Principal Cloud Architect

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.

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

Location: This position can work onsite or hybrid from one of our offices in the US or fully remote.

Travel: Up to 5%

Job : 1735

We are looking for a Cloud Architect to lead the design, implementation, and governance of our cloud infrastructure. In this role, you will define the technical strategy for how we build and operate workloads in the cloud, translate business requirements into scalable architectures, and serve as the technical authority on cloud platforms across the organization. You will partner closely with engineering, security, and operations teams to ensure our cloud environment is reliable, secure, cost-effective, and aligned with long-term business goals.

• Design and document end-to-end cloud architectures spanning compute, storage, networking, identity, and data services.
• Define and maintain cloud reference architectures, design patterns, and technical standards that engineering teams build against.
• Lead cloud migration efforts, including assessment, planning, and execution of moving on-premises or legacy workloads to the cloud.
• Evaluate and recommend cloud services, tools, and third-party solutions based on technical fit, cost, and operational impact.
• Implement infrastructure-as-code practices to ensure environments are repeatable, version-controlled, and auditable.
• Build security and compliance into architectures from the start, including identity and access management, encryption, network segmentation, and adherence to relevant regulatory frameworks.
• Develop strategies for high availability, disaster recovery, scalability, and performance optimization.
• Establish cloud cost management and governance practices, identifying opportunities to optimize spend.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineering teams, conducting architecture reviews and guiding implementation decisions.
• Stay current with emerging cloud technologies and assess their potential value to the organization.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across the business to align cloud strategy with organizational objectives.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, software engineering, or systems architecture, with at least 3 years in a cloud-focused role.
• Deep, hands-on expertise with at least one major cloud platform (AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform).
• Strong understanding of cloud networking, identity and access management, and security best practices.
• Proven experience designing scalable, resilient, and secure distributed systems.
• Proficiency with infrastructure-as-code tooling (e.g., Terraform, Cloud Formation, Bicep, or Pulumi).
• Experience with containerization and orchestration (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Solid grasp of CI/CD pipelines and Dev Ops practices.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Experience architecting across multiple cloud…