Senior Staff Software Engineer, IonQ

• 12+ years of experience as a backend or full-stack developer, preferably in Python or Golang
• 5+ years of experience in setting up and maintaining CI / CD pipelines, in Github Actions, Jenkins, or similar tools
• 5+ years of experience in C/C++ or Rust
• 3+ years of experience in Docker, k8s, or similar containerization technologies
• A track record of shipping containerized applications that solve real business problems
• Previous work in scientific computing, quantum computing, or a related field
• Daily usage of augmented coding tools like Claude or Gemini

Desirable

• We are looking for a Senior Staff Software Engineer for Application Engineering. As a Sr Software Engineer on the Applications Engineer team, you’ll be part of a cross-functional team whose mission is to deliver real-world applications and value from the leap forward in computing enabled by quantum technology
• We don't just build the world's best quantum computers—we apply cutting edge quantum computing tools to real world problems
• Until now, our team of Applications Scientists have been building prototypes, working closely with our customers. Our new department, Applications Engineering, will ultimately help transform proven quantum computing use-cases pioneered by our scientists into production applications, making those innovations available to more people and businesses by packaging and deploying these tools as SaaS applications
• But first, we must mature existing proof-of-concept quantum code into production grade applications. As a hands-on team lead for a new engineering team, you will work on enhancing developer experience (DevEx) by applying best practices to research-grade code
• You will also set up CI / CD pipelines, software packing tools, and pre/post flight tests for new algorithms as they go into deployment. Where possible you will also be in charge of optimizing and parallelizing traditional algorithms, to reduce pre-processing and post-processing workloads
• You will spearhead a new team taking newly invented quantum applications, and turning them into well defined modules of reliable SaaS applications. Think of it as being a forward-deployed engineer for quantum computing applications; the strongest candidates will be generalists with wide-ranging interests
• This team will work closely with Developer Tools, Infrastructure, and Product teams to solve problems by choosing the right technologies, and standardizing and automating those solutions
• The right engineer will be comfortable working on refining chemistry simplification via Quantum Computing tool one quarter, and turning a novel quantum topology solver into a service the next—and love pair programming with scientists. They’ll bring the quantum expertise; you bring the deep and broad experience in classical programming
• Partner with Application scientists to help deliver cutting-edge solutions for customers
• Elevate Applications code quality generally through architectural review, code review, standards, and best practices
• Improve Applications pace of delivery by creating CI / CD pipelines and other packaging automation, as well as test infrastructure and coverage
• Help productize computing code, especially improving data processing in pre-quantum and post-quantum processing steps
• Work closely with peers in Applications, Developer Tools, and Product teams to share best practices and feedback on internal tools
• Reporting to the Director of Application Engineering, help hire and mentor developers on the team