Staff Software Engineer, Photonics Test Automation

PsiQuantum

Palo Alto (CA)

On-site

USD 236,000 - 277,000

Full time

8 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with company match

Equity grants

Paid time off

Company holidays

Discretionary time off

Job summary

PsiQuantum in Palo Alto is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to own the software that drives automated testing, calibration, and data acquisition across our electro-optical test stations. You will design measurement methods, build instrument-control layers, and work with hardware teams to translate new test station designs into robust automation.

Strong Python skills and hands-on experience with SCPI/VISA/GPIB are essential, along with debugging fleet-scale systems at the software/ hardware

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

Responsibilities

Own and extend the test-sequencing software (measurement methods, sequencer logic, instrument drivers) used across the electro-optical test fleet, from prototype through production scale.
Design and implement automated measurement methods for electrical, optical, and electro-optical characterization (e.g. spectrum sweeps, IV sweeps, automated optical alignment) across multi-instrument control chains.
Build and maintain instrument control layers (SCPI/VISA-based drivers) for lab and production instrumentation.
Diagnose and fix fleet-wide test-sequencing issues throughput regressions, alignment/movement bugs, timing anomalies from logs, dashboards, and measurement data.
Design failure handling so real hardware/measurement failures surface clearly instead of shipping bad data silently.
Partner with the hardware test automation team to translate new test station designs into automated test and calibration procedures.