Industry R&D
Staff Technical Programme Manager, Quantum Benchmarking Initiative
IonQ
College Park, MD
Description
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:
IonQ is working with DARPA, through the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, to show when a utility scale, fault tolerant quantum computer can be delivered, with a target early in the next decade. Around forty scientists and engineers from national laboratories examine that plan in depth, and successive generations of our systems are verified and validated against it. It is one of the most consequential technology programs in the industry, and the program manager at its centre connects what we are building today with everything we plan to build next.
This role sits in our Architecture team in College Park, Maryland, and is the connection between internal quantum computer development at IonQ and the initiative. Conversations move from near term quantum control, through chip and error correction code design, to quantum error correction on future systems, so you will need to follow the science closely enough to plan it. You will turn test results and risk burndown into a schedule that a technically sophisticated customer can trust, and you will bring that customer with you rather than argue them round.
Responsibilities:
You will integrate the schedules of several internal quantum computer development efforts into one integrated master schedule that shows our path to fault tolerant, utility scale quantum computing, and you will present it to government customers and their technical experts. When a test event validates a system requirement or retires a risk, you will work out what it means for the schedule, forecast the remaining risk honestly and raise any gap before it threatens a contractual milestone.
You will own the external deliverables, including architecture documentation, verification and validation documentation, and the commissioning and delivery of systems into government laboratories. That means negotiating the structure, quality and content of deliverables with government evaluators, balancing internal engineering milestones against verification activity, and organising customer site visits and status reviews with the right internal experts in the room. Some analysis will look ahead to architectures beyond the systems in build today, so you will be comfortable working with ambiguity.
Key responsibilities include:
- Build and maintain a government quality integrated master schedule across internal development efforts.
- Track, forecast and report risk to upcoming contractual milestones.
- Manage architecture, verification and validation deliverables with government evaluation teams.
- Plan the commissioning and delivery of quantum computers to customer sites.
- Organise customer site visits, technical reviews and status reporting.
Requirements:
You will know trapped ion or neutral atom systems well, or have deep experience of another quantum hardware platform, because national laboratory experts will take every conversation into scientific detail. We look for around five years of hands on quantum experience, whether gained in industry, in a quantum control or systems role, or through a PhD, which counts towards those years. A degree on its own is not enough; what matters is that you understand what is going on and can tell when a plan will not close.
You will also have learned the programmatics, typically as a technical program manager, project engineer or chief engineer, often in a defence environment, and you will have built or owned an integrated master schedule. Organised, detailed and thorough, you will lead across a matrixed organisation without direct authority, and you will bring customers and colleagues along with you rather than argue to win. You will need to be able to obtain a US security clearance.
You’d be a great fit with:
- Experience with trapped ion or neutral atom quantum computing.
- Program planning as a chief engineer, project engineer or technical program manager on defence quantum programs.
- Experience working with national laboratories or government test and evaluation teams.
- Experience in quantum control systems, or as a program manager working closely with them.
- An active US security clearance.
This role is based in College Park, Maryland, with a minimum of three days on site each week.
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.
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!