Digital-Analog Electrical Engineer

Location: Ottawa, ON (on-site)
Employment type: Full-time
Salary range: $70,000 – $125,000 CAD per year
Vacancy disclosure: This posting is for an existing vacancy

About Q-Block Computing: Q-Block Computing builds quantum systems that operate in the real world. The company develops quantum timing, quantum-secure communications, and quantum computing platforms engineered for the performance, reliability, and environmental resilience that mission-critical applications demand — systems designed to be deployed, maintained, and trusted by operators who cannot afford ambiguity about whether the technology works.

The long-term vision is deeper than any single platform. Q-Block is pursuing a mission to decode Nature's foundational model — to build instruments of sufficient precision and coherence that they become tools for understanding the physical universe at its most fundamental level. Every system engineered to sustain quantum coherence under real-world conditions is also an advance in what becomes scientifically possible next. Commercialization and science reinforce each other by design.

About this role: The Digital–Analog Electrical Engineer will contribute to the development of massively scalable, real-time digital–analog control electronics at the heart of Q-Block's quantum platforms. The work centers on hybrid circuits where high-fidelity analog performance and deterministic digital control must coexist on the same board, under the same timing discipline, at the noise floor quantum hardware requires. This is hands-on electronics engineering for systems that are meant to be built, qualified, and deployed — not one-off laboratory prototypes.

The successful candidate is an electrical engineer who is genuinely at home at the boundary between analog and digital, comfortable moving between schematic capture, SPICE simulation, PCB layout, firmware-facing interfaces, and the oscilloscope on the bench. The role rewards engineers who have learned their craft in domains where precision, synchronization, and low-noise performance are non-negotiable, whether that lineage comes from scientific instrumentation, large experimental facilities, sensor-intensive platforms, or any environment where many channels of data must be acquired, synchronized, and trusted.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and validate hybrid digital–analog PCBs for quantum hardware used in sensing, communication, and computation platforms.
• Translate board-level requirements into design concepts: architecture, I/O, signal integrity plan, power tree, thermal budget, key part selection, and firmware interface definition.
• Design and integrate precision analog front-ends, high-speed DAC and ADC subsystems, low-noise reference and biasing circuits, and the conditioning electronics that connect them to real-world quantum hardware.
• Architect digital control paths around MCUs and FPGAs with emphasis on deterministic, low-latency behavior and clean coexistence with sensitive analog subsystems.
• Design clock distribution, synchronization, and timing reference circuitry for coherent multi-channel and multi-board operation.
• Apply RF design discipline where needed: controlled-impedance routing, shielding strategy, grounding, and EMI/EMC considerations appropriate to precision mixed-signal systems.
• Complete schematic capture, manage layout constraints and placement, lead layout reviews, and produce manufacturing and assembly documentation.
• Own BOM, part qualification, long-lead-item management, and design-for-manufacturability decisions.
• Perform SPICE and signal-integrity simulation, noise and stability analysis, and other pre-silicon and pre-layout design analyses to retire risk before fabrication.
• Plan and execute bring-up, characterization, and validation on the bench using oscilloscopes, network and spectrum analyzers, arbitrary waveform generators, and custom test fixtures.
• Identify technology and design risks early and drive them to closure with clear, documented reasoning.
• Collaborate across hardware, firmware, optics, and systems teams; contribute to a culture of continuous learning, rigorous design review, and honest technical discussion.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Engineering Physics, Physics, or a closely related field.
• 5+ years of professional experience designing digital, analog, and mixed-signal circuits, with demonstrated ownership of boards taken from concept through validated hardware.
• Extensive understanding of electronic circuit design, communication protocols, and PCB design and manufacturing processes.
• Strong laboratory skills with oscilloscopes, network and spectrum analyzers, arbitrary waveform generators, and standard bench instrumentation for characterizing precision electronics.
• Proficiency with SPICE simulation and standard mixed-signal design analysis techniques.

Preferred qualifications

• Demonstrated experience with RF design, low-noise analog circuit design, or high-speed signal paths.
• Hands-on experience with precision DAC/ADC subsystems, low-noise references, and analog front-ends for sensitive measurement or control.
• MCU- and FPGA-based digital control design, including deterministic, low-latency control architectures on hybrid digital–analog boards.
• Experience with clock distribution, multi-channel synchronization, and timing-critical data acquisition across distributed hardware.
• Background in environments where large arrays of channels must be acquired, synchronized, fused, or controlled with tight timing discipline — across scientific, experimental, or defense-adjacent domains.
• Exposure to signal processing, noise analysis, and systems where the analog performance floor directly determines scientific or operational outcomes.

Security and compliance requirements

• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain Government of Canada security clearance, if required for assigned projects.
• Must be eligible to comply with requirements of the Controlled Goods Program, if required for assigned projects.
• Must be willing to participate in background screening, documentation, and compliance processes associated with security-sensitive work.
• Ability to work effectively within security, export-control, and compliance-sensitive technical environments is an asset.

Skills and attributes

• Strong attention to detail, authenticity, and a sense of responsibility in all tasks.
• Critical thinking and a problem-solving mindset grounded in measurement and evidence.
• Clear written and verbal communication; ability to produce design documentation that holds up under rigorous review.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a dynamic, multidisciplinary team.

Benefits

• Extended health care (including dental and vision)
• Life insurance

Recruitment and AI disclosure

Q-Block Computing uses artificial intelligence (AI) solely to summarize application materials and candidate profiles during the initial screening stage. Human reviewers review the original application documents and are involved in every screening and selection decision. All hiring decisions, including the final hiring decision, are made by human reviewers; AI does not make hiring decisions.

Equal opportunity

Q-Block Computing is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to treating all employees and applicants with respect and dignity. Accommodations are available on request during the application and recruiting process.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents are strongly encouraged to apply. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply.