Director, Datacenter System Architecture - Palo Alto, California, United States
$153,500 - $257,700 USD yearly
Originally posted 8 September 2026 by the employer.
Focus on silicon photonics for quantum computers.
About the role
This role defines the strategy for delivering a complete, integrated product combining PsiQuantum’s photonic engine with partner-built systems. This involves owning system-level requirements, architecture, delivery model, and cross-subsystem trade-offs for quantum computers.
What you'll do
- Own the system requirements specification: radix, form factor, rack height, connector type and count, faceplate, power, thermal, monitoring, redundancy.
- Define the delivery strategy for product integration with partners.
- Own the thermal and power budget as a constraint on the architecture.
- Define the control and management interface strategy for customer orchestration.
- Identify, evaluate, and collaborate with OEM, ODM, JV, and strategic partners across the system.
- Arbitrate cross-subsystem trades and maintain system integrity over local optimizations.
- Work with partners, manufacturing, and test on DFM and test access from the start.
What you'll need
- 10+ years hardware systems engineering experience.
- 3+ years directing system architecture for a rack-mounted networking or datacenter product that shipped.
- Direct command of datacenter hardware constraints: rack unit budgets, airflow, power delivery, front-panel density, serviceability, environmental standards.
- Experience taking a system from specification through prototype and a partner or contract-manufacturer build.
- Familiarity with datacenter cabling and high-density front-panel port counts.
- Ability to write specifications for engineering teams to build against.
Skills: datacenter system architecture, rack design, power, thermal performance, system specifications, quantum computers
This role has been open 36 days — well below the 55-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · SOC Architecture
|
Open roles in category
107
|
Median days open
55 d
|
Median salary
$212k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | PsiQuantum | All employers we track in this specialty (107 roles · 28 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 1 | 107 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 32 | 6140 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 36 d | 55 d (−19 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $212k |
Skills observed across this category: datacenter system architecture, rack design, power, thermal performance, system specifications, quantum computers
Who's hiring in this category
- AMD · 29 open roles · median 55 d
- Qualcomm · 21 open roles · median 43 d
- NVIDIA · 16 open roles · median 74 d
- Intel Corporation · 7 open roles · median 42 d
- Mobileye · 4 open roles · median 22 d
- Apple · 3 open roles · median 14 d
How we counted: 107 open Hardware Systems Engineering (SOC Architecture) roles from 28 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 15 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.