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Staff Software Engineer

PSI Quantum
$190,000-$215,000 USD
United States, California, Palo Alto
700 Hansen Way (Show on map)
Nov 21, 2025

Quantum computing holds the promise of humanity's mastery over the natural world, but only if we can build a real quantum computer. PsiQuantum is on a mission to build the first real, useful quantum computers, capable of delivering the world-changing applications that the technology has long promised. We know that means we will need to build a system with roughly 1 million qubits that supports fault tolerant error correction within a scalable architecture, and a data center footprint.

By harnessing the laws of quantum physics, quantum computers can provide exponential performance increases over today's most powerful supercomputers, offering the potential for extraordinary advances across a broad range of industries including climate, energy, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, finance, agriculture, transportation, materials design, and many more.

PsiQuantum has determined the fastest path to delivering a useful quantum computer, years earlier than the rest of the industry. Our architecture is based on silicon photonics which gives us the ability to produce our components at Tier-1 semiconductor fabs such as GlobalFoundries where we leverage high-volume semiconductor manufacturing processes, the same processes that are already producing billions of chips for telecom and consumer electronics applications. We also benefit from the quantum mechanics reality that photons don't feel heat or electromagnetic interference, allowing us to take advantage of existing cryogenic cooling systems and industry standard fiber connectivity.

In 2024, PsiQuantum announced two government-funded projects to support the build-out of our first Quantum Data Centers and utility-scale quantum computers in Brisbane, Australia and Chicago, Illinois. Both projects are backed by nations that understand quantum computing's potential impact and the need to scale this technology to unlock that potential. And we won't just be building the hardware, but also the fault tolerant quantum applications that will provide industry-transforming results.

Quantum computing is not just an evolution of the decades-old advancement in compute power. It provides the key to mastering our future, not merely discovering it. The potential is enormous, and we have the plan to make it real. Come join us.

There's much more work to be done and we are looking for exceptional talent to join us on this extraordinary journey!

Job Summary:

The Quantum Architecture Software Team atPsiQuantumbuilds the core software and data systems that underpin the study and simulation of quantum computer architectures.Quantum architects research and develop architectures for fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers, in particular methods for entanglement generation and error correction.The Quantum Architecture Software Team builds and supports the internal software platforms that enable these efforts-developing andmaintainingsimulation frameworks, data systems, and computational tools used to evaluate and explore architectural concepts.


We are seeking aFull-StackPlatformLeadtoown the design, implementation, and evolution of the backend and web systems that underpin the Quantum Architecture (QA) platform. This role blends deep software engineeringexpertisein Python, distributed systems, and web architecture, with the ability to design clean interfaces and build robust, composable infrastructure for scientific and computational workflows.


You'llwork directly with physicists, software engineers, and researchers to turn computational ideas into sustainable, high-value software systems that drive the simulation and exploration of quantum architectures.


Responsibilities



  • Architect and implement the QA platform's backend services and APIs using modern Python web frameworks (e.g.,FastAPI, Flask, Django, or equivalent), ensuring clean interface boundaries and maintainable abstractions.


  • Design and evolve Python-based pipelines that manage data, computation, and integration with research and simulation systems-focusing on reliability, composability, and debuggability.


  • Develop modular service interfaces for data access, configuration, and workflow orchestration, ensuring alignment between backend systems and frontend or computational clients.


  • Establish infrastructure-as-code foundations using Terraform, managing multi-environment deployments and scaling across AWS services (EC2, S3, EKS, IAM, CloudWatch, etc.).


  • Own schema design, indexing strategies, and performance optimization fordatabasebackends (e.g.,Postgres, MySQL, and MongoDB).


  • Implement distributed caching, task orchestration, and stateful compute components using Redis orValkeyto support low-latency data and job pipelines.


  • Integrate and manage authentication and authorization layers (OAuth2, OIDC, SSO, IAM roles), ensuring secure, policy-driven service interactions.


  • Define and enforce rigorous SDLC and engineering hygiene-type-checked Python (e.g.,mypy,pydantic), comprehensive testing, CI/CD pipelines, and reproducible environments.


  • Develop internal developer tooling and interfaces (CLI utilities, REST/gRPCendpoints, Python client libraries) to enable high-velocity platform development.


  • Lead API versioning, schema evolution, and documentation standards across backend systems.


  • Design, implement, andmaintainboth backend and frontend components of the QA platform-owning the full stack fromUIto Python APIs and data layers, ensuring clean, well-specified, and performant interfaces across the system.


  • Implement observability frameworks-structured logging, metrics, and distributed tracing-to ensure operational insight and performance analysis across services.


  • Mentor engineers in platform design, Python performance optimization, and large-scale system composition.


Experience/Qualifications (list experience and qualifications needed for the position)



  • 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with extensive backend and platform designexpertise.
  • Expertproficiencyin Python, including asynchronous programming, typing, dependency management, packaging, and performance profiling.


  • Hands-on experience with modern web frameworks (FastAPI, Flask, Django) and Python-based interface patterns (pydanticmodels, dependency injection, API schemas).


  • Deep familiarity with pipeline design patterns-task orchestration, async workflows, and dataflow systems-built in Python or hybrid stacks.


  • Strong command of AWS services (EC2, EKS, S3, IAM, CloudWatch, Lambda) and infrastructure automation via Terraform.


  • Proficiencywith databases (Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB), schema design, migrations, and query optimization.


  • Experience designing andmaintainingcaching andstatesystems (Redis,Valkey) for scalable backend workloads.


  • Deep understanding of auth(c/z), secrets management, and service-to-service identity mechanisms.


  • Strong SDLC discipline-CI/CD (GitLab, GitHub Actions), static analysis, code review automation, and test-driven development.


  • Experience designing internal APIs, Python client SDKs, and developer-facing tools with strong focus on usability and maintainability.


  • Working knowledge of frontend integration (React, TypeScript) and REST/gRPCcontract management.


  • Operational familiarity with observability and profiling tools (Prometheus, Grafana,OpenTelemetry,cProfile,py-spy, Perf).


  • Ability to design for long-term maintainability-balancing low-level optimization with clean architectural separation and stable interfaces.


  • Familiarity with HPC environments andSlurm-based job orchestrationis preferred


  • Experience in scientific computing, simulation, or high-performance data environmentsis preferred


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.

The ranges below reflect the target ranges for a new hire base salary. One is for the Bay Area (within 50 miles of HQ, Palo Alto), the second one (if applicable) is for elsewhere in the US (beyond 50 miles of HQ, Palo Alto). If there is only one range, it is for the specific location of where the position will be located. Actual compensation may vary outside of these ranges and is dependent on various factors including but not limited to a candidate's qualifications including relevant education and training, competencies, experience, geographic location, and business needs. Base pay is only one part of the total compensation package. Full time roles are eligible for equity and benefits. Base pay is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

U.S. Base Pay Range
$190,000 $215,000 USD
Bay Area Pay Range
$220,000 $245,000 USD
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