Project Management Industrial Placement

Cambridge, UK | Full-time | Fixed-term, 12.5 months | Hybrid

Salary: £27,000.00 per annum, depending on experience

About us 

Riverlane’s mission is to master quantum error correction (QEC) and unlock a new age of human progress. From advances in material and climate science, to complex chemistry simulation for new drug design, quantum computers will help humanity solve some of its most important challenges. But without QEC, the industry’s defining technical challenge, such breakthroughs can never be achieved.  Riverlane is the world leader in QEC technology. QEC is a complex problem that requires a range of skills, talent and passion.  

Having raised more than $125M in funding to date to accelerate our cutting-edge R&D in quantum error correction (QEC), Riverlane partners with many of the world’s leading quantum hardware providers and government agencies to make fault-tolerant quantum computing a reality. We’re making remarkable progress and growing fast.  

About the role 

Riverlane's Project Management Office (PMO) is looking for two placement students to join for a 12.5 month internship. This isn't a shadowing or support role — you'll own real workstreams from day one, giving you genuine responsibility and a structured platform to build your project management, stakeholder management, and operational skills early in your career, while helping the PMO team scale its impact across the business. 

You'll work across a mix of internal event coordination, knowledge management, PMO tooling and process improvement, and cross-functional operations support, partnering with teams across the business including Engineering, Science, Finance, and Operations. You'll have the chance to shape how these programmes run and bring your own ideas to the table. 

What you will do

• Support internal communications and the coordination of company events, keeping teams informed, aligned, and engaged across the business 

• Drive cross-team collaboration, acting as a point of contact who gathers updates, aligns priorities, and keeps work moving smoothly between teams 

• Build knowledge sharing resources that help people across the company, and new starters in particular, get up to speed quickly 

• Improve how the PMO works, owning tools, templates, and processes and bringing your own ideas to shape how they run 

• Take a hands-on approach to problem-solving, spotting what’s getting in the way and finding practical fixes rather than waiting to be told 

What we need  

• Currently on a university course with a sandwich year placement requirement 

• Strong organisational skills, comfort managing multiple workstreams at once and an interest in finding creative solutions to complex problems 

• Confident communicator, comfortable acting as a point of contact across teams and with external vendors 

• Proactive and happy to take ownership rather than just supporting existing projects 

• Interest in project management, operations, or process improvement 

• Experience of using databases and Microsoft Office is beneficial, but not essential 

What you’ll gain 

• Real ownership of business-critical PMO initiatives, not observation or admin support 

• Exposure to teams and functions across the whole company, not just the PMO 

• Hands-on experience with the tools and processes that run a scaling deep-tech company 

• A structured, mentored placement with clear support and a defined line of reporting 

• A strong foundation for a future career in project management, change management or operations 

Important notes

• You must already have the right to work in the UK for the full duration of the placement.

• You must be available to work full-time for 12.5 months.

• You will be required to sign an agreement assigning ownership of any intellectual property produced during your placement to Riverlane.

• Placements are based at our head office in Cambridge, UK. 

How to apply

Please upload a CV and covering letter. Your covering letter should explain why you are interested in the PMO placement and what skills and experience you would bring to the role.

Application Deadline & Selection Process

Please submit your application by Friday 6 November 2026.

An assessment day will be held at our headquarters in Cambridge, UK, on Thursday 21 January 2027. Please keep this date available.

If you have any queries, please contact jobs@riverlane.com. Please do not send your applications to this email address, all applications should be submitted via our careers page.

Everyone is welcome at Riverlane. We are an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from eligible and suitably qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender reassignment, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity/paternity. 

Women and other underrepresented groups may be less likely to apply for a role unless they meet all or nearly all of the requirements.  If this applies to you, we still encourage you to apply - you may be a great fit, even if you don’t meet every single qualification. We’d love to hear from you. 

If you need any adjustments made to the application or selection process so you can do your best, please let us know. We will be happy to help. 

GDPR notice: Riverlane collects and processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws. If you are a European Job Applicant see the privacy notice for further details.