Manager, Cryogenic Process & Distribution Engineering

PsiQuantum · Milpitas, California, United States

  • Senior
  • Full-time
  • $208,300 – $244,700
  • Posted 2026-09-14
  • Confirmed live on 25 September 2026

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Job 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:

The Manager, Cryogenic Process & Distribution Engineering is responsible for the architecture, design, and integration of the cryogenic process and distribution systems supporting PsiQuantum's global cryogenic infrastructure.

This role defines the overall cryogenic system architecture, ensuring seamless integration of cryoplants, cryostats, cryogenic distribution systems, and supporting equipment including helium recovery systems, purifiers, liquid and gas storage, and auxiliary process equipment. The objective is to develop a coherent and reliable cryogenic process that delivers all required operating modes and performance while ensuring safe, efficient, and maintainable operation.

The Manager, Cryogenic Process & Distribution Engineering owns the system process design, including process calculations, hydraulic analysis, Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs), Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs), operating philosophies, system descriptions, and HAZOP studies. The role ensures the optimal integration of helium and nitrogen systems with cryoplants and cryostats and defines the architecture of all warm and cold process piping throughout the cryogenic infrastructure.

In addition to technical leadership, the Manager, Cryogenic Process & Distribution Engineering develops and mentors the Cryogenic Process & Distribution Engineering Team, establishes engineering standards and best practices, and works closely with cryostat, cryoplant, process controls, facilities, operations, and external equipment suppliers to deliver safe, reliable, and high-performance cryogenic systems across PsiQuantum's worldwide sites.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the architecture and integration of complete cryogenic systems, including cryoplants, cryostats, cryogenic distribution systems, and auxiliary equipment.

• Define the overall helium and nitrogen process architecture to support all operational and maintenance modes.

• Develop process calculations, hydraulic analyses, and system performance models.

• Produce and maintain Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs), Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs), process descriptions, operating philosophies, and functional specifications.

• Lead HAZOPs and other process safety reviews, ensuring compliance with applicable codes and company standards.

• Define the architecture and sizing of warm and cold process piping, valves, heat exchangers, phase separat

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