Diraq says quantum industry needs 840,000 workers by 2035, a huge jump

Diraq’s first hires included Alex Dickie, who joined the company with an undergraduate engineering degree and without a PhD, signaling a change in the quantum computing industry’s workforce needs. The Quantum Economic Development Consortium counted roughly 16,500 professionals globally in 2025, a number predicted to swell to 840,000 by 2035.

“A PhD student is there to do a research project and that doesn’t always line up with the work that needs to happen right now to build prototypes,” says Dickie, an IC Test Engineer, reflecting a growing realization that a PhD-centric approach cannot meet the demands of delivering utility-scale machines by 2033.

Quantum Workforce Demand: 840,000 Professionals by 2035

The quantum sector is projected to require 840,000 professionals by 2035, a figure dramatically exceeding the approximately 16,500 counted globally in 2025, according to recent analysis by Quantum Insider. This growth necessitates a fundamental shift in workforce development, moving beyond the historical reliance on highly-credentialed PhDs to encompass a broader range of engineering and technical expertise.

Diraq, a quantum hardware company, exemplifies this change by actively recruiting individuals with undergraduate engineering degrees, recognizing the immediate need for skilled personnel capable of building and maintaining quantum systems. The traditional emphasis on PhDs stemmed from the field’s early stages, where every advancement represented novel research; however, the industry’s commitment to delivering utility-scale machines by 2033 demands a more pragmatic approach to staffing.

Alex Dickie, an IC Test Engineer at Diraq, highlights this transition, stating that “you can do a lot of engineering in quantum computing that doesn’t require a PhD-level understanding of quantum physics.” This perspective acknowledges that a significant portion of the required workforce will focus on practical implementation, fabrication, testing, and maintenance, tasks that do not necessarily require the deep, research-focused training of a doctoral program. A four to five year PhD program cannot keep pace with the rapidly expanding demand for talent.

This shift mirrors the established model in other deep-tech industries, such as semiconductor manufacturing, where a relatively small number of PhDs develop core concepts, while a vast network of engineers and technicians translate those concepts into functional products. The current reliance on PhDs is unsustainable given the ambitious timelines and workforce projections, so the industry must actively cultivate alternative pathways for skilled professionals.

Diraq’s approach, including its collaboration with UNSW Sydney on a Bachelor of Quantum Engineering program designed to produce 40-50 engineers annually, demonstrates a commitment to widening the talent pool and building a sustainable workforce. The company views this as not a cost-saving measure, but a necessity for achieving its scaling goals, borrowing proven hiring blueprints from the semiconductor industry to accelerate progress.

Diraq’s Hiring Shift: Prioritizing Engineers Over PhDs

The rapidly expanding quantum sector will require a workforce dramatically different from its academic origins, with companies like Diraq actively seeking qualified candidates without doctoral degrees. This prioritization of engineering talent reflects a fundamental change in the industry’s needs as it transitions from research-focused experimentation toward commercial viability and scaling production. The sheer scale of projected growth necessitates this broadened approach to recruitment. Given that a PhD program typically requires four to five years to complete, relying solely on doctoral graduates is demonstrably unsustainable given the ambitious timeline for delivering utility-scale quantum machines by 2033.

Diraq’s strategy, therefore, isn’t a cost-cutting measure, but a pragmatic response to the logistical challenges of building a workforce capable of meeting these demands. The company’s founder and CEO, Andrew Dzurak, was instrumental in designing the curriculum, and Diraq is now hiring from the program’s first graduating cohort. Diraq believes this intellectual division of labor is not a compromise, but a critical component of building a sustainable and scalable quantum industry.

UNSW Quantum Engineering Program Fuels Industry Growth

This prioritization of practical engineering skills reflects a fundamental shift within the quantum sector, moving away from a research-centric model toward one focused on scalable manufacturing and deployment. This move mirrors established practices in other complex technology sectors, such as semiconductor manufacturing, where a large engineering and technician base supports a smaller number of research scientists. Australia’s engineering culture, with its emphasis on undergraduate training, provides a strong foundation for this approach, potentially explaining the nation’s success in securing two companies within DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative Stage B.