Full-Time

Physicist – Resilience Engineering and System Operations

Posted on 9/3/2025

IonQ

IonQ

501-1,000 employees

Develops trapped-ion quantum computers and software

Compensation Overview

$93.2k - $122k/yr

+ Bonus + Equity

Bothell, WA, USA + 1 more

More locations: Hyattsville, MD, USA

In Person

May require proximity to offices in College Park, Seattle, Toronto, or Basel.

Category
Hardware Engineering (1)
Requirements
  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in physics, engineering, or another physical science
  • Desire and capability to work closely on a team that is distributed - excellent communication skills and a collaborative mindset
  • Hands on experience with optical alignments, laser stabilization, and/or AOMs
  • A propensity for learning new things and fascination with emerging technologies
  • A love of physics and quantum physics in particular
  • Formal training or education in statistics
  • Capable of adapting for an ever-growing and ever-changing work environment
  • Disposition to work flexible working hours, on a 24/7 on-call shift where the rotation changes as needed
  • 3+ years of professional experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience
  • 1+ year laboratory experience in atomic and/or optical physics
Responsibilities
  • Ensure high uptime and performance of our commercial quantum computers, through maintenance, monitoring, and engineering of state-of-the-art quantum computers
  • Ensure a great customer experience that you’ll always be improving
  • Automate capabilities to optimize system performance
  • Work collaboratively with physicists and engineers to build tools and technologies that improve the performance of present and future commercial systems
  • Participate in follow-the-sun on-call rotations to keep our systems running at peak performance
Desired Qualifications
  • PhD in physics, engineering, or another physical science
  • Deep experience with JavaScript or Python
  • A background in data analysis, data science, or machine learning
  • Software Engineering experience

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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