Senior Manager, Software Engineering at IonQ

United States

$192.979k - $252.659k

About IonQ: IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world’s leading quantum company delivering solutions to solve the world’s most complex problems. IonQ’s newest generation quantum computers, IonQ Tempo and IonQ Forte Enterprise, are the latest in cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners such as Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve 20x performance results. The company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance in 2025. The company is accelerating its technology roadmap and intends to deliver the world’s most powerful quantum computers with 2 million qubits by 2030 to accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. IonQ’s advancements in quantum networking position the company as a leader in building the quantum internet. Location: This position can work onsite or hybrid from one of our offices or fully remote in the US. Travel: Up to 10% Job ID: 1482 The Role: We are seeking a senior software engineering manager to lead and grow our System Operations Software team, which builds and maintains software for our quantum systems. In this role, you’ll provide capabilities to improve customer experience and reduce operational toil. You’ll work closely with other software engineers, physicists, hardware engineers, and product managers to collectively solve systemic problems and improve system uptime and performance. The ideal candidate will have experience leading or contributing to multiple simultaneous initiatives, balancing activities with a keen eye for prioritization to maximize impact. You’ll be able to balance technical expertise with strong business judgment to make effective technology choices with lasting impact. You’ll strive for simplicity while demonstrating significant creativity and incisive judgment. You’ll enjoy learning technical topics, collaborating across multiple business streams, and playing a key role in helping us reach the next horizon in secure quantum computing. Responsibilities: Foster your team’s culture and build a high-trust team by promoting transparency, accountability, ownership, and psychological safety Hire, develop, and retain talent Demonstrate strong leadership and mentorship skills to foster a high-performing, innovative team environment that supports growth and retention Provide technical guidance to your team of software engineers and SREs to help build robust, well-engineered, and scalable software solutions Drive functional and technical delivery of key team and org-wide programs/initiatives Work collaboratively with cross-functional and senior management to influence and align on department-level goals and objectives Develop, implement, and iterate on processes, frameworks, and practices to achieve goals with well-defined success criteria Create widely circulated plans that drive consistency, clarity, and best practices, and build alignment across teams Reduce ambiguity by establishing a clear guiding strategy and goals that align with business priorities Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Physics, or related field, or equivalent practical experience 13+ years of professional experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience 6+ years of hands-on technical leadership and people management experience Experience with Kubernetes and containerization; strong understanding of container orchestration, microservices architecture, and cloud-native principles Experience with data engineering and data architecture Strong expertise in virtual machines, Linux/UNIX systems, kernels, and networking Demonstrable experience with Site Reliability Engineering practices such as SLOs, observability practices, Learning From Incidents/root cause analysis culture, and automation to eliminate toil Knowledge of team management best practices and demonstrated experience building and scaling effective teams that drive a high-performance, high-trust culture in a distributed work environment Sound project management, strong analytical skills, and the ability to establish meaningful metrics that help drive a high return on investment Customer focused mindset and the ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with internal and external partners Preferred Qualifications: MS or PhD in Computer Science, Physics, Quantum Information Science, or a related degree 10+ years of technical leadership and people management experience 3+ years of managing distributed teams Contributions to large open source projects Past experience delivering and scaling a computation-as-a-service platform Familiarity with Google Kubernetes Engine A background in quantum computing and/or quantum information science The approximate base salary range for this position is $192,979 - $252,659. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity, and a range of benefit options found on our career site. 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 401K, 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. IonQ's HQ is located in College Park, Maryland, just outside of Washington DC. We are actively building out our recently opened manufacturing and production facility in Bothell, WA (near Seattle). Depending on the position, you may be required to be near one of our offices in College Park, Seattle, Toronto, Canada, and Basel, Switzerland. However, IonQ will expand into additional domestic and international geographies, so don’t let this stop you from applying! 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!