
Will Shanks contributed to Qiskit and Qiskit IBM Runtime by delivering targeted backend and performance improvements over five months. He enhanced simulator reliability in Qiskit by resolving deep-copy issues in configuration handling, and improved local testing realism and backend data consistency in Qiskit IBM Runtime through API integration and expanded test coverage. Will addressed error handling for quantum gate validation and refined TimeUnitConversion logic to support SI-only delays, reducing runtime issues. He also optimized dependency management and serialization performance using Python and YAML, introducing lazy import patterns and cross-repository enhancements. His work demonstrated depth in backend development and quantum computing workflows.
January 2026 performance-focused delivery across two repositories: Qiskit/qiskit-ibm-runtime and conda-forge/admin-requests. Key improvements include lazy import optimization for optional dependencies (qiskit_aer and scipy) to speed up module load and JSON serialization paths, with LazyImportTester introduced to validate import behavior. Added a new output mapping for the requests-ntlm feedstock to improve integration within the conda ecosystem. No blocking bugs reported; minor typo fixes were completed as part of the optimization work. Overall impact emphasizes faster startup and serialization paths, better dependency management, and smoother packaging workflows. Technologies demonstrated include Python lazy loading patterns, JSON serialization handling, automated testing, and cross-repo collaboration to drive business value.
January 2026 performance-focused delivery across two repositories: Qiskit/qiskit-ibm-runtime and conda-forge/admin-requests. Key improvements include lazy import optimization for optional dependencies (qiskit_aer and scipy) to speed up module load and JSON serialization paths, with LazyImportTester introduced to validate import behavior. Added a new output mapping for the requests-ntlm feedstock to improve integration within the conda ecosystem. No blocking bugs reported; minor typo fixes were completed as part of the optimization work. Overall impact emphasizes faster startup and serialization paths, better dependency management, and smoother packaging workflows. Technologies demonstrated include Python lazy loading patterns, JSON serialization handling, automated testing, and cross-repo collaboration to drive business value.
June 2025 — Qiskit IBM Runtime: Improved rzz gate error messaging to clarify that out-of-range angle values are user-provided input, not backend errors; updated release notes. This improves user guidance, reduces support tickets, and aligns validation behavior with user expectations. Linked to issue #2276; commit df98508f5080ee244c5887a102fbde1beb7cfc63.
June 2025 — Qiskit IBM Runtime: Improved rzz gate error messaging to clarify that out-of-range angle values are user-provided input, not backend errors; updated release notes. This improves user guidance, reduces support tickets, and aligns validation behavior with user expectations. Linked to issue #2276; commit df98508f5080ee244c5887a102fbde1beb7cfc63.
March 2025: Delivered a focused bug fix in Qiskit/qiskit to improve TimeUnitConversion handling for SI-only delays, enhancing backend compatibility and circuit portability. The change ensures that circuits using only SI units pass through the conversion process without error, while maintaining the rule against mixing SI and dt units when dt is not explicitly set. This reduces runtime issues with simulators like AerSimulator that do not provide a dt value and strengthens the reliability of delay unit handling across backends.
March 2025: Delivered a focused bug fix in Qiskit/qiskit to improve TimeUnitConversion handling for SI-only delays, enhancing backend compatibility and circuit portability. The change ensures that circuits using only SI units pass through the conversion process without error, while maintaining the rule against mixing SI and dt units when dt is not explicitly set. This reduces runtime issues with simulators like AerSimulator that do not provide a dt value and strengthens the reliability of delay unit handling across backends.
November 2024 (Qiskit/qiskit-ibm-runtime): Delivered two critical changes to improve local testing realism and backend data consistency. Local testing enhancements expand BackendSamplerV2 test coverage by supporting noise models and level 1 data, translating execution.meas_type into run_options for more representative local runs. Additionally, data loading stability was improved by applying fractional gate filtering earlier in the API processing, ensuring consistency between backend configuration, properties, and target.
November 2024 (Qiskit/qiskit-ibm-runtime): Delivered two critical changes to improve local testing realism and backend data consistency. Local testing enhancements expand BackendSamplerV2 test coverage by supporting noise models and level 1 data, translating execution.meas_type into run_options for more representative local runs. Additionally, data loading stability was improved by applying fractional gate filtering earlier in the API processing, ensuring consistency between backend configuration, properties, and target.
Month: 2024-10 — Focused on reliability and robustness for the Qiskit BasicSimulator. Implemented a deep-copy fix by converting basis_gates from dict_keys to list, resolving deep-copy failures and improving reproducibility of simulator configurations. This reduces downstream debugging time and strengthens configuration stability for simulation workflows.
Month: 2024-10 — Focused on reliability and robustness for the Qiskit BasicSimulator. Implemented a deep-copy fix by converting basis_gates from dict_keys to list, resolving deep-copy failures and improving reproducibility of simulator configurations. This reduces downstream debugging time and strengthens configuration stability for simulation workflows.

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