Staff Backend Software Engineer, Cloud Platform

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.

Role Overview

Role:

We don't just build the world's best quantum computers: we want them to be usable by everyone, everywhere. We are looking for a Staff Backend Software Engineer to join the cross-functional team building the IonQ Cloud Platform, which connects our customers to our quantum computers through APIs, tools and partner clouds such as AWS, GCP and Azure. You will help build key components of the platform with our product, applications and systems teams and our scientists, to create the best quantum developer experience for our customers and partners.

The platform takes a customer's quantum job, breaks it down, compiles it, queues it, runs it on our hardware and returns the results, so without it the quantum job flow does not work. The team works at pace, closer to a small company than a large one, with requirements that change as the hardware, the compiler and the jobs themselves evolve. You do not need a quantum background, but you will need curiosity, humility and a willingness to ask questions while you learn the language of quantum.

Responsibilities:

Reporting to the Senior Manager of Cloud Engineering, you will work closely with the Infrastructure Engineering, Application Development and Operations teams to provide highly available, fault-tolerant cloud services. You will be a key contributor to the job processing pipeline that handles large, complex jobs asynchronously, and you will define API contracts with backend teams and take them from design through implementation to release.

Alongside new feature development for next year's roadmap, you will share responsibility for keeping the platform healthy: strengthening testing, observability and continuous delivery, improving stability and security, and taking part in on-call rotations and incident reviews. You will also integrate AI capabilities that improve the customer experience, use AI-assisted development tools responsibly, mentor engineers and drive technical alignment across teams.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead the design and implementation of compelling software experiences that appeal to quantum novices and experts alike.

• Define API contracts with backend teams and strengthen testing, observability and continuous delivery practices.

• Contribute to the job processing pipeline, from pre-processing and asynchronous execution to post-processing and returning results.

• Integrate AI capabilities that improve customer experiences, and use AI-assisted development tools responsibly.

• Mentor engineers, drive technical alignment across teams, and take part in on-call rotations and incident reviews.

Requirements:

You will have a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related field, or equivalent training, fellowship or work experience, and 7+ years of professional software engineering experience. You will bring strong experience with large-scale cloud service platforms and the design of scalable, robust services, programming experience in languages such as Go, TypeScript or Python, experience with databases such as PostgreSQL, and experience in a cloud native environment (AWS, GCP or Azure, with Kubernetes or serverless).

You will be able to design and implement critical application components, including UX, APIs and services, exception handling, data access and security, and you will have experience with automated testing, production troubleshooting and observability. You will have practical experience with AI-assisted engineering tools, including validating generated code for correctness and security, a track record of leading projects in a cross-functional team, and strong written and spoken communication and collaboration skills.

You’d be a great fit with:

• 10+ years of professional full stack software development experience.

• 3+ years of working with Kubernetes, and 3+ years with NoSQL and SQL databases.

• OAuth, OpenID or SAML based authentication experience.

• Prior experience developing on Google Cloud Platform, ideally on a cloud platform team at a major provider.

• Experience building job processing pipelines for large, complex workloads such as quantum, AI or video analytics jobs.

The total compensation package includes base salary, bonus, equity, and a range of benefits available on our career site. If this role has a commission structure, the compensation range below just reflects the base compensation range.

Wage Transparency: $152,000—$228,000 USD

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!