Physicist, Resilience Engineering & Operations

Ionq, Inc.; Oxford; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision plans

401(k) matching

Unlimited PTO

Paid holidays

Parental/adoption leave

Home technology stipend

Job summary

IonQ, Inc. seeks an on-site Physicist, System Operations in Oxford to operate and maintain trapped-ion quantum computers within the Resilience Engineering & Operations team.

You will own day-to-day maintenance, monitor performance, and drive reliability across commercial and development systems, collaborating with global teams to ensure uptime. Ideal candidates have a strong experimental physics background, hands-on hardware experience, and proficiency with telemetry data and scripting in Python

Qualifications

• Strong experimental background in physics or related field.
• Experience with complex hardware in lab or industrial setting.
• Ability to interpret telemetry and diagnostics data.

Responsibilities

• Participate in follow-the-sun on-call rotations to support uptime.
• Take ownership of regular and emergency maintenance activities to keep systems running.
• Build and maintain observability, automation and operational practices.
• Interpret telemetry and system behaviour to diagnose issues and guide troubleshooting.
• Collaborate across teams and time zones, coordinating access and training when needed.
• Operate, maintain and optimise complex quantum systems to support reliable performance.

Skills

Experimental physics

Telemetry analysis

Python

Rust

On-call readiness

Cross-team communication

Education

Bachelor's/Master's/PhD in physics or engineering

Tools

Python

Rust

Telemetry systems

RF control systems

Job description

We are looking for a Physicist, System Operations to join our Resilience Engineering & Operations team at IonQ. In this role you will operate, maintain and improve our trapped-ion quantum computers, contributing to the team's mission of keeping our quantum systems running reliably, safely and effectively. You will take ownership of system maintenance and day to day operational performance, working closely with cross-functional teams to ensure our commercial and development systems remain available and well understood. This role sits at the intersection of physics, hardware operations and system reliability, and will help shape how we scale operational excellence across our quantum platforms. This is an on-site role based in Oxford, working alongside colleagues in Bothell, College Park and Daejeon., You will work on the day to day operation, monitoring, maintenance and optimisation of complex quantum systems, supporting the effective delivery of high-performing commercial and development hardware. You will have the opportunity to improve uptime, strengthen maintenance practices and build a deeper operational understanding of system behaviour through hands‑on work, data interpretation and close collaboration with technical teams across the business.

• Participate in follow-the-sun on-call rotations to support uptime and respond to system issues as they arise.
• Take ownership of regular and emergency maintenance activities to keep systems running reliably.
• Build and maintain observability, automation and operational practices that improve system performance and resilience.
• Interpret telemetry and system behaviour to diagnose issues, guide troubleshooting and improve hardware understanding.
• Work collaboratively across teams, time zones and occasionally locations, including coordinating access, communicating status and supporting training where needed. To be successful you will need a strong experimental background in physics, optical engineering or a related physical science discipline, along with hands‑on experience working with complex technical systems in a lab or hardware environment. We are looking for someone who can operate carefully in a fast-moving setting, communicate well across teams, and take practical ownership of keeping systems running. You'd be a great fit with:
• A Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in physics, engineering or another relevant physical science discipline.
• Hands‑on experience in atomic, optical or closely related experimental environments, including optical setups, alignment and maintenance of complex hardware systems.
• Strong communication skills, a collaborative mindset, and the ability to work effectively with distributed teams and varied stakeholders.
• Flexibility to work as part of an on-call rotation, with regular on‑site presence in Oxford and the ability to travel occasionally if required.
• Experience with telemetry, data analysis, scripting or software tools such as Python or Rust, and ideally exposure to RF, analog, digital or precision control systems. 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. Compensation will vary based on individual factors such as education, qualifications, and experience of the final candidate(s), specific office location, and calibration against relevant market data and internal team equity. Posted base salary figures are subject to change as new market data becomes available. Our benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, matching 401(k), unlimited PTO and paid holidays, parental/adoption leave, legal insurance, and a home technology stipend. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided when a candidate receives an offer of employment. At IonQ, we believe in fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all while striving to identify and eliminate barriers. We empower employees to thrive by fostering a culture of autonomy, productivity, and respect. We are dedicated to creating an environment where individuals can feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued.