Photonics Layout Engineer

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. 

That approach has since been tested at the highest level of scrutiny the U.S. government applies to emerging technology, and it has held up. In 2025, PsiQuantum closed a $1 billion funding round that valued the company at $7 billion. In 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce signed a $100 million Letter of Intent under the CHIPS and Science Act, followed by a $125 million agreement with DARPA under Stage C of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, PsiQuantum's most valuable U.S. government agreement to date. This year, we also broke ground on our utility-scale quantum computer in Brisbane, Australia, and continued building out our Chicago site. Victor Peng, our CEO, and co-founder Jeremy O'Brien, now Executive Chairman, lead a team and board that reflects how seriously the world is taking this build, joined this year by Intel's Lip-Bu Tan and Atomico's Niklas Zennström. 

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 Airbus, 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 now have the funding, the government validation, and the sites under construction to make it real. 

Job Summary:

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 looking for an energetic, highly motivated Photonic Layout Engineer who will be responsible for the design, layout, and verification of photonic integrated circuits (PIC) for foundry fabrication.

You will in a high pace environment, working across hardware and design enablement teams to translate photonic designs and process requirements into manufacturable layouts. The role combines hands-on PIC layout with python-based or commercial-based layout tools (GDSFactory, Synopsys, Candence Photonics, etc) with verification and automation.

Responsibilities:

• Prepare and maintain photonic layouts from individual components to complex circuits, using passive and active components.
• Drive foundry tapeouts from implementing layouts to physical verification, including design rule checking (DRC), layout versus schematic (LVS), fill, and density checks.
• Develop and maintain layout infrastructure and automation tools that improve layout quality and workflow efficiency.
• Contribute to PDK development by implementing and validating layout components and design rules.
• Prepare clear, complete documentation and handoff materials for tapeouts.

Experience/Qualifications:

Education

• Master’s degree, PhD, or equivalent in Electrical, Computer Engineering, Material Science, Physics.

Experience

• 2 years of relevant work or academic research experience in integrated photonics and layout.

 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Experience creating layouts for photonic integrated circuits and understanding how photonic components and circuits map to physical layout.
• Experience with one or more photonic layout tools, such as GDSFactory, Synopsys, Cadence, or similar.
• Strong Python programming skills, including experience scripts for layout generation, automation or numerical analysis.
• Experience with collaborative code management tools such as Git.
• Experience with silicon photonic manufacturing processes, foundry design rules, and tapeout workflows.
• Proven team player with an ability to work effectively across departments, sites, time zones.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical and detail oriented problem-solving skills.

[Open to other levels of experience]

PsiQuantum provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. PsiQuantum does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable laws.

Note: PsiQuantum will only reach out to you using an official PsiQuantum email address and will never ask you for bank account information as part of the interview process. Please report any suspicious activity to recruiting@psiquantum.com.

We are not accepting unsolicited resumes from employment agencies.