Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatuses for augmenting a quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) quantum circuit. Augmenting the quantum circuit may include adding to the quantum circuit one or more encoders (312) configured to perform unitary mapping of one-hot encoding basis states to basis states of a reduced number of qubits padded with one or more padding qubits in the zero computational basis state, mid-circuit measurements, and conditional resets. The mid-circuit measurements may be configured to cause one or more quantum processing units (QPUs) to measure one or more qubits of the augmented quantum circuit in the computational basis state. The one or more conditional resets may be configured to reset the augmented quantum circuit without full execution of a variational loop if one or more mid-circuit measurement results indicate that one or more qubits of the augmented quantum circuit are in an invalid state.