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ColibriTD
Quantum-powered multiphysics simulation for industry
Last verified August 28, 2026 · Updated daily
What ColibriTD is building
ColibriTD is building the software layer for quantum multiphysics simulation, and its core asset is a single algorithm: H-DES, the Hybrid Differential Equation Solver, a proprietary variational quantum algorithm for solving partial differential equations. Almost every hard industrial simulation problem — fluid dynamics, combustion, heat transfer, materials behaviour — reduces to solving PDEs, which is why they picked that primitive rather than a vertical. On top of H-DES sits QUICK, a hardware-agnostic solver that plugs into existing simulation workflows rather than asking engineers to rewrite them. Hardware-agnostic is meant literally: the platform runs across IBM, AWS Braket, IQM, IonQ and Quobly, which is the correct hedge in a field where nobody knows whose qubits win. The commercially interesting piece is QUICK-PDE, shipped as a Qiskit Function and listed in IBM Quantum's Premium and Flex plan catalogs, meaning it reaches IBM's enterprise quantum customers through IBM's own distribution rather than through a French startup's sales team. The company works through co-construction projects with industrial partners rather than selling a product cold, and has completed seven of them across six sectors: aerospace and defence including radio-frequency design and propulsion combustion modelling, space and climate science, semiconductors, nuclear energy, automotive engineering, and quantitative finance. The team is built to match: roughly 20 people, mostly PhDs, with a scientific council spanning quantum information theory, mathematical physics and optimisation, and an advisory board that includes Ansys Europe's former CTO — a useful signal about which industry they intend to eat into.
Why this matters
Earlybird's Dr. Frédéric Du Bois-Reymond framed the round precisely: 'Hardware may unlock quantum computing, but software determines where its value is created.' Nearly all the capital in quantum has gone into qubits, and the layer that decides whether any of it produces industrial value has been comparatively starved. What separates ColibriTD from the field is that H-DES ran on real quantum hardware rather than a simulator, and QUICK-PDE is sitting in IBM's Qiskit Function Catalog where IBM's enterprise customers can call it. Distribution through IBM's premium catalog is not a partnership press release; it is a credible third party deciding the thing works well enough to list. The seven co-construction projects across aerospace, nuclear, semiconductors, automotive and finance are the other half of the argument. This is a company that has spent six years finding out which industrial PDE problems are actually shaped right for a variational algorithm, which is knowledge you cannot acquire quickly and which becomes extremely valuable the moment the hardware crosses whatever threshold it crosses. Earlybird has now backed them twice, having led the €1M pre-seed before this round.
Open roles at ColibriTD
3 positions we're tracking. Roles are re-checked daily and removed when filled.
Quantum Computing R&D Engineer (Paris, PhD required)
First seen today
CIFRE PhD — Molecular Chemistry, Variational Quantum Algorithms & Molecular Vibrations (Paris)
First seen today
Open applications to jobs@colibritd.com
First seen today
Know when ColibriTD is hiring before anyone else
A role stays uncontested for about four days. Here's the window — and where we put you in it.
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Watching ColibriTD
0 applicantsRole spotted & verified
1You get the alert
1You've applied
~8Hits the job boards
250+Hiring outlook
Recruitment of quantum researchers and domain experts is a named use of the round, and two roles are live on the company's careers page today. Scored just below explicit-scale hiring because the roles are specialist and few, not a broad expansion.
Working at ColibriTD
Founded in , ColibriTD is Quantum-powered multiphysics simulation for industry. They're now <50 people. Working at a Tech company at this stage means broad remit, direct access to founders, and equity that still means something if the company works out.
Most openings are based out of Paris, France.
How to actually get hired at ColibriTD
Why applying the normal way doesn't work
ColibriTD is <50 people. No recruiter, no HR. Your application goes to a founder juggling everything. Cold outreach is how you actually get seen.
Who to contact at ColibriTD
Founding team
Dr. Laurent Guiraud earned a doctorate in atomic physics in 1996 and spent more than 25 years in technology roles across major players, including enterprise work at Google and product ownership and operations leadership of the data platform at BPI France. He co-founded ColibriTD in Paris in 2019, initially as technical director, and now leads it as CEO. His focus is H-DES and the QUICK-PDE solver, which became the first solution to solve partial differential equations on real quantum computers using variational quantum algorithms.
Hacène Goudjil co-founded ColibriTD with Laurent Guiraud in 2019 and oversees strategy, finance and business development, having come from a long career in business development and corporate social responsibility. He co-hosts The Q-Talk, a podcast on the state and trajectory of quantum computing, and is one of the more visible commercial voices in European quantum with an audience of 22,000+ on LinkedIn. He is based in Paris.
