Material Engineer (m/f/d)

Your mission

The future of AI computing is light, not electrons. Q.ANT is building photonic processing systems that compute with light – delivering a scalable, energy-efficient alternative to transistor-based architectures for next-generation AI and HPC applications .

As a Material Engineer (m/f/d) , you will be the theoretical and practical expert for our core material stack . Your mission is to characterize, develop, and deeply understand our base material, lithium niobate, identifying complex issues and implementing scalable solutions . You will work at the cutting edge of thin-film and interface physics, ensuring that our material science translates directly into high-performance photonic integrated circuits (PICs) .

Your Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of characterizing and developing the base material, lithium niobate, to ensure optimal performance of photonic systems.
• Proactively identify material defects and functionalities, learning to control them and implementing robust solutions within the manufacturing process.
• Serve as the go-to theoretical expert for the material stack, answering urgent technical questions regarding material behavior and physics.
• Manage contacts and coordinate complex measurement schedules with external facilities, including organizing and leading measurement sessions.
• Work in close contact with the manufacturing team to integrate material findings into production workflows.
• Navigate complex, interlinking problems with a high degree of creativity to find innovative solutions even with sparse measurement resources.

Your profile

• PhD in Material Science or Material Physics, or a Master’s degree with extensive experience in material-related measurement techniques.
• Proven professional experience working with crystalline oxide materials or complex oxides, ideally lithium niobate.
• Mastery of characterization tools such as SEM, XPS, EDS, FIB, TEM, and AFM.
• Experience with deposition techniques including ALD, PECVD, and PVD.
• Technical versatility with Python for data analysis and a solid understanding of defect theory in ionic crystals.

Why us?

• We hire for attitude and train for skills.

• We encourage self-responsibility and accelerate professional development.

• We move fast and encourage experimentation.

• You have the opportunity to develop breakthrough photonic computing technology and have a lasting impact on the future of computing.

• You will be part of a passionate, international, and highly skilled cross-functional team.

• You will have direct access to the founders of the company.

About us

Who we are and what we do

Q.ANT is a deep-tech scale-up developing photonic processing solutions that compute natively with light and deliver a scalable alternative to transistor-based systems. The analog co-processors are optimised for complex computations and enable energy-efficient performance for next-generation AI and HPC applications. In collaboration with the Institute for Microelectronics Stuttgart IMS CHIPS, Q.ANT operates its own pilot line for photonic chips, based on the material system Thin-Film Lithium Niobate TFLN. Q.ANT was founded by Michael Förtsch in 2018 and is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.