Senior Engineer, System Automation (Device Interfaces)

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. Job Summary: At PsiQuantum, we are developing prototype modules that will scale into a datacenter-sized, fault-tolerant quantum computer. These systems depend on photonic and electro-optic devices whose capabilities must be exposed reliably through firmware, Python APIs, hardware abstraction layers, and control software. This role owns the system-level translation layer between device capabilities and the automation workflows that use them. The engineer will define device interface requirements, support modelling and control-stack integration, and partner with firmware engineers to migrate performance-sensitive functionality into firmware. Role Overview Define, validate, and integrate device interfaces for photonic/electro-optic systems, with a focus on enabling scalable calibration, automation, monitoring, modelling, and control workflows. Why is this role unique? This role shapes how in-house hardware capabilities are exposed and used across the system. It requires actively driving device interfaces from system needs through implementation, validation, and integration, all while working across hardware, firmware, software, system design, and test teams. What success looks like? Success in this role means: Clear device interface requirements tied to real system use cases. Python-accessible interfaces that integrate cleanly through the hardware abstraction layer and control stack. Better system bring-up, debugging, and integration confidence. Improved system automation by migrating more complex functionality into firmware. Over time, this work establishes scalable device interface patterns for reliable automation and repeatable, performant calibration workflows. Responsibilities: Device Interface Requirements & System Use Case Own and drive device interface requirements for photonic/electro-optic devices and related in-house hardware. Consolidate inputs from device design, calibration, automation, software, firmware, and integration teams. Translate system-level automation and calibration needs into firmware and