Internships

Our full-time internships offer Master's and PhD students the opportunity to explore a career in quantum computing and translate their skills and expertise into a commercial setting.

We offer two types of internship:

Summer internships for Bachelor's, Master's and PhD students (10-12 weeks)
PhD internships (3-6 months)

Summer internships - 3 months

This scheme is aimed at Bachelor's, Master’s or PhD students studying maths, physics, chemistry, computer science, engineering or design.

You will work alongside our team of software developers, mathematicians, quantum information theorists, designers, computational chemists and physicists, who are all world-leading experts in their fields. A dedicated supervisor will be assigned to you from day one.

You will join an ongoing project that is central to Riverlane’s mission to make quantum computing useful sooner. We’ll ensure it’s a project that makes the best use of your background and skills whilst providing a great introduction to the exciting world of quantum computing.

Summer internships typically run from June to September.

PhD internships - 3-6 months

This scheme is aimed at PhD students wanting to work in a specific area of research or development that Riverlane has a current focus on.

PhD projects 2025

Note: Internships are offered in Cambridge UK and in Boston US. Students joining a UK scheme must be eligible to live and work in the UK. Students joining a US scheme must be authorised to work in the US.

Internships for 2025 have now closed. Join our mailing list for future updates.

Testimonials

"I learnt heaps about quantum algorithms and quantum chemistry, benefitting from the team's expertise and willingness to collaborate and answer all my questions. In just 6 months I've gone from knowing only the basics to working on publishing a paper! I've recommended Riverlane internships to several friends already - it's a brilliant combination of cutting-edge science and engineering and a supportive environment."

- Tim Georges, PhD Intern, 2024

testimonials

"I applied for Riverlane's internship scheme because I wanted to learn about quantum error correction. I strongly recommend this experience to others - it will stretch you in new ways , and it will give you the opportunity to directly contribute towards the business goals."

- Edward Pearce-Crump, Summer Intern 2023

Featured Intern - Javiera Quiroz

Javiera Quiroz

Quantum Computing PhD Intern, 2024

I am a 2nd year PhD student in Material Science at the University of Cambridge, working on simulations of materials for uses in heating and cooling. I decided to do a placement in industry to explore opportunities of doing physics outside of academia, and experience what that would be like. Quantum computing was one of the areas that interested me given the vast range of possible research directions.

Riverlane stood out to me in the field because of its strong research presence. During my 6 month internship, I worked on statistical Quantum Phase Estimation algorithms. These could potentially be used to calculate energies of large systems, where classical computations is unfeasible. These algorithms are also of particular interest as they are thought to be good candidates for early-fault tolerant quantum computers. I compared different schemes by running simulations on a quantum virtual machine on several systems, and explored possible improvements.

I have learned a lot, not only about quantum algorithms, but about how to undertake research in general. It has been a very rewarding experience, with lots of stimulating discussions thanks to the open and welcoming community at Riverlane. I would definitely recommend applying!

Graduate scheme

Our one-year graduate scheme is designed to enable those with degrees in computer science, electronic engineering or engineering to develop their skills and expertise and become future leaders in the quantum computing industry.

You will join us at our office in Cambridge, UK, where you will work alongside our multidisciplinary team and rotate through different functions of the company, including engineering, quantum science, and product.

Find out more about our Graduate Scheme

Questions? Email us

The superpowers of interns: an internship success story

Former Riverlane PhD intern publishes paper: ‘Distributed Quantum Computing and Network Control for Accelerated VQE’.

Riverlane’s top tips for an internship application in quantum computing

We've been running our master's and PhD internship scheme since 2018. In this time, we've reviewed hundreds of applications and hosted more than 40 students from a variety of different backgrounds.

Why you should consider a career in quantum computing

As part of our mission to make quantum computer computers useful sooner at Riverlane, we need talented individuals to join our world-class team.