Director, Product Management - Next Generation Quantum Systems

NightDragon Acquisition Corp.; Bothell (WA); On-site; USD 212,000 - 312,000; Full time

Job summary

IonQ, Inc. is seeking a Director of Product Management for Next Generation Quantum Systems to define product vision and drive the roadmap for cutting-edge quantum hardware and software.

You will partner with science and engineering teams to translate advances into market-ready solutions for cloud and on-premises customers. You will lead strategic tradeoffs, prioritize capabilities, and guide product evolution from concept to deployment, while communicating complex technical options to executive

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Physics, CS, applied math, or EE.
• 6+ years in technical product management.
• Experience leading complex product strategy and roadmaps.
• Experience in hardware-software co-development or scientific instrumentation.

Responsibilities

• Set the quantum systems product vision for next-generation systems.
• Discover unmet customer needs with developers and ecosystem partners.
• Shape technology into differentiated products with system requirements.
• Make strategic roadmap choices balancing performance, cost, and usability.
• Collaborate with Customer Success and engineering to learn from deployments.

Skills

Technical product management

Leadership

HW/SW co-development

Strategic roadmaps

Customer engagement

Science/engineering liaison

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Physics, CS, applied math, or EE

Job description

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.

Role Overview

Role:

IonQ is building quantum computers that can change which problems the world can solve. As Director of Product Management for Next Generation Quantum Systems, you’ll help decide what we build next, who it serves, and how advances in quantum computing become products customers choose, use, and love.

This is an opportunity to shape product direction at the boundary of scientific discovery and commercial opportunity. You’ll own the product vision and roadmap for next‑generation systems, beginning with Superion 256, as you turn emerging technical capabilities into differentiated offerings for cloud and on‑premises customers.

Responsibilities:

You’ll work directly with customers and partners, alongside IonQ’s science, engineering, and solutions development teams. Your judgment will connect long‑term ambition to practical investment choices: which opportunities to pursue, which capabilities matter most, and what each generation must deliver to earn customer adoption and demonstrate continued technical leadership.

You’ll develop a deep understanding of IonQ’s hardware, system software, and research pipeline, and partner with science and engineering leaders to identify promising capabilities and define system requirements. You’ll prioritize across near‑term customer needs and longer‑term opportunities, making explicit tradeoffs among performance, cost, reliability, usability, and delivery timing, and you’ll define success in terms of customer value, adoption, and commercial outcomes.

Key responsibilities include:

• Set the quantum systems product vision: define a compelling, differentiated vision for IonQ’s next‑generation quantum systems, grounded in customer problems and a clear view of how the market could evolve
• Discover new opportunities: engage current and prospective customers, application developers, and ecosystem partners to uncover unmet needs and emerging use cases
• Shape the technology into products: partner with science and engineering leaders to identify promising capabilities and define the system requirements
• Make strategic roadmap choices: prioritize across near‑term customer needs and longer‑term opportunities, with explicit tradeoffs among performance, cost, reliability, usability, and delivery timing
• Use results to shape what comes next: work with Customer Success, Applications, and technical teams to learn from deployments and early access programs

Requirements:

We’re looking for a technically credible, commercially minded lead with the curiosity to explore new markets and the conviction to make difficult product choices. You’ll bring a bachelor’s degree in Physics, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, a related engineering field, or equivalent real‑world experience, and 6+ years of experience in technical product management or equivalent roles, including leadership of complex product strategy and roadmaps, with experience in hardware‑software co‑development or scientific instrumentation.

You’ll have direct experience with frontier science product management or engineering leadership, sufficient to credibly partner with engineering program leads on system design tradeoffs and key functional and non‑functional requirements, and demonstrated success identifying and validating new market opportunities, defining differentiated products, and guiding an emerging technology toward customer adoption.

You’ll also bring exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical and commercial choices, influence senior executives, and build alignment across technical and business teams, and a record of leading through ambiguity, making evidence‑based investment and prioritization decisions, and mentoring others while driving outcomes across functions. If you’re energized by defining new products, earning trust with scientists and engineers, and helping customers see what quantum computing can make possible, we’d love to hear from you.

You’d be a great fit with:

• An advanced degree (MS/PhD) in Physics, Quantum Information Science, Chemistry, Applied Mathematics, or a related engineering field
• Experience turning research‑grade technologies into productized customer‑facing offerings, particularly in domains where the customer cares about underlying capability, not just pricing and packaging
• Experience in Scientific Computing or High Performance Computing, including their tools, users, business models, and operational challenges
• Fingerprints on products grown out of complex systems, both hardware and software

The total compensation package includes base salary, bonus, equity, and a range of benefits available on our career site.

If this role has a commission structure, the compensation range below just reflects the base compensation range.

Wage Transparency: $212,000—$312,000 USD

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.
We are committed to equity and justice. We welcome different voices and viewpoints and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.

US Technical Jobs. The position you are applying for will require access to technology that is subject to U.S. export control and government contract restrictions. Employment with IonQ is contingent on either verifying “U.S. Person” (e.g., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. permanent resident, or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum) status for export controls and government contracts work, obtaining any necessary license, and/or confirming the availability of a license exception under U.S. export controls. Please note that in the absence of confirming you are a U.S. Person for export control and government contracts work purposes, IonQ may choose not to apply for a license or decline to use a license exception (if available) for you to access export‑controlled technology that may require authorization, and similarly, you may not qualify for government contracts work that requires U.S. Persons, and IonQ may decline to proceed with your application on those bases alone. Accordingly, we will have some additional questions regarding your immigration status that will be used for export control and compliance purposes, and the answers will be reviewed by compliance personnel to ensure compliance with federal law.

US Non-Technical Jobs. Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum. Accordingly, we will have some additional questions regarding your immigration status that will be used for export control and compliance purposes, and the answers will be reviewed by compliance personnel to ensure compliance with federal law.