Join Us!
This PhD position is part of the Gen-Q programme, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 101217386. You will participate in network meetings across Europe, where you will learn about quantum technology from experts in the field and train essential skills, such as academic writing and outreach. You will participate in a summer school and regular consortium meetings with the other PhDs. You will spend time in the lab of a consortium partner.
This is what you will do
With this project, you will join a team of experimental and theoretical quantum physicists at the University of Amsterdam under the supervision of Arghavan Safavi-Naini. Our theory team is active both on proposing next generation protocols and devices for quantum computation and quantum information theory, as well as closely collaborating with the groups of Rene Gerritsma and Florian Schreck to guide and support the current generation of experiments.
NISQ devices present significant opportunities in utilizing quantum science for a much broader range of applications beyond proof of principle concepts. These include quantum enhanced sensing or analogue quantum simulation. However, in both instances, both technical and fundamental noise hinder current experimental progress. Moreover, full scalability and fault tolerance, both crucial ingredients for a practical universal quantum computer, remain out of reach for the foreseeable future.
Fundamental sources of noise define intrinsic limitations on what may be achieved, both for NISQ devices and beyond. The fundamental source of noise that this project will investigate is the environment. Broadly speaking, the environment can be understood as everything except for the system under consideration. While technical advances can provide a means of isolating the system from the environment, in practice there are fundamental constraints on this approach. For example, even in a vacuum, there is coupling between the system and environment, leading to incoherent processes like spontaneous emission.
In this project you will aim develop improved understanding of the environment, develop methods of mitigating the role of the environment, and finally to utilize the environment as a resource. You will work closely with Jeremy Young and Arghavan Safavi-Naini on all three themes.
What we ask of you
- at least 8 months of master project in either condensed matter theory, quantum optics, or quantum computing and simulation.
- good team working skills;
- good English skills;
- programming skills;
- strong letter of recommendation from master project supervisor;
- Beneficial skill: familiarity with a numerical method such as matrix product states, knowledge of open quantum systems, strong mathematics background
For MSCA PhD positions it is required that the applicant shall at the date of recruitment be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a doctoral degree. The applicant must not have resided or carried out her/his main activity (e.g. work or studies) in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the three years immediately prior the recruitment date.
This is what we offer you
A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years). The preferred starting date is 1 October 2025 or as soon as possible after that. This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.
You will work in this team
The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 8,000, as well as 1,800 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.
The hybrid quantum systems (hyqs) group comprises of theory (headed by Arghavan Safavi-Naini_ and experimental (headed by Rene Gerritsma). As a theorist you will be part of Institute of theoretical physics (ITFA) as well as the Institute of Physics (IoP) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). You will also be affiliated QuSoft.
Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.
Do you like developing new analytical and numerical techniques for:
(i) understanding equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium properties of quantum many-body systems;
(ii) design robust protocols for entanglement generation for quantum enhanced sensing;
(iii) develop new architectures for analogue and digital quantum simulation in hybrid quantum systems?
In your PhD you will work on problems along these three directions, and work closely with experimental and theory collaborators in Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Joined Quantum Institute (JQI), and Sydney.
Join Us!
This PhD position is part of the Gen-Q programme, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 101217386. You will participate in network meetings across Europe, where you will learn about quantum technology from experts in the field and train essential skills, such as academic writing and outreach. You will participate in a summer school and regular consortium meetings with the other PhDs. You will spend time in the lab of a consortium partner.
This is what you will do
With this project, you will join a team of experimental and theoretical quantum physicists at the University of Amsterdam under the supervision of Arghavan Safavi-Naini. Our theory team is active both on proposing next generation protocols and devices for quantum computation and quantum information theory, as well as closely collaborating with the groups of Rene Gerritsma and Florian Schreck to guide and support the current generation of experiments.
NISQ devices present significant opportunities in utilizing quantum science for a much broader range of applications beyond proof of principle concepts. These include quantum enhanced sensing or analogue quantum simulation. However, in both instances, both technical and fundamental noise hinder current experimental progress. Moreover, full scalability and fault tolerance, both crucial ingredients for a practical universal quantum computer, remain out of reach for the foreseeable future.
Fundamental sources of noise define intrinsic limitations on what may be achieved, both for NISQ devices and beyond. The fundamental source of noise that this project will investigate is the environment. Broadly speaking, the environment can be understood as everything except for the system under consideration. While technical advances can provide a means of isolating the system from the environment, in practice there are fundamental constraints on this approach. For example, even in a vacuum, there is coupling between the system and environment, leading to incoherent processes like spontaneous emission.
In this project you will aim develop improved understanding of the environment, develop methods of mitigating the role of the environment, and finally to utilize the environment as a resource. You will work closely with Jeremy Young and Arghavan Safavi-Naini on all three themes.
What we ask of you
- at least 8 months of master project in either condensed matter theory, quantum optics, or quantum computing and simulation.
- good team working skills;
- good English skills;
- programming skills;
- strong letter of recommendation from master project supervisor;
- Beneficial skill: familiarity with a numerical method such as matrix product states, knowledge of open quantum systems, strong mathematics background
For MSCA PhD positions it is required that the applicant shall at the date of recruitment be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a doctoral degree. The applicant must not have resided or carried out her/his main activity (e.g. work or studies) in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the three years immediately prior the recruitment date.
This is what we offer you
A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years). The preferred starting date is 1 October 2025 or as soon as possible after that. This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.
You will work in this team
The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 8,000, as well as 1,800 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.
The hybrid quantum systems (hyqs) group comprises of theory (headed by Arghavan Safavi-Naini_ and experimental (headed by Rene Gerritsma). As a theorist you will be part of Institute of theoretical physics (ITFA) as well as the Institute of Physics (IoP) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). You will also be affiliated QuSoft.
Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.
If you feel the profile fits you and you are interested in the job, we look forward to receiving your application by email to a.safavinaini@uva.nl and in addition by an online submission via the button below. We accept applications until and including 24 August 2025.
If you have any questions or do you require additional information? Please contact:
Arghavan Safavi-Naini, a.safavinaini@uva.nl.
Applications should include the following information (for the application through this website: all files besides your cv should be submitted in one single pdf file; for the application by email: simply describe everything except the CV in the email itself and attach your CV):
- a detailed CV including the months (not just years) when referring to your education and work experience;
- a short letter of motivation;
- a link to your master thesis, if you already wrote it, or a short description of what it will contain;
- the name and email address of your master thesis supervisor or another reference who can provide a letter of recommendation.
A knowledge security check can be part of the selection procedure (for details: national knowledge security guidelines).
