The Global Dimension of Quantum Tech
In our experience, the appetite is usually low for our corporate clients to go to the lengths of hiring internationally. It requires a laborious process of visa sponsorship, bureaucratic government document submission, and additional expense to produce all this and pay the fees. It’s no wonder companies prefer to hire domestically.
However, in a nascent field like quantum tech, in which much of the innovation and advancement is taking place in Asia, Scandinavia, and Western Europe, the question at least merits reconsideration. Moreover, for experts in this field, you may not need to get involved in the visa process to the same extent. A specialized government visa program known as the “Extraordinary Ability†visa, or O-1 visa, may allow the hired candidate to apply for and acquire this visa mostly on their own, absolving the employer of much of the responsibility and expense, and at the same time opening up a panoply of talent that may not be matched or available in the United States. With this in mind, it is worth asking: is it really the best solution to limit your company to local or domestic talent, when a worldwide approach could offer the available groundbreaking minds your company needs? (Caveat: some QuTech positions in U.S. require TS/SCI clearance from the federal government – ask us about this.)
A good example of some of the global companies leading the race toward quantum supremacy are those developing photonic solutions: Xanadu, a Canadian company, is high on the list. NQCG, based in Oslo is another, as is Orca Computing, based in London. Photonic solutions also apply closely to the cybersecurity apparatus that will be needed in place well before mature quantum computers arrive, or else devastating consequences could occur. Through this same technology, Arqit Quantum in England, Quintessence Labs in Canberra, Australia, ID Quantique (which has a strategic partnership with American network security firm, Fortinet) in Geneva, Switzerland, and NTT in Japan, are all developing solutions often tied to photonics and quantum teleportation, which may be the only true ways to guard against vulnerability to quantum attack.
Advanced Researchers at universities and research institutes are another place one might look that may not be obvious at first for a corporate position. In the complex world of quantum technology though, those may very well fit the profile, and once again, the caliber and variety of talent increases with a global horizon. In photonics, as above, the first and possibly still the only organization in the world to have achieved quantum advantage with a photonic quantum computer is The University of Science & Technology in Hefei, China, as published in Nature in 2020.
When looking for quantum talent in this nascent innovation ecosystem, stay domestic and risk limitation, or go global and maximize potential benefits. In either case, we would be happy to hear from you, and hope to Psi you later.
Psirch
Your Quantum Partner
If you have experience working in Quantum Science for or with a company, university, or research institute, developing quantum hardware or software anywhere in the world, we want to hear from you. Please email us at the following address: shai@psirch.com
