A quantum control software company, founded in Australia, with a UK team in London working on quantum computing software and GPS-free navigation sensors.
Q-CTRL builds software that makes quantum technology more reliable and more useful. Its core idea is quantum control: the careful shaping of the signals that steer quantum hardware so that it makes fewer errors. Its products include Fire Opal, which improves how quantum programs run on real machines, Boulder Opal, control software for research and for running quantum computers, Black Opal, a learning platform for people who want to understand quantum computing, and Ironstone Opal, a system for navigating without GPS using a quantum sensor. A quantum sensor measures things such as tiny changes in gravity or magnetic fields, which can help a vehicle work out where it is.
Professor Michael Biercuk founded Q-CTRL in 2017, and he remains its founder and chief executive. Its international headquarters are listed in Sydney, Los Angeles and Berlin. The company has been an inaugural member of the IBM Quantum Startup network since 2018. Dr Biercuk describes the aim in simple terms: to "make quantum technology useful through our unique solutions". In 2023 the company announced offices in London and Berlin, linking its expansion to the AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, which includes quantum and navigation goals.
The London team was announced in May 2023 as a focus for research, strategic technology development and technical product development. A trade report spoke of a lab in London for software-defined quantum sensors. Q-CTRL said it already had a commercial relationship with the UK's National Quantum Computing Centre, and planned to support the UK finance sector and to work with defence and civilian users on navigation, resources and climate monitoring. We did not find a street address for the London office or a UK headcount, and the pages we read were from 2023, so check the company's website for its current UK team.
In 2023 Q-CTRL said it had more than 90 staff across product, research, engineering and operations. Job adverts for quantum sensing roles, such as senior and staff scientists in magnetometry and modelling, show the sort of expert research posts that exist. The company's own statements are focused on customers and local research communities, and we did not find a values page.
People at a company like this include physicists who model and test quantum sensors, control engineers, software developers, product managers who decide what to build, and teams who work with customers in finance, defence and research. Maths, physics, engineering and computer science are common starting points. The company's website is the place to find current openings.
Website: q-ctrl.com
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