PhD Studentship in Real-World Quantum Verification and Benchmarking of Noisy Hardware

Deadline: 30 June 2025

A fully funded four-year PhD position is available to work on the project titled “Real-world quantum verification and benchmarking of noisy hardware”. This position is a collaborative studentship between the University of Edinburgh and the National Quantum Computing Centre (https://www.nqcc.ac.uk). The position will be registered and hosted at the University of Edinburgh and will be jointly supervised by: 

• Dr Dominik Leichtle, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh
• Dr Elham Kashefi, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh
• Dr Theodoros Kapourniotis, National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), Harwell, Oxfordshire 

Over the course of the studentship students will be offered a minimum of three months to work at the NQCC to apply their research within the national labs framework.

This studentship will include cohort-based training and activities, enabling students to gain wider skills and develop valuable personal and professional networks.

Project Description

The overall aim of the project is to resolve the quantum trust challenge where the inherently quantum nature of these devices, being beyond classical simulation, complicates their straightforward validation. Investigating if and how classical systems can offer trustworthy, scalable, and efficient validation for quantum technologies is the crucial theoretical and practical challenge we aim to address. Our unique approach is a method that is both formally rigorous and practically efficient for the verification/validation of quantum devices.

Candidate’s profile 

• Knowledge of quantum computing and an understanding of challenges of building large-scale systems.
• Programming skills in Python.
• A good Bachelor’s Hons degree (2.1 or above or international equivalent) and/or Master’s degree in a relevant subject (physics, mathematics, engineering, computer science, or related subject)
• Proficiency in English (both oral and written).
• Knowledge in cryptography is desirable.

Studentship and eligibility

The studentship covers: 

• Full time PhD tuition fees for a student with a home fee status (£5,006 per annum).
• An enhanced stipend greater than the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 25/26, exact rate TBC)
• A generous support package to fund relevant equipment and travel.

Application Information

Applicants should apply via the University’s admissions portal (EUCLID) and apply for the following programme: https://postgraduate.degrees.ed.ac.uk/index.php?r=site/view&edition=2025&id=493 with a start date of 01 September 2025

Applicants should state “Real-world quantum verification and benchmarking of noisy hardware” and the research supervisor (Dominik Leichtle) in their application and Research Proposal document.

Complete applications submitted by 30 June 2025 will receive full consideration; after that date applications will be considered until the position is filled. The anticipated start date is 01 September 2025 but later start dates can be considered.

Applicants must submit: 

• All degree transcripts and certificates (and certified translations if applicable).
• Evidence of English Language capability (where applicable).
• A short research proposal (max 2 pages).
• A full CV and cover letter describing your background, suitability for the PhD, and research interests (max 2 pages).
• Two references (note that it the applicant’s responsibility to ensure reference letters are received before the deadline). 

Only complete applications will progress forward to Academic Selectors for further consideration.

Full studentship details and application: https://informatics.ed.ac.uk/study-with-us/our-degrees/postgraduate-research-and-cdts/postgraduate-research-funding-0

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