PsiQuantum
Utility-scale fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers
Intern – Software Engineering
+ Housing/Commuter Stipend
About the job
- Currently pursuing BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Math, or related field.
- Strong Python skills, including clean API design, OOP, packaging, and testing.
- Working knowledge of distributed/remote compute concepts (jobs, clusters, queues) and cloud storage fundamentals.
- Familiarity with quantum computing applications/algorithms (resource estimation, quantum simulation, or adjacent numerical methods); comfort with linear algebra and scientific computing.
- Data platform governance and reliability: Implement governance patterns for datasets and run outputs (naming, lineage, access boundaries, catalog/volume organization).
- Data platform governance and reliability: Improve dataset upload validation and guardrails to prevent accidental modification of unrelated storage paths and to enforce consistent metadata and file structure.
- Monitoring, usage, and cost visibility: Build monitoring and reporting for compute usage and cost drivers (job frequency, runtime, GPU utilization proxies, storage growth, auto-termination effectiveness).
- Monitoring, usage, and cost visibility: Deliver dashboards that make platform health and spend understandable to both engineers and researchers.
- Job orchestration and software quality: Refactor existing job setup / submission scripts into a maintainable, testable OOP design (clear interfaces, configuration objects, reusable clients).
- Job orchestration and software quality: Improve workflow parameter handling for the two-stage pipeline (tensor factorization stage and QRE stage) and standardize outputs for downstream analysis.
- Developer Experience simplification: Reduce onboarding friction by abstracting authentication and setup into a single, ergonomic path (e.g., a CLI/Python entry point that validates auth, environment, and required dependencies).
- Developer Experience simplification: Replace “follow the guide manually” with automation: preflight checks, actionable errors, and self-serve setup validation.
- Databricks experience (Jobs API/SDK, workspace organization, catalog/permissions patterns).
- AWS experience (S3, IAM/credentials handling, boto3-style tooling, cost monitoring patterns).
- Experience with scientific Python stacks and GPU compute (JAX/NumPy/SciPy; performance profiling).
- Exposure to quantum chemistry workflows, tensor factorization, or benchmark-driven research engineering.
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 (Non-Venture Capital)
Total Funding
$2.9B
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.
- DARPA expanded PsiQuantum's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative agreement to $125 million in July 2026.
- Brookhaven joined PsiQuantum's Construct platform collaboration on September 2, 2026.
What critics are saying
- PsiQuantum still lacks a public utility-scale processor, leaving 2027 claims unproven.
- Brisbane site changes and Chicago construction pressure the 2027 deployment timeline.
- Romit Chakraborty sued PsiQuantum in March 2026 over a settlement dispute.
What makes PsiQuantum unique
- PsiQuantum uses photonic qubits and semiconductor fabs, unlike cryogenic superconducting rivals.
- GlobalFoundries has manufactured PsiQuantum chipsets since 2019, anchoring an industrial supply chain.
- Construct software couples hardware design with fault-tolerant algorithms for government customers.
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↑ 1%PsiQuantum to build utility-scale quantum computer in Australia who will, along with Queensland, invest $940M AUD/$620M US in the company
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.
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.
PsiQuantum and Brookhaven National lab partner to develop fault-tolerant algorithms on construct platform. Photonic quantum hardware developer PsiQuantum and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have established a strategic software collaboration to accelerate the development of fault-tolerant quantum algorithms and scientific applications. Under the agreement, Brookhaven scientists will utilize PsiQuantum's open-access Construct software platform to design and optimize resource requirements for utility-scale quantum workloads. Supporting the DOE Quantum Genesis initiative. The collaboration directly aligns with the DOE's Quantum Genesis initiative - a federal program aimed at deploying a fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computing capability by 2028 as part of the broader, AI-focused Genesis Mission. The partnership connects public sector national laboratory research directly with commercial fault-tolerant software engineering: * Fault-Tolerant Algorithm Design: Brookhaven researchers will use Construct to map complex scientific problems onto logical qubit architectures, compiling quantum circuits and calculating exact physical resource overheads (such as T-gate counts and error-correction budgets). * Construct Open-Access Availability: First released publicly as a free platform in May 2026, Construct provides developers with a full suite of software tools to construct, simulate, and optimize fault-tolerant quantum subroutines prior to hardware availability. * Public-Private Leadership: Led by Gabriella Carini (Associate Laboratory Director for Discovery Technologies at Brookhaven) and Heath Bumgardner (VP of Government Relations at PsiQuantum), the project serves as a model for public-private integration across DOE national laboratories. September 2, 2026
Brookhaven Lab and PsiQuantum collaborate on Quantum Genesis research. September 2, 2026 Press play to listen to this content Collaboration aims to develop advanced quantum algorithms and applications in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's Quantum Genesis initiative UPTON, N.Y., Sept. 2, 2026 - The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and PsiQuantum today announced a collaboration that will leverage PsiQuantum's software platform "Construct" to support Brookhaven Lab scientists researching new algorithms and scientific applications for the first generation of fault-tolerant quantum computers. Brookhaven's Associate Laboratory Director for Discovery Technologies Gabriella Carini. Photo credit: Tim Kuhn/BNL. "We are excited to partner with PsiQuantum to give our researchers access to these new tools," said Brookhaven Lab Associate Laboratory Director for Discovery Technologies Gabriella Carini. "DOE's new Quantum Genesis initiative requires innovative partnerships across our national labs, industry, academia, and government. This is a great example of one such collaboration." The Quantum Genesis initiative is focused on developing and deploying the world's first fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computing capability for research and development by 2028. Quantum Genesis will serve as a foundational element of DOE's broader artificial intelligence-focused Genesis Mission, which is designed to usher in a new era of computational power for the nation to accelerate scientific discovery and innovation. "We are excited to partner with Brookhaven National Laboratory to use these tools in support of its research into fault-tolerant quantum algorithms and applications," said PsiQuantum Vice President of Government Relations Heath Bumgardner. "Through this partnership, we're demonstrating how effective public-private collaboration can help accelerate scientific discovery." PsiQuantum's Construct software platform is the first comprehensive platform designed to help companies, researchers, and the public sector create fault-tolerant quantum algorithms, which are computational procedures designed to operate effectively on utility-scale quantum computers once these systems are built and deployed. Construct represents years of development by PsiQuantum's quantum applications team, which created a suite of tools for new algorithm development to help solve some of the world's leading quantum application challenges. Fault-tolerant algorithms can help advance research in materials science, pharmaceutical research, and cryptography, among other areas. In May 2026, PsiQuantum announced that Construct is now available as a free and open-access platform, allowing researchers to design quantum circuits, write and simulate quantum algorithms, and optimize resources. About Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov. About PsiQuantum PsiQuantum was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The company's mission is to build and deploy the world's first useful quantum computers. PsiQuantum's photonic approach enables it to leverage high-volume semiconductor manufacturing, existing cryogenic infrastructure, and architectural flexibility to rapidly scale its systems. Learn more at www.psiquantum.com. The recently launched Genesis Mission includes a wide range of projects aimed at using advanced... Scientists running large simulations can end up with terabytes of data that then has to... Prior to the June International Supercomputing Conference, ISC High Performance 2026, in Hamburg, Germany, Sean... Over the past several days, a steady stream of Genesis Mission announcements has arrived from... The International Supercomputing Conference, ISC High Performance 2026, drew a record 4,035 attendees and 188... Oratomic, a quantum computing startup that emerged from stealth just four months ago, has raised...