About IonQ:
IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world’s leading quantum platform and merchant supplier - delivering integrated quantum solutions across computing, networking, sensing, and security. IonQ’s newest generation of quantum computers, the IonQ Tempo, is the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners including Amazon Web Services, and AstraZeneca achieve 20x performance results and accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. In 2025, the company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance.
Headquartered in College Park, Maryland, IonQ has operations in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Washington, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Our quantum computing services are available through all major cloud providers, while we also meet the needs of networking and sensing customers across land, sea, air, and space. IonQ is making quantum platforms more accessible and impactful than ever before.
Location: This position can work onsite or hybrid from one of our offices in the US or fully remote.
Travel: Up to 20%
Job ID: 1849
The Role:
We are seeking a senior attorney to lead our Transactions function, reporting directly to the Deputy General Counsel and Chief IP Counsel. This role will help build and scale a transactions practice supporting development, partnerships, supply chain, commercial, and government engagements. The successful candidate will be an accomplished attorney who thrives in high-intensity, business-driven environments and can serve as both a trusted subject-matter expert and practice leader.
Responsibilities:
- Lead agreement drafting and negotiations on business-critical transactions with complex IP, technology, business, and regulatory issues.
- Develop agreement templates, negotiation standards, playbooks, processes, and risk frameworks that support consistently high-quality work while enabling the business to move quickly and appropriately manage legal and commercial risk.
- Partner cross-functionally on company-wide initiatives to standardize the deal process, from initial discussions through contract signing.
- Partner with legal subject-matter experts to ensure contract templates and positions are regularly updated to reflect current company objectives and legal obligations.
- Act as an embedded member of the business teams, building trust by providing timely guidance, helpful education, and practical, commercially oriented counsel.
- Manage and prioritize a high-volume, fast-moving transactional workload in an intense, deadline-driven environment.
- Provide objective and consistent oversight of transactional work performed by other transactional attorneys, accounting for workload allocation, prioritization, and ongoing training.
- Serve as a senior escalation point for complex or high-value transactions and help drive matters to resolution.
Requirements:
- J.D. and admission in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar.
- 10+ years of experience negotiating complex commercial contracts, including significant in-house experience at fast-paced, mid- to large-sized companies.
- Significant experience handling complex technology and commercial transactions in a sophisticated corporate or law firm environment.
- Strong transactional judgment and the ability to operate effectively in a high-intensity, sales-driven business environment.
- Exceptional relationship-building and client management skills, with the ability to establish credibility and trust with demanding business stakeholders.
- Strong business acumen and the ability to understand business objectives and translate them into practical legal solutions.
- Demonstrated ability to structure and improve legal functions, workflows, and processes.
- Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with a high degree of accountability for managing competing demands and ensuring work is appropriately allocated.
- A capacity to think big, bias for action, and willingness to take ownership of complex matters and broader functional initiatives.
- A growth mindset focused on continuous operational improvement, efficiency, and service excellence.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and issue-spotting skills.
- Ability to balance speed and commercial objectives with sound legal judgment and risk management.
- Comfortable operating with significant autonomy and ambiguity.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a business-driven senior attorney who combines strong technical transactional expertise with exceptional client-management skills and business judgment. A strong understanding of the IP and Trade & Regulatory issues relevant to a global business is a must. They are comfortable operating at speed, can independently manage complex matters, and have the judgment and organizational discipline to serve as a de facto practice leader.
This role is particularly well suited for someone who enjoys building the function and the way the work gets done, rather than simply managing people, and who can bring structure, accountability, and consistency to a rapidly evolving transactions environment.
The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity, and a range of benefit options found on our career site.
If this role has a commission structure, the compensation range below just reflects the base compensation range.
Compensation will vary based on individual factors such as education, qualifications, and experience of the final candidate(s), specific office location, and calibration against relevant market data and internal team equity. Posted base salary figures are subject to change as new market data becomes available. Our benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, matching 401(k), unlimited PTO and paid holidays, parental/adoption leave, legal insurance, and a home technology stipend. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided when a candidate receives an offer of employment.
