Principal System Integration Lead (Quantum Hardware) - Milpitas, California, United States
$195,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 9 April 2026 by the employer.
About the role
The Principal System Integration Lead will translate quantum system requirements into an implementable, scalable hardware architecture and drive cross-functional integration from concept through build, test, and deployment. The position operates across quantum system architecture, photonics and electronics hardware, facilities and infrastructure, and system design engineering.
What you'll do
- Gather inputs from the Quantum System Architecture team to convert requirements into hardware architecture, including interfaces, subsystems, integration plans, and verification strategies. - Own end-to-end system-level requirements decomposition into subsystem specifications spanning photonics, electronics, thermal, mechanical, controls, firmware/software interfaces, and infrastructure. - Coordinate cross-functional integration across facilities, photonics, electronics, system design, test/validation, packaging, thermal, mechanical, and reliability teams. - Establish and manage Interface Control Documents (ICDs), system block diagrams, integration specifications, and dependency maps. - Lead system-level trade studies and decision processes across performance, reliability, manufacturability, cost, schedule, and facility constraints. - Drive integration workflows, integration readiness reviews, configuration management, issue tracking, and root-cause analysis.
What you'll need
- MS in Electronics, Optics, Photonics, EE/CE, Systems Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related engineering field with 10+ years of industry experience, or a PhD with 6+ years of industry experience. - Demonstrated technical experience in electronic–photonics systems with mixed-domain integration across optical, electrical, thermal, mechanical, and control domains. - Deep understanding of system integration principles including requirements decomposition, interfaces, verification, reliability, and integration/test planning. - Proven track record in technical leadership roles driving cross-functional execution and resolving complex technical dependencies.
Nice to have
- Background in data-center-scale system integration covering large infrastructure, facility constraints, high availability, safety, commissioning, and operational readiness. - Experience integrating systems spanning facility, hardware, and controls/software through operational commissioning and deployment. - Familiarity with formal systems engineering tools and methods such as MBSE, DOORS/Jama, configuration management, and structured V&V.
Skills: quantum computers, silicon photonics, fault-tolerant quantum systems, system integration, quantum hardware
This role has been open 198 days — well above the 87-day median for AI/ML Hardware Engineering roles.
AI/ML Hardware Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
506
|
Median days open
87 d
|
Median salary
$236k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | PsiQuantum | All employers we track in this specialty (506 roles · 77 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 2 | 506 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 33 | 6250 · 144 employers |
| Median days open | 198 d | 87 d (+111 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $236k |
Skills observed across this category: quantum computers, silicon photonics, fault-tolerant quantum systems, system integration, quantum hardware
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 105 open roles · median 116 d
- NVIDIA · 89 open roles · median 58 d
- AMD · 33 open roles · median 107 d
- Micron Technology · 26 open roles · median 59 d
- Mobileye · 20 open roles · median 85 d
- Analog Devices · 18 open roles · median 43 d
How we counted: 506 open AI/ML Hardware Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 77 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 25 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.