Build and Run Real Quantum Circuits
This is a hands-on course for people who want to program quantum computers as well as understand them. Using open-source SDKs, you will build and run real quantum circuits on both simulators and real hardware. You will also practice noise and error mitigation and develop the engineering habits that keep quantum code maintainable. In the final module, you run your own circuit on real quantum hardware.
Course Outline
Module 1 Getting Started with Quantum SDKs
Setting up a quantum development environment. Open-source SDKs and frameworks. Your first quantum circuit. Running on a simulator. Understanding the quantum programming model.
Module 2 Core Algorithms in Practice
Implementing fundamental quantum algorithms. Building circuits for superposition, entanglement, and interference. Implementing Grover’s search and quantum Fourier transform. Understanding what works and what the limitations are.
Module 3 Simulators Versus Hardware
The difference between simulators and real quantum hardware. Accessing real quantum processors through the cloud. Understanding hardware constraints: connectivity, gate fidelity, and coherence time. Mapping circuits to real hardware topologies.
Module 4 Noise and Error Mitigation
Working with noisy quantum hardware. Error mitigation techniques in practice. Measurement error mitigation. Zero-noise extrapolation. Realistic expectations for current hardware results.
Module 5 Engineering Maintainable Quantum Code
Software engineering practices for quantum code. Circuit optimization and transpilation. Testing quantum programs. Building reusable quantum software components. Running your capstone circuit on real hardware.
Prerequisites
Working Python experience helps but is not required. No quantum physics or advanced mathematics background is needed.
Certificate of Completion
Upon completion, you receive a Quantum Academy certificate of completion. It is separate from our professional certifications and states your CPE credits, one for each 60 minutes of teaching. ISC2 counts them as professional development, and other certifying bodies set their own rules. The credits also count toward renewing a Quantum Academy certification. Our CPE credits page explains how to claim them.
Who this course is for
Software developers, data scientists, and technical professionals who want hands-on experience programming quantum computers. Python experience helps but is not required. No quantum physics or advanced math prerequisite.
What you’ll be able to do afterward
- Set up development environments for Qiskit, Cirq, and Amazon Braket
- Build and execute quantum circuits on simulators and real quantum hardware
- Implement fundamental algorithms (Deutsch-Jozsa, Grover’s search, Bernstein-Vazirani)
- Work with variational algorithms (simple VQE) and understand the hybrid quantum-classical loop
- Interpret results from real hardware (noise, errors, statistical analysis of measurement outcomes)
- Evaluate cloud platform capabilities and choose appropriate hardware for specific tasks
What you leave with
When you finish, we email you the course handbook, a PDF of every slide with notes that explain it in full. We also include a PDF copy of Quantum Systems Integration. The handbook is yours to keep.
Enrollment includes 180 days of access to the online on-demand course. Where that course is not yet published, the 180 days start on the day it is.
Where this course fits
Working Python experience helps but is not required. No quantum physics or advanced mathematics background is needed. Quantum Computing Fundamentals helps if the physics is unfamiliar. Building and Operating Quantum Computers covers the hardware underneath, and CQSI Systems Integrator Training leads to the credential.
Why we teach this
The material is based on Quantum Systems Integration, the reference text on quantum computing, networking, and sensing written by the course author. It also draws on faculty who work with quantum engineering and integration teams. We teach what we have had to get right in the field. We focus on the judgment calls you will face in practice, and vendor roadmaps are not part of the course.
About this program
Quantum Academy credentials are private professional credentials issued by Quantum Academy, a trade name of Post-Quantum Institute. They are not government-issued licenses, accredited degrees, or academic credit, and earning one does not guarantee employment, promotion, regulatory approval, or any other specific outcome.
Quantum Academy programs are educational and informational only, and are not legal, compliance, or engineering advice.