Staff Software Engineer - Quantum Non-Realtime Controllers

IonQ; Oxford; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

IonQ in Oxford, UK is hiring a Staff Software Engineer for our non-realtime controller team. You will ship high‑quality firmware‑level software that integrates with hardware in a live lab, shaping how the fleet operates.

You'll own the code from design to deployment, work hands‑on on challenging hardware interfaces, and collaborate with scientists and systems engineers to deliver reliable, observable services across the quantum computer stack.

Qualifications

• Deep systems engineering experience with shipping and operating reliable services.
• Proficient in Rust or willing to work in a Rust codebase with async.
• Experience building networked services in production (gRPC/REST) with observability.
• Familiarity with hardware and instrument protocols (SCPI, Modbus, serial, Ethernet).
• Excellent communication and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Work on demanding device integrations with real hardware in a live lab.
• Remove classes of failure across the fleet.
• Improve the shared framework and bring controllers forward with each change.
• Build tooling, simulators and test infrastructure for faster delivery.
• Evolve deployment and observability of services as the fleet grows.
• Raise the bar of everyone around you through the code you write and reviews you give.

Skills

Rust experience

Async programming

Production services

Observability

Communication

Tools

SCPI

Modbus

Serial

Ethernet

Job description

IonQ in Oxford, UK is hiring a Staff Software Engineer for our non-realtime controller team. You will ship high‑quality firmware‑level software that integrates with hardware in a live lab, shaping how the fleet operates.

You'll own the code from design to deployment, work hands‑on on challenging hardware interfaces, and collaborate with scientists and systems engineers to deliver reliable, observable services across the quantum computer stack.