Senior Quantum Information Engineer

IBM; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

IBM Research seeks a Senior Quantum Information Engineer to design and deliver scalable software for near-term quantum computers, guiding execution models and error mitigation features.

You will lead cross-functional efforts with research, engineering, and product teams, shaping architecture and testing on IBM's quantum hardware to push performance and reliability of production-grade systems.

Qualifications

• Proven record of research in Quantum Information in areas such as noise characterization and error mitigation.
• Strong software engineering skills in Python and Rust with production-grade delivery.
• Experience leading research and/or software teams with cross-stakeholder collaboration.
• Experience with Quantum Computing libraries such as Qiskit, Pennylane, Cirq or Braket.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and architectural evolution of scalable, high-performance software services for quantum tasks.
• Collaborate across research, product, cloud and infrastructure teams to deliver integrated solutions.
• Engage with researchers to improve quantum computer performance and build error mitigation features.
• Test features on IBM's quantum hardware, optimizing performance and scalability.

Skills

Quantum information research

Python

Rust

Team leadership

Qiskit/Pennylane/Cirq/Braket

Git

CI/CD

Education

Master's Degree

Tools

Qiskit SDK

Git

CI/CD

Python

Rust

Pennylane

Cirq

Braket

Job description

Introduction

We are seeking an experienced Senior Quantum Information Engineer to join our team. In this role, you will be part of our mission to implement the latest capabilities in Quantum Computing leveraging the low-latency/high-bandwidth characteristics of our near-time execution environment, leading complex technical efforts and driving cross-functional collaboration across research, engineering, and product teams.

You will be responsible for designing and implementing enhancements to software components that are part of our production stack, driving the team to deliver new features and advance the state of the art of Quantum Computing. This role emphasizes technical and quantum computing leadership an experience, with a focus on areas of interest for near-term quantum computing such as noise characterization and error mitigation.

You will be working alongside the team which is responsible for defining and implementing execution models for quantum computers. This is a great opportunity to join a team of quantum computing experts and make a tangible impact on the field of Quantum Computing.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead technical design and architectural evolution of scalable, high-performance software services and user-facing products to execute computational tasks on quantum computers.
• Collaborate across research, product, cloud and infrastructure teams to deliver integrated solutions that address stakeholder needs and provide measurable business value.
• Engage with internal Quantum Information researchers to identify ways to improve the performance of quantum computers and enable novel research, as well as build and maintain error characterization and mitigation features on public-facing code repositories.
• Test new and existing features on IBM’s latest and most performant quantum computers, optimizing performance and scalability through profiling, tuning, and refactoring.
• Promote engineering excellence through technical leadership, code reviews, security best practices, and ownership of critical platform components.

Your role and responsibilities

You’ll be responsible for leading the design and development of robust, high‑performance systems across multiple services and critical components of the IBM Quantum platform. This includes improving service efficiency, strengthening fault tolerance, and driving the productization of essential infrastructure and execution services. Through active participation in architectural discussions and technical design sessions, you will help shape scalable and resilient platforms that support quantum workloads with reliability and precision.

Our work plays a fundamental role in transforming complex quantum research into scalable, real‑world solutions that define the next era of computing. Joining this team means stepping into a high‑impact role where you'll architect, build, and optimize solutions powering both cloud and on‑premise quantum infrastructures — ensuring they meet the standards required by cutting‑edge scientific and enterprise applications.

Required education

Master's Degree

Preferred education

Master's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

• Proven record of research in Quantum Information in areas such as noise characterization, noise learning, error mitigation, and/or error correction.
• Strong software engineering skills in languages such as Python / Rust, with a proven track record of delivering production-grade systems.
• Experience in leading research and/or software engineering teams, with demonstrated ability to collaborate across stakeholders and leverage development tools to improve software quality, productivity, and delivery outcomes.
• Experience working with Quantum Computing libraries such as Qiskit, Pennylane, Cirq, or Braket.
• Solid understanding of software engineering practices, with experience with Git/GitHub and CI/CD tools as well as familiarity with unit testing frameworks and code quality tools.

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Professional experience in the Quantum Computing industry.
• Demonstrated contributions to open‑source, inner‑source, standards bodies, or technical communities that showcase engineering leadership and influence.
• Deep expertise and certifications in IBM Quantum’s Qiskit SDK.
• Professional experience in product‑driven industries with leadership responsibilities across research and software
• Experience designing and interfacing with cloud‑native architectures, including microservices, APIs, event‑driven systems, and hybrid deployment environments.

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Research is the organic growth engine of IBM and an innovation engine for our customers and partners. As part of this mission, IBM Research anticipates and examines 'What's Next in Computing' to ultimately create and integrate the technologies the world relies upon to solve big challenges and unlock new opportunities. We create and pioneer new markets for IBM, our partners and customers as exemplified in our ongoing quest to reach practical and large‑scale quantum computing. Across IBM Research, we realize the power and potential to accelerate discovery with our partners and clients by combining the power of high performance computing, AI, and Quantum, all integrated through the hybrid cloud.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you’ll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you’ll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on‑going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can‑do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM’s greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we’re also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it’s time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal‑opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

IBM offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits program. Eligible employees may have access to:

- Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well being

- Financial programs such as 401(k), cash balance pension plan, the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long‑term disability coverage, and opportunities for performance based salary incentive programs

- Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy, and other Paid Care Leave programs. IBM also offers paid family leave benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law

- Training and educational resources on our personalized, AI‑driven learning platform where IBMers can grow skills and obtain industry‑recognized certifications to achieve their career goals

- Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.

IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full‑time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job‑related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro‑rated for those who start working during the calendar year.