Intern 2026 : Quantum Computing Applications Research

Introduction

IBM Research takes responsibility for technology and its role in society. Working in IBM Research means you'll join a team who invent what's next in computing, always choosing the big, urgent and mind-bending work that endures and shapes generations. Our passion for discovery, and excitement for defining the future of tech, is what builds our strong culture around solving problems for clients and seeing the real world impact that you can make.

IBM's product and technology landscape includes Research, Software, and Infrastructure. Entering this domain positions you at the heart of IBM, where growth and innovation thrive.

Your role and responsibilities

Job roles of a successful candidate include :

Identifying feasible quantum algorithms and application areas relevant to near-term and / or early fault-tolerant quantum devices

Benchmarking classical algorithms for problems of interest, to establish meaningful comparisons with quantum algorithms

Benchmarking resource requirements depending on problem parameters, implementation details, and circuit synthesis strategies

Implementing and testing near-term algorithms on current quantum processors using available hardware and software frameworks

Developing new capabilities to enable advantage-scale experiments

Developing and studying compiler optimizations for quantum circuits targeting fault tolerant architectures

Required technical and professional expertise

Bachelors degree in Engineering, Physics, or Computer Science, or related software experience

Experience with quantum algorithm design and analysis, quantum compiler or computer architecture, experimental realization of quantum algorithms, or related topics in quantum computation

Familiarity with programming languages for scientific computing (Python, or equivalent)

Preferred technical and professional experience

Familiarity with programming languages for high-performance computing (Rust, C++, or equivalent)

Experience with large-scale software engineering projects involving multiple contributors and programming languages.

Experience using experimental techniques such as error mitigation, error suppression, or quantum control

Experience with Qiskit or other quantum computing frameworks (Cirq, etc.)

IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, caste, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.