About IonQ
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, is the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners including Amazon Web Services, and AstraZeneca achieve 20x performance results and accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. In 2025, the company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance. Headquartered in College Park, Maryland, IonQ has operations in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Washington, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Our quantum computing services are available through all major cloud providers, while we also meet the needs of networking and sensing customers across land, sea, air, and space.
Location: Oxford, UK
Office commitment: Hybrid
Oxford Ionics, now part of IonQ, is pioneering the next generation of quantum computing. Using our world-leading trapped-ion technology, we're building the most powerful, accurate and reliable quantum systems to tackle problems that today's supercomputers cannot solve.
We're looking for an enthusiastic and highly technical Software Engineer for our Non-Realtime Controllers team who will thrive in our dynamic cross-disciplinary environment. In this role, you will be responsible for working closely with our software engineers, our systems team, and our quantum scientists to build and operate the software that controls the hardware surrounding our quantum computers, contributing to the team's mission of enabling our systems team to operate the physical quantum computers and our science teams to experiment building towards fault tolerant computation. Previous exposure to quantum systems is not required. You'll play an important part in shaping the non-realtime controllers, the system operations and services that support our work in building the world's most advanced quantum systems.
Responsibilities
In this position, you will work hands-on with hardware control end to end, from the device protocol up to a service running reliably across our fleet, supporting the effective delivery of non-realtime controllers that ensure that the critical supporting hardware of a quantum computer is observable, controllable and reliable (from cryogenic compressors to lasers, wavemeters, and various sensors). You'll have the opportunity to own areas of the hardware control surface end to end, from the device protocol up to a service running reliably across our fleet, contributing directly to the success of building utility-scale quantum computers.
•Own a group of device controllers end to end, covering API design, implementation, rollout and ongoing operational health
•Make services robust against the ways real instruments fail and strengthen observability, health checking and alerting
•Bring devices onto our current framework, and roll the result out across the fleet without disrupting running experiments
•Work closely with the software, systems and science teams who depend on these services, and to ensure our work integrates seamlessly with the wider software architecture
Requirements
To be successful, you will need strong programming skills in a systems programming language and hands-on experience interfacing with hardware, and a track record of making software behave well against unreliable external dependencies. We're looking for someone who can quickly iterate on low-level code in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary, environment and contribute effectively within a fast moving, highly technical team.
•Strong programming skills in one or more systems programming languages and the appetite to work in a Rust codebase
•Experience with some hardware instrument and communication protocols (e.g. SCPI, serial, TCP/IP, USB, or similar)
•Comfortable owning the production behaviour of what you build, not just its correctness in test
•Excellent communication skills both within software and across disciplines, and an interest in helping other engineers get better at the craft without wanting to stop building yourself
Benefits
Be part of a team that's shaping the future of quantum. We offer more than just a role, you'll join a world class community of scientists, engineers and innovators working to unlock the full potential of quantum computing. We offer a range of benefits, including opportunities to further your career alongside industry leaders, a competitive salary with IonQ stock options, an annual performance bonus, generous annual leave, flexible hybrid working, private medical and dental insurance for you and your family, and much more.
