Full-Time

Staff Test Engineer

Integrated Photonics

Posted on 10/3/2025

IonQ

IonQ

501-1,000 employees

Develops trapped-ion quantum computers and software

Compensation Overview

$123.2k - $161.3k/yr

+ Bonus + Equity

Hyattsville, MD, USA

In Person

May require proximity to one of IonQ's offices (College Park, Seattle, Toronto, Basel) depending on assignment.

US Top Secret Clearance, US Citizenship Required

Category
QA & Testing (1)
Required Skills
Python
Git
MATLAB
Data Analysis
Requirements
  • Master's or Ph.D. in engineering or related field/discipline
  • 7+ years of industry experience
  • 6+ years of experience in the hands-on characterization of passive PIC components, micro-optics, and/or metalenses
  • 5+ years of programming experience in a general-purpose programming language (like Python, Matlab, etc.)
  • Experience with bringing up and maintaining multiple optical test labs, including wafer-level testers
  • Experience with test equipment driver development and with building and maintaining a testing code repository for automating test measurements
  • Strong data processing, visualization, and organizational skills, and related experience with software use (e.g. JMP)
  • Familiarity with free-space optics and imaging systems
Responsibilities
  • Design, build, upgrade, and maintain the PIC testing infrastructure for characterizing passive components, on-chip detectors, micro-optics, and metalenses at both chip and wafer level, for integration into trapped-ion quantum computing systems
  • Identify, procure, and install equipment and coordinate with facilities and other IonQ teams to facilitate the development of the PIC testing infrastructure
  • Develop testing procedures for component-level characterization, with an emphasis on creating and maintaining underlying drivers and core function scripts to build a robust foundation to allow for flexible, short ramp-up, experiment development
  • Train other team members on the testing procedures and ensure team adherence to best practices for code repository maintenance and for summarizing the testing results
  • Improve the testing data pipeline by incorporating and extracting layout information to allow for more efficient test definition as well as streamlining the analysis and data storage to ensure smooth accessibility to allow for comparison of measurement results with simulation and between various platforms
  • Characterization of passive components, micro-optics, and metalenses to feed back the experimental data to design engineers to improve the component performance across multiple wavelengths and temperatures
  • Collaborate closely with other areas of the PIC team (design, packaging, architecture, foundry) to ensure testing priorities align with the PIC team roadmap and to ensure the results are summarized and communicated in a manner that facilitates design downselection and actionable decisions
Desired Qualifications
  • 7+ years of PIC design and characterization experience of passive PIC components, micro-optics, and/or metalenses
  • Experience with bringing up and maintaining a wafer-level test setup for optical measurements
  • Experience working with visible-light laser sources and fiber components
  • Strong programming skills for data analysis and experimental automation software, and experience with version control systems such as git
  • Experience using 3D CAD tools like Autodesk Inventor or SolidWorks
  • Familiarity with fabrication processes and design constraints for PICs
  • Experience with design, simulation, and layout of PIC components
  • Strong understanding of free-space optics and imaging systems

IonQ builds quantum computers using trapped-ion qubits to tackle highly complex problems. The core product is a quantum computer that uses ions held in traps, with gates driven by lasers, and an optical network layer that links qubits for scalable performance. This setup offers high qubit quality, exact replication of qubits, and easy interconnection across a network, enabling a broad range of applications across industries through optimized quantum algorithms. Compared with competitors, IonQ emphasizes its trapped-ion platform for strong physical performance, precise qubit replication, and seamless optical networking, aiming to scale quantum machines while keeping high fidelity. The company’s goal is to provide the world’s best quantum computers to transform business, society, and the planet by solving problems that are currently intractable.”} ấnย

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

College Park, Maryland

Founded

2015

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Q1 2026 revenue hits $64.7M with $470M backlog, guiding $260M-$270M full-year growth.
  • DARPA contract and AFRL backing fuel 56.5% April stock surge and government revenue.
  • Commercial InSAR launch and Einride pilot expand into Earth monitoring and logistics markets.

What critics are saying

  • $229M Q1 operating loss accelerates cash burn, forcing shareholder dilution by Q3 2026.
  • Quantinuum's 1024-qubit target by 2027 surpasses IonQ's 256-qubit Tempo, slashing DARPA funds.
  • Nvidia CUDA-Q diverts Azure workloads from IonQ, collapsing 70% quantum access in 12 months.

What makes IonQ unique

  • IonQ photonically interconnects two trapped-ion systems, enabling networked quantum computers since April 14, 2026.
  • Trapped-ion qubits deliver 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, highest in industry on Tempo system.
  • Full qubit connectivity in ion chains requires fewer qubits than superconducting rivals for high-fidelity results.

