Principal Software Architect

Oxford Ionics; Oxford; On-site; GBP 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Oxford Ionics, now part of IonQ, is building the next generation of quantum computers. We are seeking a Principal Software Architect to shape the software architecture from low-level hardware control to developer interfaces, guiding the Compute Software organisation.

You will lead the evolution of the architecture for a family of products, coaching technical leads and collaborating with infrastructure, firmware and compiler teams across the UK and US to deliver a scalable quantum software stack.

Qualifications

• Experience in designing large, scalable software architectures for real-time systems.
• Ability to think strategically at the architecture level and guide multiple teams.
• Familiarity with formal architecture methods (cohesion, coupling, encapsulation).
• Experience communicating complex ideas across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Develop and document the system software architecture for real-time and non-real-time components.
• Manage architectural evolution across a family of products.
• Coordinate with other architects and leads across software and the wider system.
• Coach technical leads on architectural principles and best practices.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, firmware and compiler teams across the UK and US.

Skills

Software architecture

Real-time software development

Leadership

System thinking

Communication

Tools

Rust

Job description

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.

Role:

We are looking for a Principal Software Architect to join our Compute Software organisation at IonQ. In this role, you will be responsible for developing and maintaining the architecture of the software that enables a quantum computer, from low level hardware control up to developer programming interfaces, contributing to the team’s mission of delivering a complete software product for a quantum computer.

You'll play an important part in shaping the software and tools that support our work in building the world's most advanced quantum systems. Our architecture now needs to evolve to support the next generation of our systems, and you will lead that work.

Responsibilities:

In this position, you will develop the software architecture covering real-time and non-real-time hardware management, low level orchestration and user interfaces for the current product and the future roadmap of products. You will also work with the technical leads from the development teams to support the effective development and delivery of a scalable solution that supports internal experimental scientists and external customers.

You'll have the opportunity to develop an evolving software architecture to support a family of products, contributing directly to the success of the system software team in delivering a world leading quantum computer. You will coach and train technical leads in good architectural principles, and work closely with the infrastructure, firmware and compiler teams across the UK and the US.

Key responsibilities include:

• Development and documentation of the system software architecture
• Managing the evolving architecture across a family of products
• Coordination with other architects across the whole of software and the wider system
• Research and analysis to support future requirements elucidation
• Coordination with technical leads to ensure that the design and implementation meets the intention of the architecture

Requirements:

To be successful, you will need prior experience of developing a large and scalable software architecture covering real-time requirements and distributed processing. We're looking for someone who can think strategically at the architecture level, solve challenging technical issues, track the latest industry good practice and tools, and communicate those ideas and technologies to the wider software team.

You will work at the level of the whole system, describing each component, what it does and its constraints, and then handing the detailed design and implementation to the development teams rather than designing through code. A grounding in formal architecture methods and principles such as cohesion, coupling and encapsulation will help you succeed, as will experience of evolving an architecture that has to grow with the product. Our immediate focus is system software and lower level control; experience further up the software stack is an advantage.

You'd be a great fit with:

• More than 10 years of software development experience, with more than 5 as a software architect
• A clear understanding of software architecture principles
• A background in real-time software development
• Experience working on software projects written in Rust