Head of Research Software

At OQC, we aren't just theorising about the future; we're building it. Born from a philosophy of bold innovation, we've successfully transitioned quantum computing from an academic dream into a commercial reality. The most exciting thing is that we're just getting started and we've recently closed our £260 million Series C funding round
- the largest fundraise ever completed by a quantum computing company in Europe.
The PurposeAs Head of Research Software & Integrations, you'll build and lead the software capability in Spain that enables OQC's next generation of quantum technology. You'll bring together research software, logical compilation, HPC and systems integration to accelerate scientific discovery—giving our researchers the high-quality software and computational capabilities they need to move from ideas to results, faster.
The RoleBased in Spain and reporting to our Director of Software Engineering, you'll lead the Research Software Engineering, Logical Compilation and Systems Integrations teams. This is a hands‑on technical leadership role: you'll set direction, shape architecture and make critical engineering decisions while building and developing the teams that deliver against OQC's research ambitions.
You’ll work closely with Research leadership and the wider Software organisation, balancing the speed and flexibility required for experimentation with the engineering discipline needed as software matures towards reliable production use.
What You’ll Be Working OnLead and grow OQC’s Research Software Engineering, Logical Compilation and Systems Integrations teams in Spain, setting clear priorities and accountability for deliverySet technical direction and actively shape software and tooling architectures, ensuring local decisions align with OQC’s wider engineering standards and technology strategyPartner with Research teams to turn complex and ambiguous scientific challenges into effective software capabilities that accelerate experimentation and technology discoveryLead research software and simulation tooling from early concepts through to production use, creating extensible solutions that can evolve rapidly alongside our researchDevelop integrations between OQC’s quantum computing stack, HPC environments, third‑party systems and relevant community tools to enable sophisticated computational workflowsWork across Platform Engineering, Compiler Development, Data Management and Research to manage dependencies, prioritise demand and focus resources on the highest‑value technical outcomesBuild a high‑performing software organisation in Spain, developing technical leaders, shaping recruitment and team structures, and representing OQC through external technical and research collaborationsWhat We’re Looking ForSignificant experience leading software engineering teams delivering complex technical capabilities within research, scientific or similarly sophisticated R&D environmentsA track record of taking research software from early experimentation through to reliable production useStrong software architecture and engineering leadership, with the technical depth to actively contribute to architecture and tooling decisionsExperience leading multidisciplinary software teams or technical workstreams with accountability for priorities, delivery and technical outcomesProven ability to build strong partnerships between software engineers and research or scientific stakeholdersExcellent judgement when balancing rapid experimentation with software quality, reliability, maintainability and longer‑term business needsStrong technical planning, prioritisation and stakeholder management skills, including translating ambiguous research requirements into deliverable outcomesProven people leadership, with experience developing engineers and technical leads and creating increasing ownership within teamsExperience delivering successfully against critical deadlines and working across organisational boundaries to solve complex technical problemsA degree in Computer Science, Physics, Quantum Technologies, Mathematics, Engineering or another relevant numerate discipline, or equivalent practical experience demonstrating significant technical depth in research software developmentThe ‘Nice‑to‑Haves’Experience with high‑performance computing and computationally intensive research workflowsKnowledge of compiler technologies, simulation tooling and their role within complex computing stacksExperience integrating specialist, open‑source or community‑developed tooling into broader software platformsExperience within quantum computing, deep tech or another highly technical emerging fieldExperience with numerical analysis, data science, databases, CI/CD or microservice developmentExperience scaling a technical team or capability during significant organisational growthExperience contributing to external research collaborations, technical communities or conferencesA postgraduate degree (MSc, PhD or equivalent) in a relevant scientific, e