What to show them
Write a two-page thesis proposal that a chemist and a quantum algorithms person would both sign: which molecular vibration problem, why classical methods run out on it specifically, and what a variational treatment would have to achieve to matter. A CIFRE places you between an industrial sponsor and an academic lab, so demonstrating you can hold both framings at once is the actual selection criterion.
A cold email that works at ColibriTD
What ColibriTD screens for
Earlybird leading twice, from €1M pre-seed to a €4M seed, is a fund compounding conviction rather than a new investor being persuaded, and the thesis they stated is explicitly software-over-hardware. The IBM Qiskit catalog listing is the distribution moat and the reason this is a real company rather than a research group. For a candidate, the arithmetic is unusually favourable: about 20 people, majority PhDs, and two open roles in Paris means the person hired is not joining a quantum team, they are meaningfully enlarging one. If you have a PhD in a physics or chemistry domain and can write real code, the pool of people who can do both is small enough that you should simply email jobs@colibritd.com even if neither posted role fits.
Customize your CV for the ColibriTD role. Matching the job description language helps clear ATS filters.
Don't make these mistakes
Laurent took a doctorate in atomic physics in 1996 and then spent 25 years in product and platform roles at Google, AWS and BPI France before starting this. He has therefore heard the quantum-will-change-everything speech from every direction, including from people selling him cloud. Generic quantum enthusiasm is worse than useless with him; what he is short of is people who understand a specific industrial PDE deeply enough to know whether it is shaped right for a variational algorithm. Bring a domain, not a technology. And do not pitch hardware allegiance: the entire platform is deliberately hardware-agnostic across five backends, so arguing that trapped ions or superconducting qubits will win misreads the strategy. Hacène runs operations, strategy and finance and co-hosts a quantum podcast, so with him a pitch that cannot survive contact with a commercial question will not survive.
Mistakes that kill ColibriTD applications
Generic CVs stand out at a <50-person company — and not in a good way. Fastest path to rejection.
Don't open with what you want. Open with what ColibriTD is dealing with right now — Earlybird's Dr, and what you'd do about it.
The wait-and-hope strategy fails. Follow up on day five — response rates roughly double.
Applying to ColibriTD? Get the contact, not the form.
The ColibriTD interview process
3 stages · 7 days typical · take-home: no · modelled from similar companies
We don't yet have verified candidate reports for ColibriTD. What follows is the typical process for a <50-person Tech company — treat it as a model, not confirmed detail.
Interview stages
Intro Call
Video call · 30 min
Culture fit and role expectations
Founder or hiring manager
Technical Deep Dive
Video call or in-person · 60 min
Past projects and problem-solving approach
Technical founder or lead
Final Round
In-person or video · 45 min
Team fit and offer discussion
Founding team
ColibriTD interview timeline
Timeline: ~ days. That's faster than the Tech median (10 days at <50 people).
Interviewed at ColibriTD?
Tell us how it went — stages, questions, timeline. Takes 90 seconds and it's how this page stays accurate for the next person.
Submit your ColibriTD interview experience →ColibriTD jobs, frequently asked questions
How many jobs does ColibriTD have open?
3 open roles at ColibriTD, last checked August 2026.
Does ColibriTD hire remotely?
No remote roles right now — all positions are in Paris, France.
What roles is ColibriTD hiring for?
ColibriTD is hiring across Engineering, Other. The most recent opening is Quantum Computing R&D Engineer (Paris, PhD required).
How do I apply for a job at ColibriTD?
Use the apply links above, or check our guide to getting hired at ColibriTD.
Does ColibriTD respond to cold emails?
Response rate data for ColibriTD not yet confirmed.
Who is the hiring manager at ColibriTD?
At this size, hiring is usually run by a founder or department head.
How competitive is it to get hired at ColibriTD?
Typical applicant count for Tech roles (<50 people): 50-100 in two weeks. Apply fast.
How many rounds is the ColibriTD interview?
3 stages: Intro Call, Technical Deep Dive, Final Round.
Is the ColibriTD interview hard?
Focus on relevant experience and culture fit, not puzzles. Final Round is reportedly the most challenging round.
Does ColibriTD give a take-home task?
No, ColibriTD does not include a take-home stage.
How long does ColibriTD take to get back to you?
Around 7 days across the full process.
What should I prepare for the ColibriTD interview?
Focus on relevant experience and culture fit. At <50 people, they're testing whether you can operate without process, not whether you memorised algorithms.
Where is ColibriTD based?
ColibriTD is headquartered in Paris, France.
Get ColibriTD roles before they're posted
A role stays uncontested for about four days. Here's the window — and where we put you in it.
From $9/month, cancel any time.
Watching ColibriTD
0 applicantsRole spotted & verified
1You get the alert
1You've applied
~8Hits the job boards
250+