Lead Executive Recruiter

IonQ

5h • Hybrid

About The Position

IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world’s leading quantum company delivering solutions to solve the world’s most complex problems. IonQ’s newest generation quantum computers, IonQ Tempo and IonQ Forte Enterprise, are the latest in cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners such as Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve 20x performance results. The company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance in 2025.
The company is accelerating its technology roadmap and intends to deliver the world’s most powerful quantum computers with 2 million qubits by 2030 to accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. IonQ’s advancements in quantum networking position the company as a leader in building the quantum internet.
As a Lead Executive Recruiter at IonQ, you will play a critical role in shaping how we build executive talent pipelines and execute executive-level search. This is a unique opportunity to both drive executive hiring efforts and lay the foundation for a best-of-breed executive search function.
This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a high-impact, evolving environment and is passionate about building a function for discovering, engaging, and hiring “the best of the best”. The mission for this role includes partnering with IonQ’s C-suite and Board of Directors to both land world-class leadership and build a global talent scouting program. This role reports to the Director, Talent Acquisition for the US.

Requirements

• 12 years in Talent Acquisition and or HR functions
• 8+ Years of executive search for emerging sectors: Experience finding, engaging, and hiring strong executive leaders for companies pioneering novel businesses and technologies.
• Executive presence: Track record of building trust and consultative relationships with C-level hiring managers
• Strategic Design: Proven track record of building executive recruiting programs from the ground up.
• Global Mindset: Experience navigating the nuances of global hiring and international relocation.
• Management Potential: The desire and ability to eventually lead a team of executive and technical recruiters as IonQ’s headcount grows.

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated experience building an Executive Recruiting function in a global company.
• Past experience hiring and mentoring a team of executive recruiters.

Responsibilities

• Executive Recruiting Full- Cycle Ownership:
• Identify and build relationships with high-impact, executive leaders whose backgrounds add to IonQ’s strategic growth.
• Manage the end-to-end lifecycle for VP+ roles and "Individual Contributor" roles of equivalent impact, ensuring a high-touch, premium experience.
• Design and lead recurring search reviews with executive stakeholders, providing data-driven updates on pipeline health and competitive market intelligence.
• Lead the negotiation and engagement with external search firms when necessary.
• Function Building & Best Practices:
• Collaborate with Global Talent Acquisition leadership to define the vision, principles, and operating model for the executive recruiting function.
• Establish best practices, tools, and workflows that scale with the company’s growth.
• Leverage technology, AI, and automation to drive efficiencies, pipeline quality, and measurable outcomes.
• Define and track key executive sourcing metrics to measure impact and continuously improve performance.
• Transition our reliance on external search firms into an internal capability, building a database of long-term "silver medalist" talent for future leadership needs.
• HR Team Partnerships and Long Term Planning
• Partner closely with People Business Partners to integrate executive recruiting efforts with overall talent management, succession planning, and workforce planning strategies.
• Drive the proactive identification, assessment, and cultivation of a long-term executive talent pipeline for critical and potential succession roles, ensuring readiness for future leadership needs.
• Collaborate with People Analytics and HRBPs to define, track, and share data-driven insights on executive talent supply, demand, and bench strength to inform organizational strategy and long-term pipelining efforts.

Benefits

• Our benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, matching 401K, 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees