Optical Architect (Design

Optical Architect (Design)

Daresbury, England, United Kingdom;
Palo Alto, California, United States;
Remote

Psi Quantum'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 Global Foundries—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, Psi Quantum 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.

Psi Quantum 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:

Our optical architecture team sits at the interface of hardware development and manufacturing, and the quantum architecture to design the first utility-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer. Its primary mission is to develop and then translate abstract quantum protocols to specifications of hardware systems, including strategies for qubit networking and detailed quantum performance modelling. We are looking for an optical architect to join the team in an individual contributor role that will involve close collaboration with all of Psi Quantum's technical teams with a focus on analysis, evaluation and improvement of architectural design.

Responsibilities:

• Design functionality and determine requirements for quantum optical aspects of the full system architecture.
• Build predictive models and perform analysis of architectural performance across multiple system views.
• Develop methodologies for evaluating implementation concepts and determining their feasibility.
• Work closely with photonics, systems and architecture teams to capture a consistent, data-driven description of the optical system architecture.

Experience/Qualifications:

• Master's degree or equivalent in EE, Physics, Computer Science or related field. PhD with a focus on quantum computation theory or quantum photonics preferred.
• 3+ years of relevant academic or industry research experience in quantum computing or quantum information.
• Knowledge of linear optical quantum computing and quantum optics preferred. Familiarity with error modelling, quantum networks and quantum error-correcting codes strongly preferred.
• Ability to work across domains and collaborate effectively with multi-disciplinary technical teams across sites & timezones.
• Experience programming in Python, C++ or similar languages is desirable.
• Competent use of collaborative software development tools (e.g., Git Hub) is desirable.

Psi Quantum provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. Psi Quantum does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical…