Software Engineer, Control & Calibration

Job Description

Job Title: Senior Software Engineer, Control & Calibration. Location: Palo Alto, California, United States

As a Senior Software Engineer in the Control & Calibration team, you will design and implement advanced calibration algorithms, adaptive controls, and scalable software systems that ensure quantum processors run at peak performance 24/7; You will work closely with engineers and scientists across multiple teams to co-design software and hardware interfaces critical to PsiQuantum’s photonic quantum computer.

Responsibilities:

• Architect and implement calibration and adaptive control software in Rust (no-std + async), C++20, and Python.
• Design closed-loop optimization algorithms such as Bayesian methods, stochastic gradient descent, and ADAM to improve system stability under noise and drift.
• Integrate with high-speed fabrics including libfabric, RDMA (RoCEv2/GDR), and FPGA PCIe DMA endpoints;
• Develop scalable simulation and emulation frameworks (Python, Rust, cuQuantum) to test algorithms before deployment.
• Implement observability metrics, traces, and service level objectives (SLOs) for system monitoring;
• Collaborate with physics, validation, firmware, and FPGA teams to define calibration priorities and hardware/software integration.
• Perform rigorous design reviews, code reviews, and root-cause analyses while upholding standards for deterministic, safety-critical software.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• 3+ years in feedback control, calibration, robotics, or real-time systems.
• Strong fluency in Python or Julia for scientific computing, AI/ML, or signal processing.
• Expertise in Rust and/or modern C++ (C++17+);
• Proven experience delivering production-grade systems with ultra-low latency.
• Hands-on experience interfacing with hardware over PCIe, Ethernet, or custom buses.
• Strong knowledge of Linux internals, including interrupts, cgroups, NUMA, and networking;
• Solid foundation in quantum information processing, control theory, optimization, AI, or experimental physics.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related field (or equivalent experience).

Preferred:

• Master’s or Ph.D. in numerical optimization, photonics, control systems, or quantum information.
• Experience with GPU/CUDA acceleration, sub-nanosecond clock-sync protocols, or on-device ML for calibration;
• Knowledge of forward error correction (FEC), quantum error correction (QEC), stabilizer circuits, or fusion-based architectures.
• Contributions to open-source projects in control systems or scientific computing.

Compensation and Benefits:

• U.S. base pay range: $156,000 – $180,000 USD.
• Bay Area base pay range: $185,000 – $205,000 USD.
• Full-time employees are eligible for equity and comprehensive benefits;
• Compensation may vary based on qualifications, location, and business needs.

Additional Information: PsiQuantum is an equal opportunity employer, Only applications from direct candidates will be considered, Official communication will only come from PsiQuantum email addresses.