and Performer requirements; capture and document the level of maturity of these elements
• Identify, assess, and capture design, development, and integration risk
• Identify the Performer’s interface approach
• For efforts with an existing Interface Control Document (ICD), review the information and identify any shortcomings. It may be necessary to convert the Performer-provided ICD to a common framework identified/developed by the Government evaluation team.
• For Performer efforts that do not have an existing Interface Control Document, assist the Performer to track system interfaces through an ICD or similar document.
• Documentation and Reporting
• Assist non-traditional performers to complete design reviews
• Participate in system concept and readiness reviews
• Perform prototype subsystem System Requirements Review (SRR) through Final Design Review (FDR) and prototype construction
• Assist with diverse evaluation and documentation activities
• Identify, implement, and apply standardized Government and systems engineering products, practices, and documentation
• Professionalism and Teamwork
• Work with a multidisciplinary team of researchers, physicists, scientists, engineers, and subject matter experts to identify problems and synthesize solutions which can be integrated into preexisting workflows and processes
• Discover, develop, and lead novel workflows to enhance and improve evaluation processes as new Performers are added to the program
• Cultivate a professional and respectful environment of cooperation by listening and considering the views of others.
• Be willing and able to seek opportunities for collaboration with personnel from other functional units (finance, contracting, etc.) and other technical areas of participating organizations to accomplish work-related activities.

Quantum Benchmarking Initiative Researcher