Photonic Design Automation Engineer

PsiQuantum•Palo Alto, CA

About The Position

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. Quantum computing promises to solve many important problems that could never be solved on any conventional computer. At PsiQuantum we’re building a general-purpose silicon photonic quantum computer to tackle these very problems. We are seeking a Photonic Netlist & Design Automation Engineer to own and scale the layout-to-netlist and multi-physics integration flow for our silicon photonics platform. This role sits at the intersection of photonic circuit design, CAD infrastructure, and electromagnetic (EM) modeling, with responsibility for ensuring schematic, layout, and extracted models remain consistent, automatable, and simulation ready. You will be the technical owner of netlist generation, extraction, verification, and automation pipelines enabling reliable photonic IC tape-outs.

Requirements

Bachelors or other advanced degrees in Computer Science or related engineering fields.
MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or related field.
6+ years experience in: Photonic IC design, Analog/mixed-signal CAD/EDA, Custom IC flow automation.
Strong Python scripting skills.
Experience with layout tool (KLayout, Cadence Virtuoso, etc.), EM solver (Lumerical FDTD/MODE, HFSS, CST, Tidy3D), Circuit simulator (SPICE, INTERCONNECT, Caphe, PhotonForge).
Excellent verbal and written communication skills with an ability to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences.
Strong critical thinking, creative, innovative, analytical, and detail-oriented problem-solving skills.
Proven track record of impactful results.
Ability to work independently with limited direction.
Demonstrated ability to lead and juggle multiple priorities and deliver against a schedule.
Demonstrated interest in quantum computing.
Ability to contribute to a fast-paced start-up environment.

Responsibilities

Key member of the software solutions team responsible for developing and deploying software for test systems, product platforms and manufacturing data management.
Define and maintain the photonic netlist methodology.
Develop and maintain photonic and electronic LVS flows.
Generate simulation-ready netlists for circuit/system tools.
Interface with other teams to deliver PIC netlist artifacts that fit into an overall system design.
Ensure accurate extraction of parasitics (optical, electrical, thermal).
Build CI/CD automation pipelines connecting: Layout tools, EM solvers, Circuit simulators.
Develop Python automation for extraction and model generation.
Implement regression testing for netlist consistency.
Improve reproducibility of design-to-simulation workflows.
Collaborate with PDK engineers to maintain model libraries