Ali Rezaei, Ph.D.

Physics • Quantum Computing • HPC Engineering • Device Simulation • TCAD

Summary

Physicist and research software engineer with 5+ years of experience in quantum simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), and nanoelectronic device modelling (TCAD).
Developer of scalable, high-performance simulation tools, including open-source tools such as QuEST (quantum circuit simulator) and NESS (NEGF-based TCAD framework).
Expert in performance-portable HPC, from low-level kernel optimisation to efficient algorithms and data structures. Proficient with profiling, cache-aware memory layouts, custom scheduling, MPI/OpenMP parallelisation, heterogeneous acceleration, and reproducible, containerised pipelines.
Experienced program manager of multi-year R&D projects across academia and industry, with strengths in Agile leadership, milestone tracking, stakeholder coordination, and delivery planning.

Programming Languages: C, C++, Python, Fortran
HPC & Parallelism: MPI, OpenMP, CUDA, SIMD (SSE/AVX/AVX-512), hybrid CPU-GPU execution, NUMA-aware optimisation, hardware-aware tuning, Slurm
Profiling & Performance: Intel VTune, Memory Latency Checker, Intel PCM, Valgrind, Linux perf, likwid
Quantum SDKs & Libraries: QuEST (co-developer), Qiskit, Pennylane, cuQuantum, QuESTlink
Scientific Toolkits: NumPy, SciPy, SymPy, Pandas, MATLAB, Mathematica, JupyterLab, Gnuplot, VTK, ParaView
Numerical: Coupled PDE solvers, finite-difference / finite-volume / finite-element methods, NEGF formalism, linear algebra
EDA / TCAD: NESS (co-developer), Synopsys Sentaurus, Silvaco Atlas, QuantumATK, OMEN, NEMO
DevOps & Build Systems: Linux (HPC CLI, Bash), Git (CI/CD), Docker, Kubernetes, Spack, Conda, CMake, Make, Catch2/CTest
IDEs & Editors: VS Code, Vim, Visual Studio
Project & Team Management: Jira, Gantt charts, MS Project, Agile/Scrum workflows, reporting, documentation
Personal: Analytical, detail-driven, strong problem-solver, effective communicator and team contributor

University of Konstanz, Germany
Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics (Dr. rer. nat.), Magna cum laude
Thesis: Non-equilibrium and spin transport in hybrids of superconductors and magnets
Quantum Transport Group – Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Belzig
01/2016 – 12/2019
Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences, Iran
M.Sc. in Condensed Matter Physics
Thesis: Thermoelectric properties of 3D topological insulators
Many-body Theory Group – Supervisors: Dr. Saeed Abedinpour, Dr. Jahan Abouie
09/2012 – 04/2015
University of Urmia, Iran
B.Sc. in Solid State Physics
09/2007 – 08/2011

Quantum HPC Researcher - QuEST (C/C++), ICSA/EPCC, University of Edinburgh, UK — 02/2024 – Present

Implemented a high-performance extension for QuEST v4, featuring a new data structure, NUMA-aware design, AVX-512 vectorisation, cache blocking, fused multiply-add, prefetching, and loop unrolling
Developed a custom task scheduler with memory placement and core pinning, minimising inter-socket latency
Utilised microarchitectural profilers to identify bottlenecks and iteratively tune performance
Achieved up to 6.5x speedups in quantum circuit benchmarks on multi-socket CPUs (preprint)
Published open-source code (repo). Rigorous benchmarking and integration testing in progress, ensuring reliable performance validation across a range of CPU platforms
Integrating memory tiering (NVMe/CXL), MPI scaling, hybrid CPU-GPU execution, memory compression, and circuit-knitting for enhanced scalability and efficiency
Supervised 4 MSc/PhD researchers on simulator workflows, debugging practices, and core module development
Coordinated delivery across multi-partner teams using Jira and Gantt charts. Led stakeholder-facing reporting (EPSRC, RoaRQ, NQCC, Quantum Motion), feedback cycles, and roadmap planning

TCAD Software Developer - NESS (C++), Device Modelling Group, University of Glasgow, UK — 08/2020 – 12/2023

Extended the NESS TCAD simulator with a scalable NEGF-based quantum transport solver (effective-mass and k.p Hamiltonians) for coupled PDEs (e.g., Poisson–Schrödinger)
Designed algorithms for quantum tunnelling, statistical variability, effective-mass extraction from ab-initio bands
Incorporated ML-accelerated NEGF model, achieving 60% convergence speedup while preserving accuracy
Deployed simulation workflows for NSFETs, FinFETs, planar MOSFETs, and resonant tunnelling diodes. Validated results against IRDS projections using industry-standard TCAD tools
Optimised for HPC with hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallelism, Docker containers, Git migration, CI/CD pipelines, and unit testing
Wrote papers, internal documentation, and user tutorials. Supported proposal writing and technical planning
Managed Agile delivery, and stakeholder reporting for academic–industry collaborations. Coordinated a 10-person team across the codebase and simulation workflows

Ph.D. Candidate, University of Konstanz, Germany — 01/2016 – 12/2019

Investigated quantum transport in proximity-coupled superconductor–ferromagnet hybrid devices. Published 3 peer-reviewed papers, contributing to:
- Triplet Cooper pair generation and control in S/FM spin-valve structures (first theoretical proposal)
- Spin-flip enhanced thermoelectric effects in S/FM junctions (predicted 5x thermopower boost)
- Spin-splitting induced via antiferromagnetic interfaces in superconductors (first non-FM approach)
Coded Fortran solvers for quasiclassical Green’s function methods (Eilenberger/Usadel formalism, Nazarov’s quantum circuit theory), solving coupled PDEs with self-consistent boundary conditions
Teaching Assistant for graduate courses:
- Quantum Field Theory of Nonequilibrium States
- Advanced Quantum Theory and Electrodynamics
- Advanced Condensed Matter Physics

Quantum computing: algorithms, circuit simulation, error correction, and software tooling
Nanoelectronic device modelling: TCAD, NEGF, quantum transport, and condensed matter theory
HPC: parallel programming, architecture-aware optimisation, and scalable CPU/GPU software
Technical leadership: planning, milestone delivery, stakeholder engagement, and cross-functional coordination

Graduated Magna cum laude, Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics – University of Konstanz (Dec 2019)
Certificate of Training, IRTG Nano (SFB 767) – University of Konstanz, Germany (Dec 2019)
Best Scientific Poster Prize, 697th WE-Heraeus-Seminar – Physikzentrum Bad Honnef, Germany (Jun 2019)
Ranked top 0.4% (120 / 30,000+) in the M.Sc. National Physics Entrance Exam – Iran (Sep 2012)

Project Management: Professional Certificate (Google) — Agile/Waterfall, Gantt charts, project lifecycle, Scrum, Kanban, WBS, budgeting, scheduling, RACI, stakeholder coordination
IBM Quantum (Qiskit): Variational Algorithm Design, Quantum Algorithms, Quantum Information
Proficiency in PennyLane (pennyLane.ai) — Basics of quantum programming using PennyLane and hybrid models
Amazon Braket Quantum Application Development (AWS Skill Builder)
Machine Learning (Stanford University): Supervised learning (regression, neural networks, SVMs), unsupervised learning (K-means, PCA, anomaly detection), recommender systems, large-scale ML
Advanced Data Science with IBM Specialization: Scalable Data Science,, Advanced Machine Learning and Signal Processing, Applied AI with Deep Learning
Data Science Professional Certificate (IBM)
Other: SQL for Data Science (UC Davis), Object-Oriented Data Structures in C++ (University of Illinois)