Quantum Tapeout & PDK Engineer — Design Enablement

NightDragon Acquisition Corp.; College Park (MD); Hybrid; USD 127,000 - 182,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision plans

401(k) matching

Unlimited PTO and paid holidays

Parental/adoption leave

Legal insurance

Home technology stipend

Job summary

IonQ, a leader in quantum computing, seeks a Quantum Design Enablement Engineer to bridge internal chip designers and external foundries. You will manage tapeout, perform physical verification, and collaborate with foundries to refine the PDK.

You will also enable design teams with clear rules, perform layout edits, and customize rule decks to meet trapped-ion hardware constraints. Join a team delivering scalable quantum solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or a related technical field.
• 3 - 5 years of industry experience in semiconductor manufacturing, design enablement, tapeout operations, or a closely related field.
• Hands-on experience with physical verification tools (such as Siemens Calibre, Cadence Pegasus, or Synopsys IC Validator) and running standard DRC, LVS, and ERC checks.

Responsibilities

• Foundry Interface & PDK Management: Serve as the primary technical point of contact with external foundry partners. Define, implement, and troubleshoot the PDK to reflect foundry capabilities and constraints.
• Tapeout & Mask Validation: Own the tapeout process. Validate mask layouts, perform physical verification (DRC/LVS), and ensure GDSII/OASIS files meet foundry requirements.
• Design Team Enablement: Translate foundry requirements and process updates into clear design rules for design engineers.
• Layout & Integration: Perform hands-on layout edits, frame generation, and reticle assembly; create test structures or simple test chips as needed.
• Rule Deck Customization: Work with foundry DRC/LVS rule decks and craft internal custom checks for trapped-ion quantum design constraints.
• Continuous Improvement: Analyze tapeout data and foundry feedback to improve the PDK and design-to-manufacturing workflow.

Skills

Python scripting

Cross-functional communication

Physical verification

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree

Tools

Cadence Calibre

Cadence Virtuoso

KLayout

Synopsys IC Validator

GDSII/OASIS workflows

Job description

IonQ, a leader in quantum computing, seeks a Quantum Design Enablement Engineer to bridge internal chip designers and external foundries. You will manage tapeout, perform physical verification, and collaborate with foundries to refine the PDK.

You will also enable design teams with clear rules, perform layout edits, and customize rule decks to meet trapped-ion hardware constraints. Join a team delivering scalable quantum solutions.