Silicon Photonics Engineer

PsiQuantum’s mission is to build the first useful quantum computers—machines capable of delivering the breakthroughs the field has long promised. Since our founding in 2016, our singular focus has been to build and deploy million-qubit, fault-tolerant quantum systems. 

Quantum computers harness the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems that even the most advanced supercomputers or AI systems will never reach. Their impact will span energy, pharmaceuticals, finance, agriculture, transportation, materials, and other foundational industries. 

Our architecture and approach is based on silicon photonics. By leveraging the advanced semiconductor manufacturing industry—including partners like GlobalFoundries—we use the same high-volume processes that already produce billions of chips for telecom and consumer electronics. Photonics offers natural advantages for scale: photons don’t feel heat, are immune to electromagnetic interference, and integrate with existing cryogenic cooling and standard fiber-optic infrastructure. 

In 2024, PsiQuantum announced government-funded projects to support the build-out of our first utility-scale quantum computers in Brisbane, Australia, and Chicago, Illinois. These initiatives reflect a growing recognition that quantum computing will be strategically and economically defining—and that now is the time to scale. 

PsiQuantum also develops the algorithms and software needed to make these systems commercially valuable. Our application, software, and industry teams work directly with leading Fortune 500 companies—including Lockheed Martin, Mercedes-Benz, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Mitsubishi Chemical—to prepare quantum solutions for real-world impact. 

Quantum computing is not an extension of classical computing. It represents a fundamental shift—and a path to mastering challenges that cannot be solved any other way. The potential is enormous, and we have a clear path to make it real. 

Come join us. 

Job Summary:

We are seeking a creative and hands-on Silicon Photonics Engineer to drive the design and implementation of next-generation photonic integrated circuits. This role spans the full development cycle of silicon photonic devices and subsystems, from device concept generation and electromagnetic simulation to physical layout, tapeout support, and design verification. The ideal candidate is comfortable moving between theoretical modeling and practical implementation, with strong intuition for both photonic device physics and layout realization within foundry process constraints. Particularly, this position is focusing on efforts for complex switching circuit application.

Responsibilities:

• Interacts with device, hardware, and system design teams to assist in overall development of photonic systems and devices.
• Supports foundry tape outs with photonic device design, design of experiments, layout, design verification, PDK development, and software development.