Senior Program Manager, Customer Delivery

IonQ•Bothell, WA

1d•$174,520 - $250,253•Hybrid

About The Position

IonQ is seeking a customer-obsessed, execution-driven technical program manager to establish and lead the new Delivery Excellence function. The primary mission is to build and operate systems that coordinate complex delivery processes to ensure customers receive the right deliverables on time, payments are processed promptly, and the overall customer experience is exceptional. As a technical program manager within IonQ's Quantum Computing product family, you will be an integral part of a cross-functional team dedicated to building and delivering the world's leading quantum computers to address the planet's most complex challenges. This role requires a self-starter with strong organizational skills, a blend of technical and business acumen, a curious and humble mindset, and the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with diverse internal and external stakeholders. The ideal candidate will possess the judgment to manage multiple concurrent programs, the discipline to maintain a predictable reporting cadence amidst dynamic environments, and the credibility to extract and synthesize status from engineering and science teams into trustworthy reports for customers and executives. You will be responsible for overseeing IonQ's commitments for on-premise quantum computing installations, transforming a currently fragmented process into a streamlined and coordinated function. This involves developing lightweight systems, reviews, and reporting mechanisms to ensure predictable delivery, establishing cross-functional coordination across Go-to-Market (GTM), Product, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Finance, and building and leading a team of program managers to support future growth. While Customer Success and Account Executives will manage the broader commercial relationship, you will own the delivery relationship for high-profile, high-value customers from contract signing through acceptance. This role is ideal for individuals passionate about bringing order to ambiguity, energized by the operational challenges of delivering advanced technology to demanding clients, and eager to make a significant impact on the future of IonQ and the quantum computing industry.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, a related technical field, or equivalent real-world experience
12+ years of experience in technical program management, delivery leadership, or equivalent roles, in hardware, deep-tech, or otherwise complex systems environments
A track record of leading cross-functional delivery of complex, multi-team programs for external customers, including ones with formal reporting and governance requirements
Experience building and leading a program management team
Sufficient technical fluency to extract status directly from engineering, facilities, and other technical teams and translate it into reporting that customers and executives trust
World-class written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to articulate complex topics to technical and non-technical audiences
A demonstrated ability to act as a self-starting, high-accountability leader in ambiguous and challenging environments, driving impact through persistence and adaptability

Nice To Haves

Experience delivering physical hardware or complex scientific instruments to customers, including the handoff from manufacturing to field deployment and bring-up
Experience standing up or scaling a program-management or delivery function from scratch
Familiarity with Quantum Computing, Quantum Information Science, or deep-tech R&D.
Experience in Private Cloud Deployment, Scientific Computing, or High Performance Computing — their tools, users, business models, and operational challenges
Direct experience with government contracting and milestone-based technical reporting for scientific or research missions (DARPA, DOE, NSF, or similar)
Willingness and proven ability to learn quickly

Responsibilities

Clarify Commitments: Understand every deal's delivery and reporting obligations, including who is responsible for what, to whom, and by when. Translate contracts and implicit expectations into a clear, shared understanding of what constitutes successful delivery for each customer. Address new needs and ambiguities as they arise, balancing margin, timeline, customer satisfaction, and roadmap alignment.
Build the Backbone: Establish and maintain the operating model for delivering large-scale deals that satisfy both customers and internal stakeholders on a predictable schedule. This includes creating customer-tailorable templates and runbooks, a visible schedule and reporting artifacts for internal and external stakeholders, and clear interfaces with deal review processes to identify potential engineering or reporting impacts before commitments are made.
Align and De-Risk: Collaborate with Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, Field Engineering, Finance, and GTM teams to ensure commitments are realistic and to identify risks early. Conduct cross-functional reviews to clarify plans, deliverables, and escalate critical tradeoffs before they lead to missed deadlines or deferred revenue.
Deliver Excellence: Coordinate and drive various sub-programs to achieve aligned, on-time delivery, system bring-up, and reporting. Strive for consistency and repeatability while accommodating the unique needs of each customer. Maintain an exceptionally high standard for customer experience and communication throughout the delivery process.
Build and Lead: Hire, develop, and manage a team of program managers to scale the delivery system over time. Set high standards, define the operational playbook, and grow the function in alignment with customer and product portfolio expansion, ensuring efficiency and avoiding unnecessary complexity.