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Master Thesis Student in Quantum Information Technology (m/f/d)
Job Description
Req ID:  6266
Place of work:  Oberpfaffenhofen
Starting date:  01.12.2026
Career level:  Student research project and final thesis, Student employment
Type of employment:  Part time
Duration of contract:  6 months

Remuneration: Remuneration is in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector - Federal Government (TVöD-Bund)

Enter the fascinating world of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V.; DLR) and help shape the future through research and innovation! We offer an exciting and inspiring working environment driven by the expertise and curiosity of our 12,000 employees from 100 nations and our unique infrastructure. Together, we develop sustainable technologies and thus contribute to finding solutions to global challenges. Would you like to join us in addressing this major future challenge? Then this is your place!

The DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation is dedicated to mission-oriented research in selected areas of communications and navigation. Its work ranges from the theoretical foundations to the demonstration of new procedures and systems in a real environment and is embedded in DLR's Space, Aeronautics, Transport, Security and Digitalization programmes.

What to expect

The Institute of Communications and Navigation (KN) at DLR conducts mission-oriented research in satellite navigation, quantum communications, and secure systems. You will join our quantum error correction team and contribute to the development and study of advanced quantum repeater protocols based on quantum LDPC (QLDPC) codes. Over the past five years, QLDPC codes have emerged as the leading alternative to the surface code in quantum computing, with encoding rates orders of magnitude higher for comparable protection against errors. In this project, you will explore their use for quantum communications. Your responsibilities will include circuit-level noise simulation of QLDPC-based purification protocols, the development and testing of the corresponding decoders, and benchmarking our approach against existing architectures.

Your tasks

  • Simulate quantum repeater and entanglement purification protocols based on QLDPC codes
  • Model error propagation on quantum circuits
  • Develop and test quantum error correction algorithms that account for circuit-level noise
  • Benchmark our architecture against state-of-the-art proposals

Your profile

  • Bachelor's degree in Physics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
  • Enrollment in a Master's program in Physics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
  • Solid foundation in quantum physics
  • Familiarity with quantum error correction and purification protocols is highly valued
  • Proficiency in Python, C++, or MATLAB

We offer

DLR stands for diversity, appreciation and equality for all people. We promote independent work and the individual development of our employees both personally and professionally. To this end, we offer numerous training and development opportunities. Equal opportunities are of particular importance to us, which is why we want to increase the proportion of women in science and management in particular. Applicants with severe disabilities will be given preference if they are qualified.

We look forward to getting to know you!

If you have any questions about this position (Vacancy-ID 6266) please contact:

Dr. Bruno Coelho Coutinho 
Tel.: +49 (0) 8153 - 28 2084