Software Engineering Senior Backend Software Developer – Quantum Professional

We are seeking an experienced Senior Backend Software Developer to guide key backend technologies and initiatives within IBM Quantum. In this role, you will lead complex technical efforts, break down large-scale engineering problems, and drive cross-functional collaboration across research, engineering, and product teams.

Your work will directly contribute to the innovation and reliability of distributed systems powering quantum workloads. You will apply deep technical expertise to deliver scalable, secure, and high‑performance services that enable quantum applications in optimization, AI, and scientific discovery.

This role emphasizes technical leadership, ownership of major components, and consistent delivery of business value.

You’ll be responsible for designing and developing robust, high‑performance systems across multiple services and critical components of the IBM Quantum platform. This includes improving service efficiency, strengthening fault tolerance, and driving the productization of essential infrastructure and execution services. Through active participation in architectural discussions and technical design sessions, you will help shape scalable and resilient platforms that support quantum workloads with reliability and precision.

• Design, build, and maintain high‑performance, scalable backend services and APIs that enable interaction between quantum processors, classical systems, and end users.
• Design and develop distributed system components that improve performance, reliability, and scalability for quantum workloads running on cloud and on‑premise environments.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams including researchers, frontend developers, product managers, and Dev Ops engineers to deliver robust and integrated solutions.
• Apply deep technical knowledge to propose improvements, solve complex issues, and enhance developer experience, operational efficiency, and system performance.
• Contribute to the evolution of backend architecture by participating in design discussions, code reviews, and technical decision‑making processes.
• Ensure adherence to security best practices and reliable execution workflows, maintaining high standards for service quality and availability.
• Shape and elevate a top‑tier engineering team through leadership.
• Understand stakeholder needs and incorporate them into high‑quality solutions that provide business value and improve user experience.
• Innovate solutions that are pivotal to the quantum computing community and scientific research.
• Apply AI‑driven insights to guide architectural decisions, optimize distributed services, and enhance overall system resilience.

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree

• Extensive experience designing and maintaining scalable service architectures, including REST, gRPC, microservices, event‑driven services, and distributed components.
• Solid understanding of distributed systems concepts—including concurrency, load balancing, service orchestration, caching, and data consistency.
• Hands‑on experience with Kubernetes, Docker, and containerized deployments.
• Proficiency with SQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL) and familiarity with designing data models for high‑throughput systems.
• Experience building and operating cloud‑native systems and services running across multiple environments (cloud, on‑prem, hybrid).
• Demonstrated experience with CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure‑as‑code, automated testing, and modern Dev Ops practices.
• Proficiency with monitoring tools (Grafana, Sysdig, Prometheus) and incident‑driven improvements.
• Experience with event‑driven architectures and messaging systems.
• Excellent communication skills for stakeholder and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Experience using AI‑assisted development tools (e.g., code generation, automated refactoring, test creation, or debugging assistants) to improve engineering productivity and code quality.

• Experience with HPC schedulers such as Slurm or LSF, from using such components to developing them.
• Prior exposure to hybrid cloud,…