Assessing the Elephant in the Room in Scheduling for Current Hybrid HPC-QC Clusters

Abstract: Quantum computing resources are among the most promising candidates for extending the computational capabilities of High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems. As a result, HPC-quantum integration has become an increasingly active area of research. While much of the existing literature has focused on software stack integration and quantum circuit compilation, key challenges such as hybrid resource allocation and job scheduling-especially relevant in the current Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum era-have received less attention. In this work, we highlight these critical issues in the context of integrating quantum computers with operational HPC environments, taking into account the current maturity and heterogeneity of quantum technologies. We then propose a set of conceptual strategies aimed at addressing these challenges and paving the way for practical HPC-QC integration in the near future.