1099 consultant · ~120–600 hrs per funded award · $45–$105/hr · Remote (U.S.)

Research Software Engineer, Quantum Circuit Simulation

Build and benchmark the simulators that tell us what a quantum circuit will actually do, fast enough and honest enough to trust before it ever touches hardware.

About Precision Federal

Precision Federal is a small business building AI, data and software systems for government agencies. The company’s founder loves God, and the company is built on Christian faith: every number we publish is real, every claim we make is verifiable, and the work is done with excellence as service to God. Faith is welcome here and openly shared.

How this role works

You join the bench. You apply with your weekly hours and start time. We set your hourly rate from your résumé, and we may name you on proposals that match this role. If we don't win, you owe nothing.
A contract is awarded. The award funds the team named in the proposal. Your engagement begins at the hourly rate we agreed on.
You work remote, paid from the contract. ~120–600 hrs per funded award — and if no award ever funds, you owe nothing and lose nothing.

What you'll do

Write and tune circuit simulation and benchmarking code in Stim, Qiskit and tensor network libraries
Port the heavy parts to GPUs and show, with real timings, where the speedup holds and where it stops
Design benchmarks that are fair, reproducible and clear about noise models, circuit families and problem sizes
Check our performance and fidelity claims against the literature and the right baseline before they reach the Government

Required qualifications

Hands-on experience building or extending quantum circuit simulators or benchmarking tools in a research or engineering role
Working knowledge of Stim, Qiskit, and tensor network contraction or comparable stabilizer and state vector methods
GPU programming experience with CUDA, cuQuantum, JAX, CuPy or similar
U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (U.S. person)
Willing to be named on a federal proposal with a one-page resume, and to sign a short letter of commitment

Preferred qualifications

Quantum error correction work such as surface code decoding, syndrome extraction or logical error rate studies
Experience with Cirq, PennyLane, quimb, cotengra, ITensor or PyMatching
Published papers, open-source contributions or national lab and university research software experience
Graduate degree in physics, computer science, applied mathematics or a related field

Compensation & structure

1099 consulting engagement. $45–$105 per hour; we set your rate from your résumé and experience. Hours are funded by federal contract awards — this seat is scoped at roughly 120–600 hours per funded award, fully remote. Work and pay begin only if the contract is awarded — no award, no hours, no obligation.

Join the bench — Research Software Engineer, Quantum Circuit Simulation

Every application is read. It takes about 5 minutes.

This is a bench, not a job offer. Work starts when we win a contract that needs you.
We may name you on proposals. If that contract is awarded, you do the role at the rate and hours we agree on.
Paid hourly as a 1099 contractor; full-time roles may be W-2. If your background fits, we will email you.

First name *

Last name *

Email *

Phone *

Work authorization *

LinkedIn or portfolio link

What state do you live in? *

Resume (PDF or Word) *

Questions

Answer from your own experience. A few sentences each is plenty; be specific and tell us what you did yourself.

Precision Federal was founded on Christian values. Our faith in God shapes how we work: many of us openly share our personal faith, share our lives together, and pray for one another. We’re building a close-knit community where we truly care about each other. Taking part is always voluntary, and people of every faith and background are welcome. As we get to know you, you’re always welcome to share your own faith with us.

1. Cover letter. In your own words, tell us about yourself: what guides you (for many of us here, that’s our faith in God), your background, and why this role interests you. *

2. Describe the quantum circuit simulation or benchmarking project most like this role: the circuits and problem sizes, the simulation method you used or built, a performance or correctness problem you found and fixed, your role, and the result. *

Availability

Pay for this role: $45–$105 an hour, set by your experience.

Hours per week you could give on an awarded contract (all part-time, up to 30) *

If you are named and we win, will you be able to start within a few weeks? *

May we name you on proposals for this role, and if we win, will you do the work at the rate we agree on? *

I agree to the Applicant Terms. *

Questions? careers@precisionfederal.com · See all open roles