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: Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Travel: As Needed
Job ID: 1805
The Role:
We’re looking for an enthusiastic and highly technical Director, Systems Software who will thrive in our dynamic cross-disciplinary environment. You’d be working closely with our skilled software engineers and our world-leading quantum scientists to plan and manage the development of software that powers our quantum computers.
You will initially be leading a software team of around twenty software engineers with future growth of the team expected. We develop a full stack solution ranging from the real-time control & monitoring of our systems through an IR and quantum compiler layer to application demonstration. Your role will be critical in both specifying the stack as components that can be individually developed and released, and growing the team into a world-class organisation capable of developing and supporting the stack for internal and external customers. A critical part of this will be to establish and drive suitable development, devops, release, and 3rd line support processes.
The quantum core of our hardware is built from trapped-ion qubits, controlled by devices designed and made by a partner tier 1 fab. We control the ions using electrical signals and laser light, driven by real-time FPGA systems and networked equipment. The required sequences and operations are derived both by low-level experiments that our science teams produce, and by a compilation flow from quantum algorithms. Our software stack is a combination of Python and Rust.
We are looking for an experienced full-stack software manager, previous exposure to quantum systems is not required.
Responsibilities:
In this position, you’ll have the opportunity to accelerate the delivery of our software projects, contributing directly to the success of our research and development roadmap.
A focus in this role will be leading the definition and evolution of any internal team processes and the devops processes as our stack matures. You will work collaboratively with other teams to develop stronger cross-team interfaces and processes.
Your key responsibilities can be split into two categories:
Product management
- Lead the software team and work with other technical teams to build and maintain long-term roadmaps for our various software projects
- Capture feature requests from internal conversations and external requirements
- Understand conflicting priorities and manage the team to deliver according to company needs and timescales
- Drive detailed software solutions, working with the software team
- Provide clear updates on issues and progress to all stakeholders
- Own the software team’s backlog, working with the team members and project management group to keep it up to date
- Be the first point of call for others in the company to understand how the software fits together at a high level
Team management
- Ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the software team and ensuring the team maintains the right balance of delivery speed and quality
- Support members of the software team, including looking out for their wellbeing
- Conducting the performance reviews for the team and supporting their career development at IonQ
- Work with the VP of Engineering to plan future growth of the software team
Requirements:
To be successful, you will need proven experience managing a software organisation containing tens of engineers and subject matter experts in their respective fields.You will have a track record in setting priorities, giving clear expectations and ensuring results are suitable for the internal and external customers, with a clear understanding of critical versus urgent items.
You’d be a great fit with:
- Proven ability to delegate at the appropriate level while maintaining good quality output at the pace needed in a high-tech startup
- Detailed technical background in more than one of the following areas: real time embedded software, compiler development, assembler development, graph algorithmic representations, system monitoring, data centre deployments.
- Clear understanding of standard software development processes and a pragmatic approach to their use in a growing organisation
- Excellent technical and organisational communication skills, both across the organisation and to external stakeholders
It would also be beneficial to have an understanding of branching and release practices and when to use them and/or how to organise internal triage and support as our external customer base grows. Additional desirable experience would be experience in tracking team delivery of new features, including scoping, estimation, release planning and tracking.
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
- Proven experience managing a software organization containing tens of engineers and subject matter experts
- Demonstrated ability to set priorities, establish clear expectations, and deliver results for internal and external customers
- Ability to delegate appropriately while maintaining quality and delivery speed in a high-tech startup
- Detailed technical background in more than one of the following: real-time embedded software, compiler development, assembler development, graph algorithmic representations, system monitoring, or data center deployments
- Understanding of standard software development processes and pragmatic application in a growing organization
- Excellent technical and organizational communication skills across the organization and with external stakeholders
- Understanding of branching and release practices
- Experience organizing internal triage and third-line support
- Experience tracking feature delivery, including scoping, estimation, release planning, and progress tracking
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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