Staff Software Engineer, Photonics

Entangled Future; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

PsiQuantum is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Photonics in Palo Alto for a lead-level, full-time role in the Engineering team focused on hardware engineering. You will contribute to automated test software, instrument control, and cutting-edge photonics/quantum hardware work, collaborating across software and hardware disciplines.

Remote-friendly within the US, this position supports advancing PsiQuantum’s mission to build fault-tolerant quantum systems and scalable photonics-enabled

Qualifications

• BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or related field with 8+ years of relevant experience (MS with 6+ years, or PhD with 3+ years).
• Strong Python skills, including asynchronous programming.
• Hands-on experience building automated test/measurement software with instrument control (SCPI/VISA/GPIB).
• Working knowledge of electrical, optical, or electro-optical measurement concepts.
• Experience debugging distributed or fleet-scale systems.
• Comfortable working at the boundary between software and hardware.
• Experience with photonics, quantum hardware, or semiconductor/wafer-level test.
• Familiarity with test data platforms and pipelines.

Skills

Python programming

Test/measurement software

Software-hardware boundary

Distributed fleet-scale systems

Photonics/quantum hardware

Test data pipelines

Instrument control

Education

BS degree

MS degree

PhD degree

Tools

SCPI/VISA/GPIB

Job description

Staff Software Engineer, Photonics at PsiQuantum, Palo Alto, California, United States (remote). A lead-level full time position in the Engineering team, listed under hardware engineering.

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: As an integral part of the team dev

Requirements

• BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or related field with 8+ years of relevant experience (MS with 6+ years, or PhD with 3+ years).
• Strong Python skills, including asynchronous programming.
• Hands-on experience building automated test/measurement software with instrument control (SCPI/VISA/GPIB).
• Working knowledge of electrical, optical, or electro-optical measurement concepts.
• Experience debugging distributed or fleet-scale systems.
• Comfortable working at the boundary between software and hardware.
• Experience with photonics, quantum hardware, or semiconductor/wafer-level test.
• Familiarity with test data platforms and pipelines