R&D Engineer – Exploratory Technologies

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: 

We are looking for an exceptional experimental research engineer or physicist with hands-on experience working with single-photon emitters to join our R&D team. In the role you will operate, and assess the performance of, single photon emitters when they are interfaced with photonic integrated circuits, fast optical switching and single photon detectors. You will collaborate with a diverse team of expertise. The role joins the exploratory technologies division, as part of the company’s future-orientated R&D and it is located at PsiQuantum’s experimental R&D effort at Daresbury in the northwest of the UK. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and career paths who are excited to work in a fast-evolving interdisciplinary environment to build useful quantum computers.

Responsibilities:

• Technical individual contribution
  • Perform systems characterization of photon sources
  • Data analysis
  • Model experimental performance and compare to measured data
  • Collaborate with colleagues in integrating experimental modules into increasingly complex modular experiments
  • Design high performance experimental setups
  • Build and maintain neat & professional high performance experimental setups
  • Work with operations colleagues to efficiently procure necessary consumables and capital equipment, with appropriate forecasting of experimental needs to mitigate delivery lead times
  • Participate in the authoring of technical reports — ranging from concise to exhaustive in full detail
• Technical leadership
  • Anticipate testing and operational needs for team learnings of single photon emitters
  • Maintain a clear up to date list of priorities
  • Facilitate IP protection
• Personnel
  • Participate in hiring to fill open positions in the team
• Project leadership
  • Track mission progress
  • Contribute to project planning
  • Budget for experimental builds
  • Attend project meetings
• Cross-team interaction
  • Keep a strong communication with other teams related to your work

Experience/Qualifications: 

• Minimum PhD level experience in experimental quantum optics.
• 2+ years of relevant hands-on experimental work in quantum optics & light matter interaction.
  • Proven skill in characterization of quantum light sources (e.g. atom-cavity or colour centres or semiconductor quantum dots or similar) and optimizing their performance
  • Proven skill in planning and conducting quantum optics experiments
  • Proven skill in modelling experiments and analyzing data — ideally in Python/Mathematica
  • Experience leading technical projects
  • Experience working with cryogenics
• Proven skill in Applied Physics.
• Experience working with leading edge technologies, including custom/one-off/protype equipment built by third parties.
• Experience working with external parties (vendors, collaborators etc) to expedite achieving technical results.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Subject Matter Expertise
  • Imaging, microscopy, spectroscopy, fibre optics
  • Laser optics (physics, operation and safety), work with pulsed lasers
  • Single photon measurements, statistics, coincidences, correlation
  • Quantum optics theory — light matter interaction
  • Operation of cryogenic equipment and handling cryogens (e.g. liquid nitrogen)
• Core skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Experimental confidence
  • Flexibility to change
  • Deduction
  • Prioritization
  • Commitment to only deliver high quality work

• Performance in team environment:
• Open listening
• Curiosity
• Openness to share and ask for advice
• Learning while collaborating
• Fast learning
• Assisting colleagues to gain knowledge
• Leadership:
• Drive to engage others
• Delegation
• Planning and Organization:
• High level picture
• Focus on getting things closed
• People Management:
• Empathy
• Ability to ask useful questions
• Interpersonal Skills / Communications
• Ability to explain clearly
• Proven skill in efficient technical presentation to colleagues
• Project management
• Commitment to deliver on time

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.

We are not accepting unsolicited resumes from employment agencies.