UK government's quantum programme deputy head role doesn't require quantum background

[Taz18]

The UK government has posted a job advert for a deputy head of its Office for Quantum, a Grade 6 role paying £69,675 a year that will oversee the rollout of the UK's national quantum programme and help shape the purchase of large scale quantum computers, but the listing explicitly states you do not need a background in quantum to apply, drawing genuine criticism given the scale and technical sophistication of what the role actually involves

The advert lists experience working in science, technology or industrial policy as merely desirable rather than essential, meaning candidates could conceivably win a senior role overseeing billions of pounds in quantum investment, shaping how the government buys large scale quantum computers, and working with companies and investors to bring more money into the sector, without any prior background in the underlying technology at all

Ameer Kotecha, chief executive of the Centre for Government Reform and a former Foreign Office civil servant, told City AM the advert reflects a broader and genuinely longstanding problem in civil service recruitment rather than simply a one off oversight tied to recent departmental changes, he argued officials are too often recruited around general management behaviours before being rotated between unrelated jobs every few years, a pattern that fundamentally limits the specialist knowledge any single department can actually build up and retain over time, City AM had separately reported earlier warnings from tech executives that breaking up the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology risked distracting officials and weakening relationships with businesses at precisely the moment Britain is trying to attract serious investment in AI and other emerging technologies

This lands at a genuinely awkward moment for the UK's broader quantum ambitions, the country has invested heavily in trying to convert its early academic lead in quantum research into commercial success, and is actively racing to keep pace with the United States and China, both of which are investing enormous sums in the sector, the government's own quantum funding programmes and its Innovate UK competitions have signalled real institutional seriousness about quantum commercialisation this year, which makes a headline requirement of no quantum background needed for a senior oversight role feel like a genuinely jarring contrast to that broader stated ambition

The role itself carries real substantive responsibility despite the low technical bar for entry, overseeing the rollout of a national quantum programme, shaping large scale quantum computer procurement decisions, and courting private investment into the sector are all genuinely consequential functions that arguably benefit enormously from someone who actually understands what quantum computing is and isn't currently capable of, rather than someone who has to learn the fundamentals of the technology on the job while simultaneously making significant procurement and investment decisions on the government's behalf

Absurd Government Seeks Quantum Tech Chief No Experience Necessarywww.cityam.com