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PsiQuantum

Utility-scale fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers

Computational Chemist - GPU Acceleration

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/4/2026
$106.3k - $178.4k/yr+ Equity grants
Expert
PhD
Palo Alto, CA, USA
In Person

About the job

Requirements
  • A Ph.D. in computational chemistry, theoretical chemistry, computational physics, materials science, computer science, or a closely related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
  • Strong understanding of computational chemistry or electronic-structure methods, such as density functional theory, wave-function-based quantum chemistry, atomistic simulation, or related numerical methods.
  • Demonstrated experience developing or optimizing GPU-accelerated scientific software.
  • Experience programming for GPU or heterogeneous computing environments, for example using CUDA, HIP/ROCm, or comparable GPU programming frameworks.
  • Experience working with NVIDIA and/or AMD GPU architectures and understanding GPU performance considerations such as memory hierarchy, data movement, parallel execution, and kernel performance.
  • Strong experience with high-performance computing and parallel scientific workloads.
  • Proficiency in scientific programming and algorithm development using C++, C, Fortran, and/or Python, with the ability to work effectively in large scientific software codebases.
  • Experience profiling, benchmarking, and optimizing scientific applications.
  • Strong numerical and computational problem-solving skills and the ability to translate mathematical algorithms into efficient software implementations.
  • Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment spanning chemistry, physics, materials science, high-performance computing, and quantum computing.
Responsibilities
  • Develop, implement, and optimize computational chemistry and electronic-structure algorithms for GPU-accelerated computing platforms.
  • Design scientific software capable of efficiently utilizing NVIDIA and AMD GPU architectures, as well as conventional CPU-based high-performance computing systems.
  • Profile and optimize computational kernels, memory movement, parallelism, and end-to-end scientific workflows to improve performance and scalability.
  • Develop computational pipelines that combine best-in-class classical approaches, including high-performance computing and GPU acceleration, with fault-tolerant quantum-computing workflows.
  • Identify computational bottlenecks in electronic-structure and quantum-chemistry methods and develop algorithmic and software solutions to address them.
  • Implement and optimize numerical methods relevant to electronic-structure calculations, including tensor contractions, linear algebra, iterative solvers, and related computational primitives.
  • Work closely with computational chemists and quantum algorithm researchers to benchmark and validate GPU-accelerated classical methods against emerging quantum algorithms.
  • Contribute to the architecture and development of scalable scientific software used for molecular and materials simulations.
  • Evaluate emerging GPU programming frameworks, libraries, and hardware capabilities and determine how they can improve computational chemistry workloads.
  • Participate in scientific collaborations and technical discussions across chemistry, physics, materials science, quantum computing, and high-performance computing teams.
  • Document software and research results and contribute to internal technical reports, scientific publications, and presentations.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience developing GPU implementations of electronic-structure or quantum-chemistry methods.
  • Experience with both NVIDIA CUDA and AMD HIP/ROCm ecosystems, including porting or maintaining scientific software across GPU architectures.
  • Experience optimizing large computational pipelines rather than individual kernels alone, including CPU/GPU scheduling, asynchronous execution, data movement, and distributed GPU workloads.
  • Experience with GPU-accelerated scientific libraries or frameworks for dense/sparse linear algebra, tensor operations, fast Fourier transforms, or related numerical workloads.
  • Experience with distributed-memory high-performance computing environments using technologies such as Message Passing Interface in combination with multi-GPU computing.
  • Experience developing, extending, or contributing to large-scale scientific software for electronic structure, quantum chemistry, or materials modeling.
  • Experience with density matrix renormalization group, tensor-network methods, or other strongly correlated electronic-structure methods, particularly implementations involving large tensor contractions or GPU acceleration.
  • Experience with coupled-cluster, configuration-interaction, multireference, or other advanced wave-function-based electronic-structure methods.
  • Experience with quantum embedding, localized orbital methods, active-space approaches, or reduced electronic models derived from first-principles calculations.
  • Experience applying or evaluating quantum-computing algorithms for electronic-structure, chemistry, or materials-science applications.
  • Experience developing portable performance-critical software targeting multiple accelerator architectures.
  • Strong track record of scientific software contributions and/or peer-reviewed publications.

