Software Engineer at Q-CTRL
Los Angeles, CA
$130,000–$170,000from the description
Jul 19, 2026
Los Angeles, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A backend engineering role focused on building and maintaining the server-side infrastructure for a quantum software platform called Boulder Opal. Day-to-day work involves designing scalable services, APIs, and distributed systems in Python and C++, while collaborating with compiler engineers and researchers to bring new compiler and quantum runtime capabilities into production. Suited to a solid backend generalist with an interest in gradually developing compiler engineering knowledge.
Mid level · Boulder, CO · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
Posted 3 times — it's one opening, so apply once.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 350 people in the Boulder, CO area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 270–460
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $168,179 (middle half $132,051–$211,194). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (5)
The role is titled 'Software Engineer' with no level modifier, so advertised seniority is Unspecified. The requirements (a bachelor's degree, 'strong' Python, 'experience' with C++ and backend/distributed systems) are consistent with a Mid-level engineer; the posting explicitly frames compiler expertise as something to 'grow into over time', reinforcing a mid-level scope rather than Senior.
The job title references 'Boulder Opal' (Q-CTRL's product), and the salary range aligns with US market rates. The posting mentions offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities but does not specify a required work location for this role; Boulder, CO is inferred from the product team name. Hiring managers should confirm the actual work location.
A bachelor's degree is listed under the 'Ideally, you'll have' section (the primary requirements block), but the phrasing 'Ideally' and the absence of hard gate language means it is treated as preferred rather than a hard requirement.
Experience building backend systems or distributed services appears in the 'Ideally, you'll have' section but names no specific technology, so it is not emitted as a skill per extraction rules.
Asynchronous programming and concurrency, high-performance backend systems, compiler concepts, and interest in quantum computing appear under the 'not essential' preferred section and name no specific tool, so they are omitted from the skills list.
Read the full posting
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