Staff Software Engineer - Compiler Tools

IonQ • Oxford, WA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

IonQ is developing the world's most powerful full-stack quantum computer based on trapped-ion technology. We are pushing past the limits of classical physics and current supercomputing technology to unlock a new era of computing. Quantum computing has the potential to impact every area of human society for the better. IonQ’s computers will soon redefine industries like medicine, materials science, finance, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cryptography, and more. IonQ is at the forefront of this technological revolution. As Staff Software Engineer for Compiler and Simulation Tools, you'll serve as co-maintainer of IonQ's compiler and simulation tooling, working closely with the Compiler team to support the fleet of customer-facing tools quantum developers rely on. In collaboration with the Compiler team's work on core innovations and releases, you'll maintain the ongoing ecosystem of compilation APIs, SDK integrations, simulator packages, and internal tooling that require continuous support, iteration with users, and incremental improvements.The Developer Tools team builds the software layer connecting quantum developers to IonQ's quantum computers. This role focuses on maintaining compilation toolchains, supporting simulator deployments, gathering feedback from direct customer interactions, and ensuring the interfaces for quantum compilation and simulation remain accessible, transparent, and reliable. You'll work at the intersection of customer needs and production software engineering, translating real-world developer pain points into improvements while protecting the Compiler team's focus on next-generation systems. What You'll Do You'll build tools for compiler premium configurations, build OpenAPI-based SDK foundations for compilation workflows, and package compiler transparency features that give developers insight into how their circuits are optimized. You'll package and deploy IonQ's noisy simulator as standalone, distributable products for enterprise customers and partner integrations. You'll contribute to error mitigation production release tooling, support fault-tolerant quantum computing programming model integrations, and build end-to-end tests ensuring compilation jobs run reliably across IonQ's evolving quantum systems.This role requires both technical depth in quantum compilation and simulation, and pragmatism in shipping reliable software. You'll maintain close collaboration with IonQ's Compiler team to understand their innovations, then apply production engineering discipline to make those innovations accessible through well-documented, tested, supported tools.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or related field, or equivalent training, fellowship, or work experience
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience working in team environments
• 3+ years leading design and development of scientific libraries or compiler tooling
• Deep proficiency in Python—this is our primary language
• Strong experience with C++ or Rust for system-level programming and performance-critical code
• Understanding of quantum circuits, gates, and compilation fundamentals
• Demonstrated ability to leverage AI coding assistants (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude, etc.) to enhance productivity and code quality
• Experience taking research implementations and turning them into production-ready, maintainable software
• Track record of creating clear, comprehensive technical documentation
• Experience with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and release engineering
• Strong collaboration skills: working with research teams, product managers, and external users

Nice To Haves

• 10+ years of professional software experience
• Experience with quantum compilers, circuit optimization, or quantum error correction
• Background in compiler development for classical or quantum systems
• Proficiency with quantum computing SDKs (Qiskit, Pennylane, Cirq)
• Experience with quantum simulation, noise modeling, or resource estimation
• Experience with quantum error mitigation techniques or resource estimation
• Understanding of fault-tolerant quantum computing and logical qubits
• Experience packaging and deploying scientific software (Docker, containers, distribution platforms)
• Experience maintaining open-source software with outside contributors
• Previous work in scientific computing, HPC, or physics simulation
• Publications or contributions to quantum computing research

Responsibilities

• Own the compiler innovation tooling pipeline: taking new features from Compiler team through testing, documentation, packaging, and release
• Design and maintain compilation toolchains, optimization tools, and circuit transformation libraries
• Improve, package and distribute IonQ's noisy simulator as deployable products (Docker containers, standalone packages) for enterprise customers and on-premise deployments
• Build interfaces for compiler transparency features: giving developers visibility into optimization decisions
• Package and distribute compiler tools as standalone products for local use and cloud deployment
• Manage noise model configurations and simulator versioning for deployed packages
• Contribute to error mitigation production tooling and quantum error correction infrastructure
• Support fault-tolerant quantum computing programming model compiler integrations
• Build comprehensive end-to-end tests for compilation jobs across different backends and gate sets
• Provide feedback to Compiler team on developer needs, API design, and feature prioritization
• Collaborate with SDK engineers to ensure seamless integration of compilation and simulation features into developer workflows

Benefits

• US benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, matching 401K, unlimited PTO and paid holidays, parental/adoption leave, legal insurance, a home internet stipend, and pet insurance!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level