Senior Mechanical Engineer, Photonic Systems

PsiQuantum; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

PsiQuantum in Palo Alto, CA is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer for Photonic Systems. This senior, full-time role sits within the Engineering team and focuses on optomechanical design, packaging, and production-scale readiness.

You will collaborate across engineering, operations, quality, and suppliers to deliver robust photonics packaging solutions, while evaluating design trade-offs and ensuring schedule and quality targets are met in a fast-moving productization environment.

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree or above in Mechanical Engineering, Optomechanical Engineering, Packaging Engineering, or a relevant discipline.

Responsibilities

• Communicate across engineering, operations, quality, and supplier teams.
• Manage subcontractors and coordinate with suppliers.
• Support production scale-up and manufacturing partners.

Skills

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Collaboration

Delivery focus

Subcontractor management

Independent judgment

Education

Master’s Degree or above in Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Senior Mechanical Engineer, Photonic Systems at PsiQuantum, Palo Alto, California, United States (remote). A senior-level full time position in the Engineering team, listed under business operations.

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: The Senior Mechanical Design Engine

Requirements

• Strong communication & interpersonal skills across engineering, operations, quality, and supplier teams.
• Willingness to support colleagues and external partners to achieve schedule, quality, and build-readiness objectives.
• Exercises independent judgement in resolving design, interface, and manufacturability tradeoffs.
• Continuous learning mindset with interest in photonics packaging, process development, and production scale-up.
• Execution of deliverables against schedule & quality targets in a fast‑moving productization environment.
• Experience with subcontractor management, supplier technical coordination, and manufacturing partner support.
• Master’s Degree or above in Mechanical Engineering, Optomechanical Engineering, Packaging Engineering, or a relevant discipline.
• 5 years of experience, with a focus on optomechanical design, optoelectronic packaging, photonics packaging, or precision mechanical systems.