Integrated Photonics - Devices, Circuits

Job Description

Job Title: Senior Integrated Photonics Engineer - Active Devices and Circuits. Location: Palo Alto, California, USA

Responsibilities:

• Design, simulate, and optimize integrated photonic devices and photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for quantum computing applications.
• Lead photonic tapeouts, including device layout, design of experiments (DOE), circuit design, planning, and coordination with packaging and electronic driver teams.
• Plan and execute automated high-volume testing of photonic devices and circuits.
• Develop new testing methodologies and analytical techniques for photonic components;
• Analyze measurement data and use insights to improve photonic device and circuit performance.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams to build, test, and characterize high-performance photonic chips and integrated assemblies.
• Perform assembly-level characterization involving photonic circuits, PCBs, electronic drivers, and related hardware.
• Work closely with electronics, manufacturing, packaging, testing, and system validation teams.
• Mentor junior engineers and technical staff.
• Participate in project planning and contribute to technical decision-making.

Qualifications:

• Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• PhD with relevant experience in integrated photonics and electro-optic devices is required.
• Three or more years of industry experience in integrated photonics technologies is strongly preferred.
• Deep expertise in passive and active integrated photonic devices, particularly electro-optic phase shifters and modulators.
• Experience working with materials such as thin-film lithium niobate, BTO, doped silicon, InP, GaAs, AlGaAs, or InGaAsP.
• Experience with high-speed photonic devices operating at 10 GHz bandwidth or higher;
• Strong experience designing and modeling photonic and electro-optic components using tools such as Ansys Lumerical, Tidy3D, COMSOL Multiphysics, or Meep.
• Experience with photonic tapeouts and semiconductor foundry processes.
• Experience using photonic layout tools such as IPKISS or GDSFactory.
• Strong knowledge of characterization techniques for passive and active photonic components.
• Experience performing S-parameter measurements, time-domain analysis, and assembly-level characterization.
• Familiarity with laboratory equipment including oscilloscopes, vector network analyzers (VNAs), signal generators, high-speed probes, and RF testing equipment.
• Proficiency in Python and MATLAB.
• Strong data analysis and visualization skills.
• Excellent project planning, communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate effectively with local and remote engineering teams.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of photonic circuit modeling using Lumerical Interconnect or SAX.
• Understanding of RF concepts, signal integrity, and simulation tools such as HFSS and ADS.
• Experience with photonic packaging;
• Knowledge of photonic-electronic interfaces, including electronic drivers and transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs).
• Industry experience developing integrated photonic technologies.
• Previous experience mentoring engineers or technical staff.

Benefits and Compensation:

• U.S. base salary: $150,000 to $185,000 USD per year.
• Bay Area salary: $170,000 to $202,000 USD per year.
• Compensation is based on education, experience, skills, geographic location, and business needs.
• Full-time employees are eligible for equity and company benefits;
• Opportunity to contribute to the development of utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers.
• Work alongside leading experts in quantum computing, silicon photonics, and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other Information:

• This position is based in Palo Alto, California.
• PsiQuantum is building scalable, silicon photonics-based quantum computers capable of reaching one million fault-tolerant qubits.
• The company collaborates with semiconductor manufacturing partners and global industry leaders to develop practical quantum computing solutions.
• Candidates should apply only through official PsiQuantum recruitment channels;
• PsiQuantum will never request banking information during the interview process.
• The company is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants without regard to race, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, age, or any other protected characteristic.
• Unsolicited resumes from recruitment agencies are not accepted.