Why?
Three months ago, starting a jobs board was the last thing we thought we'd be doing. Then, the Quantum Computing Report jobs page stopped updating for a week. Then two. Then three. We thought it would be back, but after asking around it seemed like it was both costing a lot of money to maintain, and there was no one who was particularly interested in funding it. Thus ended our Sunday ritual of checking the newest jobs over breakfast.
The problem with 'quantum' anything is that, since quantum is sexy and we don't have Language Police (unless you're in France?), anyone can call their thing 'quantum'. Do you want to know why this site isn't called 'QuantumJobs.com' or 'QuantumWork.com'? Because those sites are, respectively, some executive training company and some 'workforce agility' consultancy. The same will be true when you search for 'quantum computing' on your favorite big-name job listing website. You'll probably get a few relevant hits, and then something like 'Quantum Plumbing, LLC'.
Given the recent hype and ongoing expansion of the QC (and QIS) industry, having a place solely devoted to QC professionals seems like a no-brainer. At minimum, making it easier to see only the relevant jobs has some obvious value. And, from the perspective of the employers, a community of qualified professionals would be the best place to post new listings, no?
How?
Right now, there is a bit of a chicken-egg problem. While the value of a mature job board with many postings and a large user base is clear, this board currently has neither! There's no reason to post jobs if no one is using it, and there's no reason to make an account if there aren't many new jobs.
To start, we've scoured the internet and added what is hopefully a decent cross-section of interesting work across different QC modalities, sub-fields, and locations. Once the HireQuantum branding is set up (ETA- 05/31), we will experiment with buying ads to help drive traffic here, spreading the word on the relevant social media platforms, and incessantly badgering friends and colleagues to join.
The Vision
Although just having a living, up-to-date list of open reqs would be a great success, this endeavor has potential to become something more. The quantum community has splintered across the social media landscape, largely for reasons that have nothing to do with quantum computing, physics, or science! Now, it's much harder to find interesting and useful conversations about the latest developments in the field, and it's almost impossible to talk shop at all, save for a few random blogs and the occasional conference.
Our vision for HireQuantum will eventually (sooner, rather than later) include a discussion forum specifically focused on: finding jobs, physics/quantum computing discussion, skill progression, and so on. We would like this to be a platform where not only can you find great new opportunities, but also connect with your potential coworkers and solicit their thoughts about the work, find resources to help you hone your skills, or just discuss the latest pre-prints. There's room for much more vibrant conversation in the field before we start running afoul of proprietary/non-public information.
The Future
We are confident that HireQuantum has the potential to be truly useful for the quantum computing community. We're looking forward to what lies ahead, and hope you'll be with us on that journey.
Look for periodic updates here about what we're up to and how things are going.