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Benefits

Biweekly catered lunches

Parental leave

Health, vision, & dental insurance

Flexible time off

401(k) with 5% match

University facilities

Commuter benefits

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-3%

1 year growth

-4%

2 year growth

-4%
Dailyfly News
Apr 14th, 2026
Washington governor directs $500K to IonQ's quantum computing facility expansion in Bothell

Governor Bob Ferguson has directed $500,000 from Washington's Economic Development Strategic Reserve Fund to support IonQ's expansion in Bothell. The quantum computing manufacturer, whose largest shareholders include Vanguard, BlackRock and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, will use the funding for building upgrades, workforce expenses and expansion costs. The state funding is matched by over $14 million in private investment. IonQ opened the nation's first dedicated quantum computing manufacturing facility in Bothell in 2024, which has since expanded into a 100,000-square-foot hub. The expansion is expected to create between 1,200 and 2,000 jobs over five years. IonQ develops quantum computing systems for complex problems in healthcare, energy and cybersecurity. The Strategic Reserve Fund uses unclaimed lottery prize money for economic development projects.

Yahoo Finance
Apr 14th, 2026
Quantum computing stocks rated 'buy' by analysts as market set to reach $19B by 2035

Quantum computing stocks are attracting strong analyst interest as the sector grows rapidly. Precedence Research values the quantum computing market at $1.44 billion in 2024, projecting it will reach $19.44 billion by 2035, representing a 29.7% CAGR. IonQ, using trapped ion technology, raised analyst attention after posting $61.9 million in 4Q25 revenues, up 429% year-over-year. Jefferies rates it a Buy with a $90 target, implying 213% upside. D-Wave Quantum's dual-platform approach combining annealing and gate-model systems has earned a unanimous Strong Buy rating from analysts, with a $38.18 average target suggesting 168% gains. Infleqtion, the sector's newcomer using neutral atom technology, went public in February through a SPAC transaction that raised $550 million. BTIG rates it a Buy with a $22 target, representing 75% potential upside.

Business Wire
Apr 9th, 2026
Horizon Quantum to purchase IonQ's 256-qubit trapped-ion system for quantum software development

Horizon Quantum Holdings has entered a strategic agreement with IonQ to purchase one of IonQ's first 6th-generation, chip-based 256-qubit trapped-ion systems. The acquisition will expand Horizon Quantum's hardware testbed beyond its initial superconducting system, making it among the few global efforts operating commercial systems of multiple modalities. IonQ's 256-qubit system features 99.99% gate fidelity, all-to-all connectivity and parallel operations, designed to provide significantly more computing capacity for complex problems. Horizon Quantum plans to integrate the trapped-ion technology with its Triple Alpha software platform, enabling advanced functionality including general control flow, dynamic memory allocation and concurrent classical/quantum function evaluation. The partnership aims to create a hardware-agnostic environment for quantum software development, providing developers with a direct path to broad quantum advantage.

Horizon Quantum
Apr 9th, 2026
Horizon Quantum and IonQ Enter into Strategic Agreement to Unlock Quantum Potential

Horizon Quantum and IonQ enter into strategic agreement to unlock quantum potential. Horizon Quantum and IonQ announced a strategic agreement. Horizon Quantum will purchase one of IonQ's first 6th-generation, chip-based 256-qubit trapped-ion systems, in furtherance of Horizon Quantum's mission to unlock the full potential of quantum computing with its software platform. Estimated time April 9, 2026 This photo depicts a current trapped ion system from IonQ. The system to be delivered to Horizon will be IonQ's next-generation 256-qubit technology.

Yahoo Finance
Apr 7th, 2026
IonQ appoints William F. Scannell as director amid $1.8B SkyWater acquisition

IonQ has appointed William F. Scannell as a Class II director, with a term running until the 2026 Annual Meeting and a seat on the Compensation Committee. The appointment comes as the quantum computing company reports strong year-over-year revenue growth and pursues vertical integration of its quantum hardware platform. The board expansion follows IonQ's announcement of a $1.8 billion acquisition of SkyWater Technology, aimed at creating a vertically integrated quantum hardware stack. The deal supports IonQ's roadmap towards 256-qubit chip-based systems, though it also raises concerns about acquisition costs and integration complexity. IonQ's narrative projects $388.6 million in revenue by 2028, requiring 69.5% annual revenue growth. However, the company faces ongoing challenges including cash burn, acquisition spending and widening adjusted EBITDA losses as it works to scale its trapped ion quantum computing technology.

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