Struggling to find quantum talent with industry experience? You’re not imagining it

If you’ve been sifting through CVs and wondering why so few candidates have relevant industry experience in quantum tech, there’s a reason and the data backs it up.
 
According to Quantum.Tech and McKinsey reports, over 65% of professionals in the quantum workforce come directly from academia or research environments. Fewer than 15% have more than two years of experience in a commercial quantum role.
 
In short: you’re trying to hire from a pool that can be difficult to discover.
 
At IntaPeople we’ve been recruiting in the quantum sector for over three years, working with spinouts, deep-tech start-ups and R&D teams across the UK, Europe and USA. We’ve seen these issues first-hand and we know how to navigate it.
 
Here’s what we’ve learned:
 

• Hiring for “industry experience” alone often rules out high-potential candidates
• Top-performing hires often come from hybrid backgrounds – research plus adjacent industry (think: photonics, HPC, cryogenics)
• The talent exists, the methods companies use to attract industry experience are misguided

 
If you’re scaling your quantum team and want a faster, more targeted hiring strategy, we’ll help you access the right talent – not just the obvious profiles.
 
🎯 Book a quick call to talk through your hiring goals
📂 Or see how we’ve delivered for other quantum clients: https://www.intapeople.com/quantum-recruitment