About the company

PsiQuantum builds utility-scale quantum computers that use photons as qubits and a semiconductor-compatible Omega chipset. The Omega platform combines single-photon sources, superconducting detectors, and optical switches to enable scalable chip-to-chip interconnects and high-fidelity quantum operations. It differentiates itself by using manufacturable semiconductor processes, pursuing large-scale integration, and exploring fault-tolerant approaches like fusion-based quantum computation (FBQC) with collaborations with government and research institutions. The goal is to deliver a scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computer capable of solving real-world problems in chemistry, materials science, optimization, and cryptography beyond what classical computers can handle.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

Growth Equity (Venture Capital)

Total Funding

$3.4B

Headquarters

Palo Alto, California

Founded

2015

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • PsiQuantum finalized a $100 million Commerce award on September 8, 2026.
  • Brisbane groundbreaking started June 18, 2026, and Chicago infrastructure advances in parallel.
  • Victor Peng's July 2026 CEO appointment and Niklas Zennström's board seat strengthen execution.

What critics are saying

  • PsiQuantum still ships no commercial system; revenue depends on an unproven first machine.
  • Construction timelines slipped; Brisbane's 2027 target now points to 2029, inviting more delays.
  • If photonic integration fails at scale, PsiQuantum burns capital without a usable product.

What makes PsiQuantum unique

  • PsiQuantum builds photonic qubits in semiconductor fabs, unlike fragile lab-built rival hardware.
  • DARPA kept PsiQuantum in QBI Stage C in July 2026, validating its architecture.
  • Omega targets fault-tolerant, million-qubit scale through silicon photonics and fusion-based quantum computing.

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Mid-West Family Northern Illinois
Oct 2nd, 2026
Rockford Brake Manufacturing receives state honor for local impact.

Rockford Brake Manufacturing receives state honor for local impact. ROCKFORD - A historic manufacturer that was revived after bankruptcy was honored Thursday night with one of the inaugural Illinois Impact awards by the Illinois Economic Development Corporation. Rockford Brake Manufacturing, 302 Peoples Ave., was one of four companies to receive the Governor's Award for Local Impact, which recognizes businesses whose investment, growth and long-term presence strengthens the community and regional economy. There were also awards given for Innovator of the Year (Rivian), Large Development of the Year (Hyundai Translead) and Team Illinois Partner of the Year (IQMP, Related Midwest, Clayco, and PsiQuantum). The awards were bestowed to Rockford Brake and other companies at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. Rockford Brake, which was purchased out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy a year ago by four former Gunite employees, has now provided $20 million in direct economic impact, including more than $7 million in wages and benefits to its 130-plus employees, according to the company. "Rockford Brake is thrilled to receive the Governor's Award for Local Impact - Northern Illinois. Rockford Brake's success is due to the people we have been able to bring into the organization. The strong generational foundation of manufacturing talent in northern Illinois has meant we have been able to ramp up production with skilled team members to support the rapid growth of the company," Paul Wright, CEO of Rockford Brake, said in a news release. "The investment Illinois continues to make in manufacturing provides the platform for companies like ours to compete and win." Rockford Brake won the governor's award for northern Illinois. It went to ADM and Rural King in central Illinois and Continental Tire in southern Illinois. "The Illinois Impact Awards celebrate the very best of Team Illinois - the people and organizations working together to attract investment, drive innovation, create good-paying jobs, and strengthen communities across our state," Gov. JB Pritzker said in a news release. "From advanced manufacturing to clean energy to quantum and other emerging technologies, our honorees reflect the hard work and bold vision that is driving our state's historic economic progress. I'm honored to recognize their leadership and look forward to building on our efforts to make Illinois the best place to live, work, and do business." Rockford Brake restarted work about a year ago. The revival came about 11 months after Accuride, the former parent company of Gunite, closed the factory while it restructured under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The closure led to 327 layoffs and left the site idle. The plant was then purchased by four former employees: Brandon Baumann, Mike Brandi Jr., Tim Davis and Scott Henderson. The factory, through several ownership changes, has been in business in Rockford since 1854.

Head Topics
Oct 1st, 2026
PsiQuantum raises $450M from Sequoia and BlackRock to build functional quantum computer

PsiQuantum has secured $450 million in funding from investors including Sequoia Capital and BlackRock. The quantum computing startup will use the funds to develop its superconducting qubit technology and high-fidelity readout system as it works towards building a functional quantum computer. The investment round was led by Sequoia Capital and BlackRock, with participation from strategic partners in the technology and defence sectors. The funding will enable PsiQuantum to scale up operations and accelerate bringing its quantum computing solutions to market.

Business Wire
Sep 12th, 2026
PsiQuantum to Build World’s First Utility-Scale, Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computer in Australia

PsiQuantum to build utility-scale quantum computer in Australia who will, along with Queensland, invest $940M AUD/$620M US in the company

Citybiz
Sep 8th, 2026
PsiQuantum finalizes $100 million U.S. Commerce Department award.

