The transition from quantum research and development to production-grade, fault-tolerant workload execution remains one of the most significant challenges in the industry. While high-level Python frameworks like PennyLane provide an accessible entry point for quantum algorithm design, fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC) relies heavily on classical processing, requiring different classical accelerators and tiers of latency. In particular, real-time quantum error correction (QEC) requires extremely tight, microsecond feedback loops with CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and ASICs.

In this talk, we introduce Backline, a heterogeneous compilation framework built on PennyLane and Catalyst. Backline enables a “one-stop shop” workflow where researchers and developers can write intertwined classical and quantum code in Python and compile it for low-latency execution across CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and QPUs. Write a QEC encoder or decoder from Python (or bring your own!), test it with meaningful quantum algorithms, and immediately deploy it for near-real-time prototyping on actual classical and quantum hardware — while supporting the need to drop through abstractions and write increasingly optimized and low-level code.