Silicon Photonics Engineer

About the Role

PsiQuantum is 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. This position focuses on efforts for complex switching circuit applications.

PsiQuantum's mission is to build the first useful quantum computers—machines capable of delivering the breakthroughs the field has long promised. Since its founding in 2016, the 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, with impact spanning energy, pharmaceuticals, finance, agriculture, transportation, materials, and other foundational industries. PsiQuantum's architecture is based on silicon photonics, leveraging advanced semiconductor manufacturing through partners like GlobalFoundries, using 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 the first utility-scale quantum computers in Brisbane, Australia, and Chicago, Illinois. PsiQuantum also develops the algorithms and software needed to make these systems commercially valuable, with application, software, and industry teams working directly with leading Fortune 500 companies including Lockheed Martin, Mercedes-Benz, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Mitsubishi Chemical.

Responsibilities

• Interact with device, hardware, and system design teams to assist in overall development of photonic systems and devices.
• Support foundry tape outs with photonic device design, design of experiments, layout, design verification, PDK development, and software development.
• Develop comprehensive documentation for tapeouts.
• Provide multi-disciplinary support to component and systems teams by resolving technical issues associated with components, parts, or systems.
• Apply quantitative analysis in determining root cause of highly technical problems and propose, develop, and implement solutions for corrective action.

Requirements

• PhD or equivalent in Electrical Engineering or Physics.
• 5 years of relevant work or academic research experience in integrated photonics.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong computational and analytical skills applied to photonic device design and performance evaluation.
• In-depth knowledge of photonic devices, including performance metrics and testing techniques.
• Extensive experience with photonic design using commercial software platforms such as the Lumerical simulation suite.
• Photonic layout experience using tools such as IPKISS, gdsfactory, or equivalent.
• Extensive experience with Python for scientific applications and data analysis.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across technical and non-technical teams.

Benefits

This position includes the following benefits: competitive health coverage for you and your dependents, 401(k) with company match, equity grants, access to financial wellness tools and planning resources, wellness benefits, family support programs, life and disability insurance, paid leave programs, company-designated paid holidays, discretionary time off (DTO), and an end-of-year company shutdown. Some of these benefits have eligibility requirements and may vary based on location, role, or employment status. Many of these benefits are subsidized or fully paid for by the company.

Pay

Full-time roles are eligible for equity and benefits. Compensation ranges reflect the cost of labor across multiple U.S. geographic markets, and pay is based on defined geographic zones. Actual compensation may vary outside of these ranges and is dependent on various factors including qualifications, relevant education and training, competencies, experience, geographic location, business needs, and internal equity.

• Zone 1 (Bay Area and NYC): $139,800–$164,300 USD
• Zone 2 (examples: Los Angeles and Washington DC): $125,900–$147,900 USD
• Zone 3 (examples: Austin, Chicago, and Sacramento): $111,800–$131,400 USD
• Zone 4 (examples: Nashville and Phoenix/Tempe, and many remote locations): $97,900–$115,000 USD