Photonic Layout Engineer

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. Joining Oxford Ionics means becoming part of a global IonQ team that is transforming the future of quantum technology - faster, at scale, and with real world impact.

IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world’s leading quantum company delivering solutions to solve the world’s most complex problems. IonQ’s newest generation quantum computers, IonQ Tempo and IonQ Forte Enterprise, are the latest in cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners such as Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve 20x performance results. The company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance in 2025.

The company is accelerating its technology roadmap and intends to deliver the world’s most powerful quantum computers with 2 million qubits by 2030 to accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. IonQ’s advancements in quantum networking position the company as a leader in building the quantum internet.

We are looking for a Photonics Layout Engineer to join our QPU Design team at Oxford Ionics/IonQ. In this role, you will be responsible for the layout of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) that form a central part of our Quantum Processor Units (QPUs), the novel technology that sit at the heart of our quantum computers and contributes to the team’s mission of advancing the design of these high-performance chip.

You will work closely with scientists, photonic design engineers and fabrication engineers to bring new designs for ion trapping chips into production.

You’ll play an important part in shaping the hardware that supports our work in building the world’s most advanced quantum systems.

In this position, you will work on integrating photonic components into complex multi-layer chips. This work will support the effective delivery of devices that make use of on-chip light delivery to allow scaling to thousands of qubits and beyond. You will have the opportunity to accelerate the tape-out of new chips and drive the design workflow of integrated photonics, contributing directly to the success of building utility-scale quantum computers.

Key responsibilities include:

• Arranging and routing photonic components on chip, in coordination with metal track and CMOS routing.
• Producing reticle-size photonic layout files using Python scripts as part of tape-out of the full chip, suitable for use in a commercial foundry.
• Collaborating with scientists to discuss their requirements and interfacing with photonic designers, test engineers, packaging engineers and fabrication engineers to define design rules and shape component design.
• Layout verification through DRC and LVS.
• Contributing to custom layout Process Design Kits (PDKs) that are specific to IonQ and the foundry and documenting the layout process and the final tape-out mask files.

To be successful in this role you will need significant experience in the design and layout of Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). We are looking for someone who can consider requirements and constraints from other parts of the chip in the layout process, understand the purposes of different photonic components, enjoys complex layout work and can contribute effectively within a fast moving, highly technical team.

You'd be a great fit with:

• Proficiency in Photonic Integrated Circuit layouts.
• Familiarity with the principles…