We are seeking a Principal/Lead Photonics Design Engineer at our Malta, NY location
All applicants for placement in safety-sensitive positions will be required to submit to a pre-employment drug test.
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Key Responsibilities:
- Provide technical leadership over the integrated photonics design efforts for development of ion traps on 300mm wafers
- Interact closely with our wafer fabrication partner(s) on photonic integration and fabrication process topics
- Participate in a team of physicists and optical engineers supporting the development of commercial and research systems for quantum computing
- Design and develop integrated photonic components and systems in novel ways to deliver and manipulate light across the spectrum
- Collaborate across disciplines (architecture, physics, photonics, fabrication, mechanical engineering) to define systems and requirements to support quantum computing and demonstrate systems meeting performance requirements
- Gather technical requirements, turn them into action plans, and ensure the components and systems meet the requirements
- Design novel integrated photonic components to meet challenging specifications
- Design and layout test PICs and work closely with fabrication and test teams to validate photonic component performance
- Lead and work with PIC development team and external vendors to ensure timely development and delivery of key demonstrators
YOU MUST HAVE:
- PhD Degree minimum
- Minimum 8+ years of experience (advanced degree inclusive) with photonic integrated circuits (PIC) design using photonic simulation tools (Lumerical, RSoft, or similar guided mode and FDTD solvers) and layout tools (Klayout, GDSFactory, or similar)
- Direct experience working within or in partnership with advanced wafer fabrication facilities
- Due to Contractual requirements, must be a U.S. Person. defined as, U.S. citizen permanent resident or green card holder, workers granted asylum or refugee status
- Due to national security requirements imposed by the U.S. Government, candidates for this position must not be a People's Republic of China national or Russian national unless the candidate is also a U.S. citizen.
WE VALUE:
- PhD Degree minimum (in Optics, Photonics, Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field)
- Technical leadership experience in integrated photonics
- Technical familiarity with quantum computing technologies
- Experience with semiconductor and/or photonics packaging techniques
- Experience with design-for-manufacturing and new product introduction
- Experience with photonics fabrication processes and metrology
- Experience with materials used in visible photonics circuits and optics
- Experience in product development regarding photonic design, fabrication and/or packaging of PIC systems
- Experience working with cross-disciplinary teams (architecture, physics, fabrication, mechanical engineering, photonics) to develop solutions
- Experience leading and mentoring small teams
- Broad understanding of optical principles and practices and experience applying this knowledge to projects
- Programming experience in Matlab, Python, C
- Experience with testing and data analysis (taking, plotting, analyzing, fitting and interpreting relevant data from optical testing experiments)
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$192,000 - $240,000 a year
Compensation & Benefits:
Incentive Eligible – Range posted is inclusive of bonus target.
The pay range for this role is $192,000 – $240,000 annually. Actual compensation within this range may vary based on the candidate’s skills, educational background, professional experience, and unique qualifications for the role.
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Quantinuum is the world leader in quantum computing. The company’s quantum systems deliver the highest performance across all industry benchmarks. Quantinuum’s over 650 employees, including 400+ scientists and engineers, across the US, UK, Germany, and Japan, are driving the quantum computing revolution.
By uniting best-in-class software with high-fidelity hardware, our integrated full-stack approach is accelerating the path to practical quantum computing and scaling its impact across multiple industries.
By joining Quantinuum, you’ll be at the forefront of this transformative revolution, shaping the future of quantum computing, pushing the limits of technology, and making the impossible possible.
What’s in it for you?
A competitive salary and innovative, game-changing work
Flexible work schedule
Employer subsidized health, dental, and vision insurance
401(k) match for student loan repayment benefit
Equity, 401k retirement savings plan + 12 Paid holidays and generous vacation + sick time
Paid parental leave
Employee discounts
Quantinuum is an equal opportunity employer. You will be considered without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, sex, or veteran status. Know Your Rights: Workplace discrimination is illegal
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis, there is no application deadline for this position.
