Distinguished PQC Cryptography & Architecture Leader

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.

This role is based onsite in Geneva, Switzerland.

Job

(IDQ), part of IonQ, is a global leader in quantum-safe communications. We provide solutions to protect governments, telecommunication infrastructures, and banking & financial institutions from the “harvest-now, decrypt-later” threat, delivering both terrestrial and space-based quantum-safe networks in live operation globally.

We are looking for a Distinguished Leader to provide the overall technical leadership for our post-quantum cryptography (PQC) hardware acceleration programme, part of our quantum-safe product portfolio targeting hardware security module (HSM) and network‑appliance applications. As the most senior technical authority of the programme, you will own the end‑to‑end architecture, from cryptographic algorithm and standards strategy to an FPGA‑based product architecture with a clear path to ASIC, and you will set the technical direction across the cryptography, hardware, software and security disciplines involved.

This is a rare opportunity to shape a strategic security product line at one of the few companies where quantum-safe security is the core business.

You will define the system architecture and microarchitecture of a multi‑algorithm PQC accelerator implementing ML‑KEM, ML‑DSA and SLH‑DSA/LMS: hardware/firmware partitioning, throughput and lane sizing derived from real customer traffic models, and a stable core‑interface specification that lets cryptographic cores evolve behind a frozen contract. You will own the algorithm and standards strategy (NIST FIPS 203/204/205, CNSA 2.0, FIPS 140‑3), drive make/buy and IP‑licensing decisions, and shape the security and certification architecture together with our side‑channel and compliance specialists.

You will set the technical roadmap, arbitrate the hardest cross‑domain design decisions, mentor the senior engineers who own each domain, and represent the programme externally with customers, standards bodies, certification laboratories and executive stakeholders.

• Own the end-to-end architecture and technical roadmap of a PQC hardware‑acceleration product line (algorithms, microarchitecture, interfaces, and security/certification strategy) from concept to shipping product
• Act as the programme’s most senior technical authority: set direction across disciplines, mentor senior engineers, and represent the technology with customers, standards bodies and executives

We are looking for a candidate with a Master’s or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Cryptography or a related field and fifteen or more years of…