The finance industry’s quantum computing team – and who’s hiring

Quantum computing is amazing. Besides its name, which is simply space travel and a robot with Blade Runner-like artificial intelligence, it’s also quite useful.

The banks know this, and they’re… Actually doing something about it, believe it or not. Although the recent discussion of room-temperature semiconductors ended inconclusively, quantum computing remains a growing field – and one that will radically change the financial sector. main.

JPMorgan is one of the most reputable (financial) names in the field of quantum computing. Its team is led by Marco Pistoia, a former “distinguished engineer” and “master inventor” of IBM, and more importantly, a senior manager in the field of quantum computing. IBM’s research into quantum computing is groundbreaking – IBM and Google are often considered the most advanced companies in the industry. Pistoia’s team includes the likes of Charles Lim, a quantum encryption expert who joined Singapore in 2022.

Goldman Sachs also has a quant group. Last year, Goldman late partnered with AWS to break into the use of quantum computers for financial applications (specifically block encryption). There are mixed results – “the number of qubits… could be prohibitively expensive without major advances in quantum computing technology,” the related paper said. However, it’s unclear how well that effort went – Goldman’s former head of quantum research, William Zeng, was leading the partnership, but left in July to become a partner at Quantonation, a venture capital firm that invests in “materials technology.” quantum and deep physics”.

It’s not just big US banks. Moody’s, the ratings agency, is also interested in quantum. The head of artificial intelligence, machine learning and quantum computing, Sergio Gago, could inspire banking technologists without a quantum background. Gago is a telecommunications engineering graduate and before being appointed Moody’s head of quantum computing, he served as MD in the communications solutions group.

Quantum jobs in financial services: who is hiring?

Banks are actively recruiting for positions. HSBC selected Alejandro Rodriguez-Pardo Montblanch, a Cambridge physics PhD in quantum technology, in July as a “quantum research scientist”. The bank’s head of quantum computing, Philip Intallura, actively called for candidates to join the quantum computing research team last December.

JPMorgan is actively seeking quantum computing expertise – at all experience levels. The bank is currently looking for summer collaborators in the field of “quantum computing applied research” for next year. No financial background is required, although experience with quantum computing is required and “candidates with a strong publication record” are preferred.

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo posted its own job spec for a quantum computing contract (information security engineer lead in quantum cryptography research and development, to be precise) — a requirement The work makes no mention of finances anywhere, nor is there any inclination towards publishing. , but rather “a strong foundation in linear algebra,” as well as optical communications, and “a desire to learn and grow your portfolio in various business and technology activities ”.

Why are banks interested in quantum computing?

A variety of reasons. While quantum computing could (will?) have a huge impact on almost every industry you can imagine, especially for banks, the problem of cryptography is probably the problem. biggest: quantum algorithms have the ability to break all current security measures. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in his 2021 letter to shareholders that quantum computing is an “important area” to invest in for this reason.

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo’s head of quantum computing research, Peter Bordow, spoke to Quantum.Tech, speaking like a beleaguered man. “This is a long game, where we will mitigate the threats we know today and anticipate threats that are not yet known or invented decades from now,” he said.

Bodrow also made some interesting observations about Wells Fargo’s hiring style for its quant team. “We try to cast a wide net,” he says, “I think there is value in a distributed approach to enhancing existing talent, recruiting from the existing talent pool and collaborating with experts in the field.” Come one, come all.

By the way, Bordow — the same Peter Bordow — is perhaps better known as an award-winning blues artist who sings under the name “Preacher.” The name comes from an event in 1996 that “changed the course of his life.” He charted a powerful course at the turn of the millennium and “today,” according to his Spotify profile, “the preacher continues to penetrate deep inside his listeners.” Cool.

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