
Production Technician
PsiQuantum · Milpitas, CA
- Level
- Technician
- Team
- Production
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A technician-level production role at PsiQuantum (industrial) in Milpitas, CA. Hands-on experience with wire bonding, wire bond inspection, edge coupling, active optical alignment, fiber handling, or precision subassembly is strongly preferred.
- Tools it names
- Automation, Tooling, MES
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Manufacturing Technician roles in California: typical posted base $56k–$78k.
Median of the low and high ends of 10 live postings that list pay, out of 118 manufacturing technician openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 52 other live production postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Not stated
Typical $76k–$95k, from 17 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 3+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Team leadership 72%
- Lean 55%
- 5S 28%
- EHS / safety 26%
- Root cause 25%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 21%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Automation, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Production team at PsiQuantum
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: PsiQuantum in Milpitas
9 other open roles at this site.
- Senior Electronics Systems Integration & Validation Engineer · Quality · Senior
- Senior System Integration & Optical Validation Engineer · Quality · Senior
- Cryostat Equipment Engineer · Manufacturing
- Fiber Assembly Process Engineer (hiring from Associate to Senior levels) · Process · Senior
- Validation Engineer, Electro-Optical devices · Quality
- Senior Automation Engineer, Optical Packaging · Controls · Senior
Full description from PsiQuantumAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Job Summary
This hourly Operations Technician position supports the assembly and processing of photonic and semiconductor subassemblies, with a primary focus on wire bonding, optical edge coupling, precision alignment, and subassembly builds.
The technician will assemble and inspect small, sensitive components using microscopes, precision tooling, and manual or semi-automated equipment.
Responsibilities
include supporting wire bond operations, fiber preparation and optical coupling, material handling, build tracking, and accurate MES transactions throughout the manufacturing process.
The ideal candidate is dependable, detail-oriented, and comfortable working independently in a low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environment. They should be able to follow detailed work instructions, inspect their own work, perform basic troubleshooting and automation equipment, and communicate build status, equipment issues, and process concerns clearly to Operations and Engineering teams.
Responsibilities
- ◆Assemble, process, and inspect semiconductor, optical, and subassembly components according to approved instructions.
- ◆Support wire bonding, edge coupling, fiber handling, optical alignment, equipment operation, and subassembly testing.
- ◆Handle, verify, move, and track materials and work-in-process throughout the operations line.
- ◆Complete accurate and timely MES transactions for build progress, material movement, holds, rework, and completed work.
- ◆Operate manufacturing equipment and perform approved basic troubleshooting of computers, software, tooling, and automation systems.
- ◆Inspect completed work, identify defects or process issues, and escalate problems when additional support is needed.
- ◆Maintain clear build records and provide daily shift pass-downs covering status, results, issues, and open actions.
- ◆Follow safety, cleanroom, quality, and material-handling
requirements
while maintaining an organized work area.
- ✓Communicate effectively with Operations, Engineering, and support teams and recommend practical process improvements.
Experience/Qualifications
- ✓Two or more years of experience in semiconductor, photonics, optical, electronics, or R&D manufacturing.
- ✓Hands-on experience with wire bonding, wire bond inspection, edge coupling, active optical alignment, fiber handling, or precision subassembly is strongly preferred.
- ✓Experience with fiber-optic cleaving, splicing, routing, and handling.
- ✓Experience handling, assembling, and inspecting semiconductor dies and other small, fragile components.
- ✓High manual dexterity and strong attention to detail when working with microscopes, precision tools, fixtures, and sensitive materials.
- ✓Experience operating manual, automated, or semi-automated assembly and inspection equipment.
- ✓Ability to perform basic troubleshooting of Windows computers, equipment software, network connections, sensors, fixtures, and automation interfaces.
- ✓Experience using MES to track builds, materials, work-in-process, holds, rework, and production activity.
- ✓Knowledge of cleanroom manufacturing, electrostatic discharge controls, safe material handling, and work-in-process control.
- ✓Ability to follow work instructions, inspect personal work, identify problems, and work independently with limited supervision.
- ✓Strong written and verbal communication skills and willingness to support multiple operational tasks in a fast-paced, low-volume, high-mix environment.
- ✓High school diploma or equivalent experience.
- ✓Ability to safely lift up to 50 pounds and work overtime or weekends when required.
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
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.
In 2024, PsiQuantum announced government-funded projects to support the build-out of our first utility-scale quantum computers in Brisbane, Australia, and Chicago, Illinois. These initiatives reflect a growing recognition that quantum computing will be strategically and economically defining—and that now is the time to scale.
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 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 have a clear path to make it real.
Come join us.
