Senior Research Scientist - Fault Tolerant Quantum Algorithms

Senior Research Scientist - Fault Tolerant Quantum Algorithms

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.

IonQ is making quantum platforms more accessible and impactful than ever before.

This position can work onsite or hybrid from one of our offices (College Park, MD, Bothell, WA, Toronto, Canada, Gothenburg, Sweden) or fully remote in the US. Travel:
Up to 10%, domestic or international. Job

We are looking for a Senior Research Scientist – Fault-Tolerant Quantum Algorithms to join a cross-functional team that uses IonQ's quantum computers to create highly differentiated quantum solutions that will bring value to society. As a Senior Research Scientist – Fault-Tolerant Quantum Algorithms, you'll be part of a multi-generational journey to solve the world's most complex problems using the world's best quantum computers built at IonQ.

As a deep technical expert on fault-tolerant algorithms, you will help develop next generation quantum algorithms that are poised to exceed state-of-the-art classical methods. You will develop core IP, computational resource models, implementation libraries, long-term roadmaps, and end-to-end workflows that have the potential to disrupt the field of computing. You will also work closely with internal and external customers/partners to brainstorm new ideas, contribute to multi-year initiatives, and represent IonQ at high-visibility technical conferences (often all in a single day)!

Responsibilities:

• Develop fault-tolerant quantum solutions that can make a large scientific and commercial impact across a wide range of industry verticals
• Be part of a client-facing team that finds, defines, and solves problems of real-world interest using IonQ trapped-ion quantum computers
• Contribute technical expertise toward comparisons of FTQC algorithms vs NISQ algorithms vs classical HPC algorithms. Contribute knowledge of metrics and tools (classical and quantum) to evaluate and communicate pros/cons, current state-of-the-art, scaling behavior, trade offs, cross-over points, etc.
• Discover foundational IP and publish results in high-impact-factor peer-reviewed journals and conferences

You'd be a good fit with:

• 2+ years of professional experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Documented expertise in FTQC algorithms with line-of-sight to end-customer value i.e. millions of qubits, billions of gates
• Ability to contribute to the FTQC algorithm community, including the development of tools (libraries, simulators, compilers), metrics (costing, resource estimation, ROI) and community (economic development, standards).
• Relentless dedication to optimizing algorithm performance (accuracy, time-to-solution) through elegant theoretical equations, as well as engineering optimization and implementation
• Proven track record of domain expertise in fault-tolerant quantum computing, demonstrated through invited talks, repos, licenses, publications, and/or patents
• Experience being part of a team that finds, defines, and solves problems of real-world interest. Good team player with excellent communication skills.

You'd be a great fit with:

• Ph.D. in computer science, math, engineering, physics, or related fields
• Experi…