Senior Quantum Applications Architect
Senior researcher on PsiQuantum's Quantum Algorithms team who translates real-world computational problems into fault-tolerant quantum algorithm specifications, benchmarks 'post-classical' problem instances, and estimates resource requirements on PsiQuantum's silicon-photonic quantum architecture, while leading research programs with industrial and academic partners. Requires deep quantum computin
- Compensation
- £78.9K–£92.9K / yr
- Location
- Daresbury, England
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Senior
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Category
- Architecture
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- 5+ years of research experience (academia or industry) in quantum computing, with focus on algorithms and applications
- Degree in Physics, Math or Computer Science or equivalent
- Proven team player with ability to work effectively across departments, sites and time zones
- Ability to work independently and contribute to fast-moving start-up environment
- Experience programming in Python, C++ or similar languages
Nice to have
- PhD in Physics, Math or Computer Science, with a focus on quantum information theory or quantum computation
- Experience with quantum algorithms and compiling in the regime of fault tolerant gates
- Experience working with partners in academia or industry to analyze real-world quantum applications of interest
Full description
PsiQuantum's mission is to build the first useful quantum computers: machines capable of delivering the breakthroughs the field has long promised. Since our founding in 2016, our singular focus has been to build and deploy million-qubit, fault-tolerant quantum systems.
Quantum computers harness the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems that even the most advanced supercomputers or AI systems will never reach. Their impact will span energy, pharmaceuticals, finance, agriculture, transportation, materials, and other foundational industries.
Our architecture and approach is based on silicon photonics. By leveraging the advanced semiconductor manufacturing industry, including partners like GlobalFoundries, we use the same high-volume processes that already produce billions of chips for telecom and consumer electronics. Photonics offers natural advantages for scale: photons don't feel heat, are immune to electromagnetic interference, and integrate with existing cryogenic cooling and standard fiber-optic infrastructure.
That approach has since been tested at the highest level of scrutiny the U.S. government applies to emerging technology, and it has held up. In 2025, PsiQuantum closed a $1 billion funding round that valued the company at $7 billion. In 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce signed a $100 million Letter of Intent under the CHIPS and Science Act, followed by a $125 million agreement with DARPA under Stage C of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, PsiQuantum's most valuable U.S. government agreement to date. This year, we also broke ground on our utility-scale quantum computer in Brisbane, Australia, and continued building out our Chicago site. Victor Peng, our CEO, and co-founder Jeremy O'Brien, now Executive Chairman, lead a team and board that reflects how seriously the world is taking this build, joined this year by Intel's Lip-Bu Tan and Atomico's Niklas Zennström.
PsiQuantum also develops the algorithms and software needed to make these systems commercially valuable. Our application, software, and industry teams work directly with leading Fortune 500 companies, including Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Mercedes-Benz, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Mitsubishi Chemical, to prepare quantum solutions for real-world impact.
Quantum computing is not an extension of classical computing. It represents a fundamental shift, and a path to mastering challenges that cannot be solved any other way. The potential is enormous, and we now have the funding, the government validation, and the sites under construction to make it real.
Job Summary:
Within the Quantum Algorithms team, we develop and adapt quantum algorithms, identify and scope promising use cases, and analyze their resource requirements. In this role, you will translate computational tasks into abstract quantum-algorithm specifications, analyze their asymptotic performance, and define meaningful problem instances that lie beyond the practical reach of classical computation. You will also work closely with PsiQuantum’s Compilation team to develop explicit implementations of these algorithms and evaluate their resource requirements on our architecture.