Tommaso Macri shares impressions from PEARC '25:

‍

The quantum conversation has matured from “if” to “how.” How do QPUs plug into HPC? How are hybrid workflows scheduled? How do teams make practical use of early quantum acceleration? That shift puts workforce front and center. These observations are informed by the PEARC’25 2nd Workshop on Broadly Accessible Quantum Computing, held in Columbus, OH, on July 21, 2025.

Today’s pipelines skew toward theory-heavy programs aimed at future quantum scientists. We will always need that expertise. But as quantum edges into production, we also need a broader cohort: technicians who maintain cryogenic, optical, and control systems; control engineers who stabilize hardware and tune calibrations; research software engineers (RSEs) who stitch quantum stages into classical workflows; and domain scientists who know where quantum acceleration might matter. The gap is not a lack of PhDs; it’s a shortage of hybrid practitioners.

A practical workforce strategy should meet people where they are—HPC centers, community colleges, engineering programs, and industry R&D—and create on-ramps that are modular, credentialed, and job-aligned. Five shifts can make that happen:

1. Stackable, competency-based credentials.
Short micro-credentials mapped to concrete skills: vacuum and cryo operations, optics alignment, control electronics, calibration and characterization, hybrid algorithm workflows, scheduler integration, and benchmarking. Vendor-neutral and portable across modalities, assessed through hands-on tasks and capstones.

2. Turn HPC staff into quantum multipliers.
HPC teams already manage accelerators, schedulers, and containers. With targeted upskilling—on quantum job models, shot budgeting, error sources, and orchestration—RSEs and systems engineers can incorporate QPUs without reinventing their careers. Fund “quantum enablement” fellowships inside supercomputing centers to seed local champions.

3. Expand technician pipelines via community colleges and MSIs.
Most production bottlenecks are operational: uptime, calibration, repeatability. Create 9–12 month technician tracks on optics, RF/control, safety, QA, and documentation—paired with paid internships at national labs and vendors.

4. Application-first, math-forward curricula.
Emphasize linear algebra, probability, discrete math, and optimization alongside coding labs that compile to real backends or high-fidelity simulators. Use project courses around domain problems (materials, optimization, sensing) that yield reproducible, benchmarked results.

5. Co-design apprenticeships and outcome-based funding.
Co-ops where students split time between a lab/vendor and an HPC center, advancing shared roadmaps—compilers, calibration pipelines, error mitigation, workload scheduling. Tie a portion of public funding to proficiency and placement outcomes, not seat-time.

Standards and open tooling are force multipliers throughout: portable IRs, common APIs, and transparent benchmarks make training transferable and reduce lock-in. With incremental, integrated steps—mirroring how quantum will be adopted—we can turn today’s interest into tomorrow’s capacity: a diverse, durable workforce that makes quantum useful inside real workflows, delivering measurable gains.

‍