Senior Mechanical Technician

Lead hands-on assembly and verification of custom quantum sensing hardware prototypes in lab

Location: Sydney, New South Wales

About The Role

Precision Mechanical Technician

The Sensing Engineering team at Q-CTRL transforms quantum research into deployable technologies that address real-world problems. We design, build, and field-validate an array of quantum sensors that support our key products, including Ironstone Opal - our solution for GPS-denied navigation.

You don't need a background in quantum to make an impact here. We value robust engineering fundamentals, a product mindset, and a drive to solve the hardest engineering problems in quantum sensing today.

We are seeking an exceptionally skilled and intuitive Precision Mechanical Technician to join our fast-paced Quantum Sensing team. In this role, you will work across our cutting-edge Gravimetry and Magnetometry R&D; groups to turn high-level scientific concepts into physical reality.

This is not a production assembly line job. You will be working almost exclusively on custom, one-off or low volume prototypes and ultra-delicate assemblies. We need a natural problem solver—someone with outstanding mechanical intuition who thrives in an R&D; environment, handles high-stakes precision hardware with extreme care, and can figure out how to build complex systems even when step-by-step instructions don't exist yet.

Note on Quantum Experience: You do not need a background in quantum mechanics or quantum hardware! We have world-class scientists to handle the physics—we need your exceptional mechanical craftsmanship to bring the hardware to life.

What you'll be doing:

- Precision Assembly:



Perform meticulous, hands-on assembly of custom, highly delicate mechanical and electro-optical systems where high care, patience, and tight tolerances are critical.
- R&D; Troubleshooting & Fixing: Diagnose, troubleshoot, and fix complex mechanical hardware issues. You'll be our go-to 'fixer' when parts don't fit quite right or systems need physical tuning.
- Upkeep of lab: Use, maintain and train others to keep our 3D printers, laser cutter, tools and other equipment smoothly. Contribute to making our lab space an efficient and organized place
- Simple CAD Design: Utilize Inventor CAD modeling to design simple brackets, enclosures, boxes, and mounting hardware, taking load off the engineering team and keeping builds moving forward.
- Basic Machining & Fabrication: Perform light manual machining, modification, and custom fixture fabrication in-house to rapidly adapt components on the fly.
- Elevate Build Standards: Apply your hands-on experience to improve our assembly workflows, suggest design-for-manufacturability tweaks, and raise the overall standard of how we build and care for our hardware.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner directly with quantum scientists, mechanical engineers, and electrical engineers to assemble, test, and iteratively improve hardware concepts.

Ideally you'll have:





- Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) Systems: Prior experience assembling or maintaining vacuum hardware, UHV-clean assembly protocols, bake-outs, or helium leak detection.
- Optics & Laser Lab Experience: Hands-on familiarity working in optics or laser laboratory environments (e.g., handling optics, fibers, or basic laser safety protocols).
- R&D; & Scientific Collaboration: Experience working in an academic or industrial research environment, with a proven ability to communicate effectively and collaborate side-by-side with scientists and research physicists.

Q-CTRL is the global leader in AI-powered quantum control infrastructure software. We build the tools that make quantum technology useful, solving the hardest challenges in quantum computing and quantum sensing to deliver real-world impact.

Founded in 2017, we operate globally with offices in Sydney, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berlin, and Oxford. Our teams bring together technical and multi-disciplinary expertise across the product lifecycle, and we're hiring talent to help scale every part of the business. We work quickly to turn cutting-edge science into deployable technology.

In 2024 we raised US$113 million in Series B funding, the largest aggregate investment for a quantum software company. Six months later we delivered the first commercial quantum advantage with Ironstone Opal, our field-validated quantum navigation solution for defense and industry.

At Q-CTRL, we prioritize outcomes over hours.

- flexibility
- equity potential
- competitive benefits that reflect our high-performance culture

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