TECHNICAL & MARKET ANALYSIS | Appended by Quantum.Jobs
The integration of high-performance photonic architectures is a structural prerequisite for the transition from laboratory-scale experiments to industrial-grade trapped ion quantum computers. Principal Photonics Design Engineers serve as the critical link between semiconductor fabrication capabilities and quantum system scalability, ensuring that complex optical control mechanisms are translated into reproducible, wafer-scale designs. As the sector moves toward deeper integration, the necessity for roles that can synchronize photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design with the rigorous demands of quantum state manipulation is highlighted by the Quantum Economic Development Consortium and global deep-tech roadmaps. This function secures the hardware enablement layer, directly influencing the speed at which fault-tolerant quantum systems can be commercially deployed. By mitigating the "interconnect bottleneck" through advanced integrated optics, this role type provides the high-leverage stabilization required for the long-term reliability of the quantum hardware value chain.
The quantum hardware ecosystem is currently navigating a decisive shift from bulk-optical configurations to fully integrated photonic platforms to overcome the physical constraints of system footprint and control complexity. While diverse qubit modalities continue to evolve, trapped ion systems increasingly rely on the maturation of the photonic supply chain to achieve the fidelity and gate speeds required for practical applications. The primary sector-wide bottleneck has moved from fundamental physics validation to the engineering of the software-hardware interface, specifically regarding the high-yield fabrication of 300mm photonic wafers. Current industry dynamics place a premium on roles that can bridge the gap between abstract optical requirements and the practical constraints of advanced semiconductor foundries.
Market signals indicate a critical workforce scarcity at the intersection of photonic integrated circuit design and quantum information science. As organizations advance through Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 5 through 7, the ecosystem requires specialized architects who can navigate the fragmentation of the fabrication stack while ensuring architectural compatibility with emerging packaging standards. This structural expertise is the primary mechanism for maintaining momentum as the technology transitions from proof-of-concept demonstrators to scalable production units.
Furthermore, the evolution of the value chain depends on the ability to achieve deterministic control of light across the spectrum, from ultraviolet to visible wavelengths, without compromising the coherence of the quantum system. Integration with established semiconductor manufacturing protocols remains a high-risk dependency, as the customization required for quantum applications often diverges from traditional telecommunications photonics. Consequently, the availability of senior design engineers capable of orchestrating these complex cross-functional dependencies is a primary determinant of whether a commercial organization can successfully scale its hardware architecture.
Capability architecture for this role type centers on the synchronization of wave-optics simulation with the stringent protocols of high-volume semiconductor manufacturing. Mastery of full-stack design environments, including finite-difference time-domain solvers and advanced layout automation tools, is essential for ensuring that photonic components are optimized for high-fidelity state preparation and readout. This requires a deep understanding of the integration points between microfabricated ion traps and the underlying optical distribution networks that manage complex light delivery. These capabilities are fundamental to the throughput of hardware organizations, as they enable the parallelization of architecture research alongside the development of scalable PIC architectures. By establishing rigorous design-for-manufacturing (DFM) frameworks, this function provides the leverage needed to assess the true yield and performance of quantum hardware before full-scale capital allocation.
• Accelerates the transition from laboratory optical setups to industrial-grade wafer-scale quantum hardware
• Mitigates systemic execution risks by synchronizing long-term design cycles with foundry fabrication schedules
• Facilitates the integration of complex light-delivery systems into standardized semiconductor manufacturing workflows
• Strengthens the reliability of hardware roadmaps through the implementation of rigorous photonic benchmarking
• Reduces iteration friction between fundamental optical research and the deployment of scalable trapped ion systems
• Optimizes the allocation of specialized technical talent across design, fabrication, and packaging portfolios
• Enhances the stability of the quantum supply chain by providing predictable requirement frameworks for foundry partners
• Supports the scaling of qubit counts by managing the high-density integration of photonic control channels
• Improves the transparency of technology readiness level progression for stakeholders in the investment sector
• Enables the structural reproducibility of quantum experiments through standardized photonic implementation protocols
• Protects high-capital research and development investments by ensuring alignment between design and scalability
• Orchestrates the convergence of academic photonics research with the practical demands of global quantum services
Industry Tags: Integrated Photonics, Trapped Ion Quantum Computing, PIC Design, Semiconductor Fabrication, Quantum Hardware Scalability, 300mm Wafer Technology, Photonic Simulation, Deep Tech Engineering, Optical Interconnects, Quantum Infrastructure
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