Senior Optomechanical Engineer

Company Overview

Photon Queue builds the world's leading quantum memory devices – systems that store and release single photons. Using a unique free-space storage architecture that achieves kilometer-scale optical path lengths in a compact form factor, we sidestep the fundamental limitations of every competing approach and deliver storage fidelity and efficiency levels that no other technology can match in a device that can actually be deployed and integrated into real quantum systems.

We're solving a critical infrastructure problem for the quantum ecosystem: without a reliable way to synchronize photons across a quantum network or photonic processor, the promise of quantum computing, sensing, and communications stalls. Photon Queue is the synchronization layer that makes progress possible. Our systems are already in use at Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Maryland, and demand is growing fast.

Life at Photon Queue

We're an early-stage, fast-growing team of physicists and engineers turning two decades of laboratory research into the best commercial quantum memory platform. With strong institutional backing and commercial traction at leading national labs, we're at an exciting breakout moment – the kind where the work you do today directly shapes the trajectory of the company tomorrow.

There's no corporate bureaucracy here, just sharp people working on hard problems, with direct ownership over what they build and clear visibility into its impact. Every person on the team shapes the product and the company. If you thrive in an environment where your work matters from day one and where espresso, rigor, and curiosity are the culture, you'll fit right in.

About the New Mexico Branch

This role is one of the two founding hires for Photon Queue's new Albuquerque branch located at Roadrunner Quantum Labs. The New Mexico team owns the engineering that sits between our core research and our shipping product: systematic component qualification, vendor development, and integration engineering that makes our devices more efficient, more reliable, and easier to manufacture.

It is a small, high-autonomy team with a defined charter and real budget behind it. You will be one of two engineers standing up the lab, choosing the vendors, building the stations, and setting the technical direction with the full support of the Chicago engineering team. We will expand the New Mexico branch as we expand our product development capabilities and increase sales.

Role Summary

The Senior Optomechanical Engineer owns the precision optical hardware program for Photon Queue's New Mexico branch. This is a hands-on, end-to-end role: you will source, build, characterize, and optimize optical and mechanical subassemblies, develop the vendors and tooling behind them, and lock down repeatable processes that our Chicago manufacturing team can build against. You will work at the intersection of precision optomechanics, metrology, and supply chain, and your output is measured in device performance that ships.

Location: On-site, Albuquerque, NM (Roadrunner Quantum Labs)

Candidates must have current US work authorization - we are unable to sponsor visas at this time.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that employees primarily work from their Photon Queue office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments.

Responsibilities

Custom Subassembly Engineering

• Own the design and development of custom optical subassemblies, from component sourcing and characterization through final assembly
• Design and build precision alignment and assembly tooling that delivers repeatable, quantified results
• Drive improvements in optical performance and production yield across runs

Lab Build-Out & Mechanical Design

• Stand up the New Mexico optics lab – optical tables, station layout, general optomechanical hardware, and the test infrastructure the branch runs on
• Produce manufacturable mechanical designs: CAD, drawings, GD&T, tolerance stack-ups, and BOMs suitable for handoff to contract manufacturers
• Design for thermal stability and vibration isolation so assemblies hold alignment in real-world operating environments
• Support the mechanical design of Photon Queue devices

Vendor Development & Execution

• Own vendor relationships for optical components, coatings, and precision machining, from initial survey through pricing, sample procurement, and qualification
• Lead design reviews and produce test plans, measurement reports, and process documentation that support quarterly grant milestone reporting
• Partner with the Chicago engineering team to hand off qualified processes and components into production

Minimum qualifications

• M.S. or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, or a related field (or a B.S. with additional experience), plus 5+ years of precision optomechanical design and build experience; a Ph.D. may count toward the experience
• High proficiency in CAD (Onshape, SolidWorks, Catia, or equivalent), BOM management, and GD&T
• Strong understanding of tolerance stack-up analysis, kinematics, adhesive and material selection
• Track record of working directly with component vendors and contract manufacturers to specify, source, and qualify custom hardware
• Strong written and verbal communication skills – comfort presenting at design reviews and writing up results for a technical audience

Preferred qualifications

• Experience developing optical assemblies or packaging processes from prototype through repeatable production
• Hands-on experience with precision alignment of optical assemblies, including kinematic and actuated mounts
• Familiarity with optical metrology and surface characterization techniques (e.g., interferometry, profilometry)
• Experience standing up a lab or production line from an empty room
• Comfortable or excited to be one of the first two people in a new office

We encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all of the qualifications stated above. We're looking for the right candidate with the aptitude and drive to learn and grow with us. That may just be you!

Compensation: $110k - $150k

Equity: 0.2% - 0.4%

Relocation: up to $15k gross for candidates relocating to New Mexico

Health Insurance:

• Medical – 100% covered for Employee, 80% covered for dependents
• Dental, Vision and Life – 100% covered for Employee and dependents

Additional benefits/perks:

• Flexible time-off
• 401(k) in the near future

Parental leave:

• 6 weeks of paid Parental Bonding Leave for mothers and fathers of new children welcomed into their family (birthed or adopted).
• For birthing mothers, an additional 6 weeks of paid Medical Recovery Leave to build back your health and strength before returning to solving the problems of storing photons.