Senior System Integration & Optical Validation Engineer - Milpitas, California, United States
Originally posted 30 September 2026 by the employer.
This role focuses on photonic quantum computing systems.
About the role
This role leads the integration, system-level verification and validation (IV&V), and operational readiness of complex photonic quantum computing systems. You will develop integration strategies, test methodologies, validation processes, and deployment procedures for photonic quantum computing platforms.
What you'll do
- Lead the integration, bring-up, verification, and validation of complex photonic, optical, electro-optical, and electronic subsystems.
- Define and lead system-level integration and test strategies, including the design of experiments, using classical optical methodologies.
- Develop system acceptance criteria, verification methodologies, commissioning processes, and validation roadmaps.
- Drive root-cause investigations and technical problem resolution through structured experimental methods and data-driven analysis.
- Own the development and continuous improvement of system integration and test infrastructure, including automation and laboratory instrumentation.
- Lead system installation, integration, bring-up, and operational readiness activities, including planning, execution, reporting, and technical training.
What you'll need
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Physics, or a related technical field with 5+ years of relevant industry experience, or B.S. with 10+ years of equivalent experience.
- Extensive experience integrating, validating, and deploying complex optical, photonic, or electro-optical systems.
- Demonstrated expertise in developing system-level test strategies, verification methodologies, acceptance criteria, and experimental approaches for complex integrated systems.
- Strong understanding of optical technologies, including lasers, fiber optics, photonic components, optical instrumentation, and measurement techniques.
- Proven ability to troubleshoot multidisciplinary optical systems using structured experimental methods, quantitative data analysis, and systematic root-cause investigation.
- Experience developing automated test software, instrumentation control software, and engineering tools using Python or similar programming languages, with knowledge of Design of Experiments (DOE) and statistical data analysis.
This role has been open 21 days — well below the 51-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
1003
|
Median days open
51 d
|
Median salary
$155k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | PsiQuantum | All employers we track in this specialty (1003 roles · 104 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 17 | 1003 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 32 | 6291 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 127 d | 51 d (+76 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $155k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Intel Corporation · 72 open roles · median 34 d
- KLA Corporation · 63 open roles · median 48 d
- Teradyne · 61 open roles · median 34 d
- NVIDIA · 53 open roles · median 72 d
- Applied Materials · 51 open roles · median 70 d
- AMD · 46 open roles · median 52 d
How we counted: 1003 open Hardware Systems Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 104 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 22 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.