PIC Characterization Engineer

PsiQuantum•Palo Alto, CA

7h•$110,000 - $175,000

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.

Requirements

Ph.D. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, or related field.
3+ years of experience in photonic characterization or integrated photonics development.
Hands-on experience with optical lab equipment such as tunable lasers, OSAs, power meters, scopes, and probe stations.
Experience characterizing active photonic and electro-photonic systems.
Strong test automation and data analysis skills using Python.
Familiarity with calibration methods, thermal tuning, and photonic control systems.
Strong debugging and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

Perform optical and electro-photonic characterization of PICs and photonic sub-assemblies.
Develop automated test frameworks for validation, calibration, and data collection.
Characterize active photonic devices including switches, modulators, heaters, and monitor photodiodes.
Analyze metrics including insertion loss, crosstalk, switching speed, bandwidth, and power consumption.
Work with photonic designers to correlate silicon results with simulations and improve designs.
Support hardware bring-up, debugging, and failure analysis.
Document test procedures and summarize technical results for cross-functional teams.