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Bothell, Washington, United States
Hybrid
Not Available
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.
As a Staff Software Engineer (SDK) on the Developer Tools team, you will own the programming paradigms, interfaces, and developer experience that IonQ exposes to the world through its quantum SDKs. Your work will define how researchers, enterprises, and the broader open-source community write, optimize, and run quantum programs on IonQ hardware. You will lead the productization and open-sourcing of IonQ's quantum developer tools, setting the standard for usability, documentation, and community engagement across our public-facing SDK ecosystem.
This is a highly visible role at the boundary between IonQ's internal platform and the external developer community. You will set high-level technical standards for SDK architecture, mentor senior engineers and scientists, and provide deep expertise to solve the most challenging problems in quantum programming models, API design, and cross-platform integration. You will work across organizational boundaries, Applications, Compiler, and Engineering, to ensure that IonQ's SDKs are powerful, intuitive, and aligned with cutting-edge quantum research.
Your impact will be measured by the quality and adoption of IonQ's public SDK offerings, the health of our open-source communities, and the successful delivery of cross-functional projects that make quantum computing more accessible to every developer.
Responsibilities:
You’d be a good fit with:
You’d be a great fit with:
Why This Role Matters
The SDK is the front door to IonQ's quantum computers. Your architectural decisions will shape how thousands of developers, from academic researchers to Fortune 500 engineering teams, experience quantum computing for the first time and build on it over time. By leading the open-sourcing and productization of IonQ's developer tools, you will directly accelerate the global adoption of quantum computing and help build the community that sustains it. This role offers the rare opportunity to combine deep technical leadership with high-visibility community impact, defining not just how IonQ's tools work, but how the world writes quantum software.
Location: This position can work onsite or hybrid from Bothell, WA.
Travel: About once per quarter
Job ID: 1105
The approximate base salary range for this position is $174,520 - $228,492. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, and equity.
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!