  In this work, we develop a method to design control pulses for
fixed-frequency superconducting qubits coupled via tunable couplers based on
local control theory, an approach commonly employed to steer chemical
reactions. Local control theory provides an algorithm for the monotonic
population transfer from a selected initial state to a desired final state of a
quantum system through the on-the-fly shaping of an external pulse. The method,
which only requires a unique forward time-propagation of the system
wavefunction, can serve as starting point for additional refinements that lead
to new pulses with improved properties. Among others, we propose an algorithm
for the design of pulses that can transfer population in a reversible manner
between given initial and final states of coupled fixed-frequency
superconducting qubits.
