Senior Software Engineer - Developer Tools

IonQ

7h•Onsite

About The Position

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, has been helping customers and partners like Amazon Web Services and AstraZeneca achieve significant performance results and accelerate innovation in various fields. In 2025, the company achieved a world record in quantum computing performance with 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity. Headquartered in College Park, Maryland, IonQ has global operations and offers quantum computing services through major cloud providers, while also serving networking and sensing customers. As a Senior Software Engineer for Developer Tools, you will be a key contributor to the software connecting quantum developers to IonQ's hardware. Your focus will be on quantum compiler tools and features that users and internal research teams rely on for running applications. You will build tooling to provide deep insights into circuit optimization and create intuitive interfaces for hardware-specific compiler passes, such as quantum error mitigation and quantum error correction, ensuring robustness and thorough documentation. You will collaborate closely with the Compiler, QEC, and Applications teams to develop, test, document, package, and release new features, applying software engineering best practices. The Developer Tools team is responsible for the critical software layer of the quantum ecosystem. In this role, you will help shape an ecosystem of tooling that translates high-level quantum circuits into optimized instructions for IonQ's quantum computers. Your work will directly impact the performance, reliability, and capabilities of quantum applications by focusing on the compiler's application-facing features and its connection to the hardware. The compiler is the interface where quantum algorithms meet quantum hardware, and your work will be central to this transformation. The tools you develop will define how developers interact with IonQ systems, enabling them to maximize performance, trust the compilation process, and customize optimization strategies. By focusing on compiler tools for applications, you will empower developers to address real-world problems and advance the possibilities of quantum computing, making advanced techniques accessible. This role offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with world-class researchers and translate their innovations into production software, accelerating the path to quantum advantage.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or a related field, or equivalent training, fellowship, or work experience.
6+ years of professional software engineering experience in team environments.
Deep proficiency in Python, our primary language.
Experience with quantum computing, with an understanding of quantum gates and circuits.
Familiar with the fundamentals of quantum compilation, error mitigation and quantum error correction.
Experience with software maintenance, user community stewardship and software engineering best practices.
Experience working with research or academic concepts and integrating them into scientific software workflows.
Familiarity with Agentic AI coding tools and techniques such as skills, docstring generation, code review, and software engineering best practices.
A track record of creating clear, comprehensive technical documentation.
Experience with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and scientific software validation.
Strong collaboration skills, with experience working across research and engineering teams.

Nice To Haves

8+ years of professional software experience.
An advanced degree (PhD or Master's) in Physics, Computer Science, or a related field with a focus on quantum computing.
A background in compiler development for either classical or quantum systems.
An interest in or experience with hardware-level and hardware-specific compilation, such as pulse-level control or dynamic circuits.
System-level programming experience with C++ or Rust for performance-critical code.
Deep experience with quantum compilers, circuit optimization, or quantum error correction.
Experience with quantum computing SDKs (Qiskit, Pennylane, Cirq).
Understanding of trapped-ion quantum computing systems and their specific noise characteristics.
Proficiency with or strong interest in open-source compiler tools like ucc and jeff
Publications or significant contributions to quantum computing research or open-source projects.

Responsibilities

Design, build, and maintain compiler toolchains, optimization tools, and circuit transformation libraries for developer-facing applications.
Work with the Compiler and Applications teams to package, test, and document new compilation features for both internal and external developers.
Architect and implement interfaces for hardware-specific compilation features, giving developers deeper control and visibility.
Integrate automated error mitigation, quantum error correction, and other advanced compilation strategies into our cloud platform and SDKs.
Maintain comprehensive documentation, examples, and tutorials for compilation workflows.
Support the testing and validation of compilation features across different IonQ backends and system configurations, and capabilities such as mid-circuit measurement and branching.
Collaborate with the Applications Engineering team to understand and address customer needs related to compilation and circuit optimization.