Presented herein are techniques through which modular architectures and systems may be implemented for superconducting (SC) quantum processing elements or chips utilizing photonic interconnects. In one instance, an SC processing element is provided that includes a plurality of interconnected qubits, wherein a first qubit of the plurality of interconnected qubits is interconnected with a first microwave-optical transducer. In one instance, a system is provided that includes a first SC processing element comprising a first plurality of interconnected qubits, wherein a first microwave-optical transducer is interconnected with a first qubit of the first plurality of interconnected qubits; a second SC processing element comprising a second plurality of interconnected qubits, wherein a second microwave-optical transducer is interconnected with a first qubit of the second plurality of interconnected qubits; and an optical network interconnecting the first microwave-optical transducer and the second microwave-optical transducer.