At IonQ, we believe in fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all while striving to identify and eliminate barriers. We empower employees to thrive by fostering a culture of autonomy, productivity, and respect. We are dedicated to creating an environment where individuals can feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued.
We are committed to equity and justice. We welcome different voices and viewpoints and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.
US Technical Jobs. The position you are applying for will require access to technology that is subject to U.S. export control and government contract restrictions. Employment with IonQ is contingent on either verifying “U.S. Person” (e.g., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. permanent resident, or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum) status for export controls and government contracts work, obtaining any necessary license, and/or confirming the availability of a license exception under U.S. export controls. Please note that in the absence of confirming you are a U.S. Person for export control and government contracts work purposes, IonQ may choose not to apply for a license or decline to use a license exception (if available) for you to access export-controlled technology that may require authorization, and similarly, you may not qualify for government contracts work that requires U.S. Persons, and IonQ may decline to proceed with your application on those bases alone. Accordingly, we will have some additional questions regarding your immigration status that will be used for export control and compliance purposes, and the answers will be reviewed by compliance personnel to ensure compliance with federal law.
US Non-Technical Jobs. Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum. Accordingly, we will have some additional questions regarding your immigration status that will be used for export control and compliance purposes, and the answers will be reviewed by compliance personnel to ensure compliance with federal law.
If you are interested in being a part of our team and mission, we encourage you to apply!
Skills Required
- J.D. degree
- Admission in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar
- 10+ years of experience negotiating complex commercial contracts
- Significant in-house experience at fast-paced, mid-sized to large companies
- Significant experience handling complex technology and commercial transactions in a sophisticated corporate or law firm environment
- Strong transactional judgment in a high-intensity, sales-driven business environment
- Exceptional relationship-building and client-management skills
- Strong business acumen and ability to translate business objectives into practical legal solutions
- Demonstrated ability to structure and improve legal functions, workflows, and processes
- Strong organizational and prioritization skills with accountability for competing demands and workload allocation
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and issue-spotting skills
- Ability to balance speed and commercial objectives with legal judgment and risk management
- Ability to operate autonomously and effectively amid ambiguity
- Strong understanding of intellectual property and trade and regulatory issues relevant to a global business
IonQ Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about IonQ and has not been reviewed or approved by IonQ.
-
Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, HSA options, and no-cost mental-health support. Company materials also cite strong premium coverage levels for employees and dependents in recent years.
-
Parental & Family Support — Paid maternity, paternity, and bonding leave are presented as fully paid for eligible employees. This breadth of family support is emphasized across company and job materials.
-
Retirement Support — A 401(k) with company match up to 5% is part of the package, with materials noting a relatively short vesting schedule. Retirement support is positioned as a core element of total rewards.
IonQ Insights
What We Do
Quantum computers are a revolutionizing technology — they have the potential to transform business, society, and the planet for the better, and IonQ is at the forefront of this revolution. After over 25 years of academic research, IonQ was founded in 2015 by Chris Monroe and Jungsang Kim with $2 million in seed funding from New Enterprise Associates, a license to core technology from the University of Maryland and Duke University, and the goal of taking trapped ion quantum computing out of the lab and into the market. In the following three years, we raised an additional $20 million from GV, Amazon Web Services, and NEA, and built two of the world’s most accurate quantum computers. In 2019, we raised another $55 million in a round led by Samsung and Mubadala, and announced partnerships with Microsoft and Amazon Web Services to make our quantum computers available via the cloud. In 2020 and 2021, we built additional generations of high performance quantum hardware, added Google Cloud Marketplace to our cloud partner roster and announced a series of collaborations and business partnerships with leading academic and commercial institutions. On October 1st, 2021, IonQ began trading as IONQ on the New York Stock Exchange, making it the world's first public pure-play quantum computing company. We remain hard at work realizing the world-changing potential of quantum computing.
Why Work With Us
We’re growing a passionate, diverse team of collaborative, creative people. We believe in pursuing innovative, challenging work with integrity, alongside team members we can learn from and grow with.
Gallery
