Staff Electrical Engineer - Testing

Vector Atomic; Pleasanton (CA); On-site; USD 163,000 - 234,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

401(k) contributions

Paid time off

Paid holidays

Parental leave

Fully stocked kitchen

Job summary

Vector Atomic is seeking an experienced test engineer to lead a growing team of physicists, electrical, mechanical, software, and optical engineers in rapid development of test procedures for next-generation quantum instruments.

You will mentor early-career engineers, define test strategies, and oversee environmental, EMI/EMC testing while collaborating across disciplines in a hands-on lab setting in Pleasanton, CA.

Qualifications

• Experience testing precision instruments and/or sensors in a lab environment.
• Ability to create test plans and procedures for novel instrumentation.
• Experience with post-test data analysis to extract performance metrics.

Responsibilities

• Be a team leader for testing and debugging complex electronic circuits including FPGAs, MCUs, mixed-signal and photonics devices.
• Collaborate with physicists and engineers to develop test procedures for next-generation quantum instruments.
• Collaborate to define DFT and DFM improvements.
• Create test plans for environmental, EMI and EMC testing and oversee execution at external facilities.
• Use test equipment to characterize and verify performance.
• Define equipment/software to create automated data systems for production.

Skills

Leadership

Test procedure development

Data analysis

Documentation

Communication

Mentoring

Lab testing

Education

BSEE or MSEE

Tools

Altium

Oscilloscopes

VNA

SAs (spectrum analyzers)

Power supplies

Function generators

DVM

Job description

About IonQ

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.

About IonQ

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.

About Vector Atomic

Vector Atomic, an IonQ company, is building quantum technology to transform navigation, timing, geophysical exploration, and telecommunications. Our team of engineers, scientists, software developers, and operations professionals works together to solve complex challenges and turn bold ideas into real-world solutions. We value collaboration, curiosity, and diverse perspectives, and we give every team member the opportunity to make an immediate impact while growing their skills. If you're excited to work on breakthrough technology in a fast-paced, hands-on environment, we'd love to hear from you.

Location

This role is based onsite at our office in Pleasanton, CA.

Travel

Up to 10%, domestic or international.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced test engineer to collaborate with our diverse group of physicists, electrical, mechanical, and optical engineers. Vector Atomics has the opportunity to disrupt industries with world-beating sensor performance. Success requires rapid development of specialized, cutting-edge electronics. To support the development effort, an equally challenging effort is required to rapidly improve our verification procedures and approaches. In this critical role, you'll be part of the leadership team defining the direction of our hardware test strategy. The right candidate will be comfortable not only with defining procedures but also with executing them. They should be able to work effectively in the lab and assist with debugging challenging board-level issues with custom electronics. They must lead by example and actively engage early-career engineers as mentors.

What You'll Do

• Be a team leader for a growing group that is tasked with both testing and debugging complex electronic circuits. The circuits include a complex mix of FPGAs, MCUs, mixed-signal, precision analog and photonics devices.
• Collaborate with physicists, electrical, mechanical, software, and optical engineers to develop test procedures to verify electronic designs for next-generation quantum instruments.
• Collaborate with engineering and manufacturing to define DFT and DFM improvements.
• Create test plans for environmental, EMI and EMC testing. Oversee and manage execution of these plans at external facilities, when necessary. They must be able to adjust test protocols as needed to optimize results.
• Use electronic test and measurement equipment to characterize and verify performance.
• Define equipment and software to create automated data systems for production systems.

Required expertise

• BSEE/MSEE Degree combined with leadership experience testing precision instruments and/or sensors.
• Must be comfortable working in a laboratory environment.
• Ability to communicate effectively with coworkers and collaborators, both written and verbal. Able to create new test plans and procedures for novel instrumentation.
• Organize and manage test results. Take ownership of data storage and management systems to ensure valuable test data is retained and properly documented.
• Experience with devising testing protocols for precision instruments. Including specifying appropriate equipment, writing programs/scripts to automate testing, and finally documenting procedures for the team to use.
• Must be proficient in post-test data analysis to extract required performance metrics.
• Experience designing test loads, cabling, and custom equipment to support verification work.
• Able to read schematics, data sheets, and technical information to define expected measurement ranges.
• Proficiency with laboratory test and measurement equipment such as oscilloscopes, VNA, SA, power supplies, function generators, and DVM.
• To comply with the US export control laws, Vector Atomic employees must be U.S. citizens (born or naturalized), lawful U.S. permanent residents (i.e. green card holders), and certain categories of refugees, and asylees.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using PCB Layout tools, particularly Altium.
• Able to write test firmware for embedded MCUs to support testing of MCU-based PCBs.
• A background with AS9100 compliance would be a plus.
• Experience with environmental testing for space electronics, including radiation effects, is a plus.

Benefits

Vector Atomic values teamwork, open and honest discourse, and work-life balance. We offer competitive compensation and benefits including:

• Platinum-level family health coverage (medical, dental, vision)
• Health and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Employer 401(k) contributions
• 20 days of paid time off / 11 paid holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Fully stocked kitchen

Pay Range

The approximate base salary range for this position is $163,430 to $234,350 per year. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity and benefits. Please note that it is less common for candidates to be hired at the top of this range, as final compensation is determined by factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Vector Atomic is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from all backgrounds regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or any other classification protected by law.