PsiQuantum finalizes $100 million U.S. Commerce Department award. September 8, 2026 PsiQuantum personnel inside the fiber attach assembly facility at PsiFactory in Milpitas, California. (Credit: PsiQuantum) PsiQuantum has finalized a $100 million award with the U.S. Department of Commerce to expand research, development and domestic manufacturing of critical quantum computing components, moving forward with federal funding first outlined in a letter of intent in May 2026. The funding, made available through the CHIPS and Science Act, will be combined with PsiQuantum's own investment in the project. The Palo Alto, California-based company plans to use the capital to advance the performance and U.S. manufacturability of high-performance optical switches, high-temperature single-photon detectors and advanced semiconductor packaging. The agreement puts a significant portion of the federal support behind the manufacturing infrastructure required to scale PsiQuantum's silicon photonics architecture. Rather than developing a quantum computing supply chain entirely from scratch, the company's approach is designed to use existing semiconductor manufacturing processes and infrastructure to produce photonic quantum chipsets at scale. "America's national security and economic prosperity depend on secure supply chains for cutting-edge technologies," PsiQuantum CEO Victor Peng said. "PsiQuantum is proud to anchor our supply chains here in the United States." PsiQuantum is developing fault-tolerant quantum computers based on silicon photonics, an architecture that uses photons as the basis for quantum information processing. Scaling that approach depends on several interconnected components, including optical switching, photon detection and packaging capable of integrating increasingly complex systems. The Commerce Department award is intended to move those technologies further toward domestic production while also improving their performance. PsiQuantum said the components have potential applications beyond quantum systems, including advanced classical computing infrastructure. "PsiQuantum's silicon photonics platform will create consequential opportunities across advanced computing infrastructure even as we build and deploy fault-tolerant quantum computers," said Rob Soderbery, executive vice president at PsiQuantum. The federal award builds on an existing U.S. supply chain that PsiQuantum has been developing through semiconductor manufacturers, component suppliers and other vendors. In 2025, the company spent approximately $200 million with hundreds of U.S. suppliers and vendors across 38 states. A central manufacturing relationship is with GlobalFoundries, which has worked with PsiQuantum since 2019 to scale production of quantum photonic chipsets in the United States. The partnership combines GlobalFoundries' semiconductor manufacturing capabilities with PsiQuantum's photonic architecture. GlobalFoundries CEO Tim Breen said scalable manufacturing will be critical to making photonic quantum computing commercially viable. He pointed to silicon photonics, advanced packaging and system-level integration as capabilities supporting the companies' work on next-generation quantum systems. The Commerce Department agreement also adds to PsiQuantum's expanding portfolio of federal partnerships focused on both quantum computing and the semiconductor infrastructure needed to support it. Since 2022, PsiQuantum has worked with the Air Force Research Laboratory on semiconductor chip manufacturing and silicon photonics capabilities for the U.S. Air Force. The collaboration connects the company's quantum technology development with broader federal efforts to strengthen domestic expertise in advanced semiconductor systems. In July 2026, PsiQuantum also announced an expanded $125 million agreement with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. The company has participated in the evaluation program since 2022. The initiative is designed to assess commercial approaches to developing utility-scale quantum computers. Together, the Commerce and DARPA agreements represent $225 million in recently announced federal awards and agreements for PsiQuantum, although they address different parts of the company's development path. The Commerce funding focuses on R&D, component manufacturing and supply-chain capacity, while the DARPA program evaluates the technical path toward utility-scale quantum computing. Founded in 2016, PsiQuantum is pursuing a photonic architecture that can use high-volume semiconductor manufacturing and existing cryogenic infrastructure as it scales its systems. The $100 million Commerce award gives the company additional resources to localize more of the component technology underlying that architecture and strengthen the U.S. manufacturing base required to move from quantum system development toward larger-scale deployment.

Associated Press
Sep 8th, 2026
PsiQuantum secures $100M from US Department of Commerce to boost quantum computing and semiconductor supply chains

PsiQuantum has finalised a $100 million award with the US Department of Commerce to advance quantum computing and semiconductor supply-chain security. The funding, enabled through the CHIPS and Science Act, will accelerate research and development of critical components including optical switches, single-photon detectors, and advanced packaging. Combined with company co-investment, the award will support domestic manufacturing of state-of-the-art components. PsiQuantum's silicon photonics platform leverages existing semiconductor manufacturing to scale fault-tolerant quantum computers. The company invested approximately $200 million with American suppliers across 38 states in 2025. Since 2019, PsiQuantum has partnered with GlobalFoundries on quantum photonic chipset production in the US. In July 2026, PsiQuantum announced a $125 million expanded agreement with DARPA under the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.