Staff Electrical Engineer- Testing

IonQ; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

IonQ in Pleasanton, CA seeks an experienced test engineer to lead hardware test strategy for quantum instruments. You will define and execute verification procedures, mentor junior engineers, and solve challenging board-level issues in a lab environment.

You'll collaborate with physicists and engineers to develop test plans, improve DFT/DFM, design test loads and cabling, and build automated data systems for production, ensuring precise measurements and robust performance.

Qualifications

• BSEE/MSEE with leadership experience testing precision instruments and/or sensors.
• Comfortable working in a laboratory environment.
• Ability to communicate effectively with coworkers and collaborators, both written and verbal.
• Organize and manage test results and data storage.
• Experience devising testing protocols for precision instruments and documenting procedures.
• Proficient in post-test data analysis to extract performance metrics.
• Experience designing test loads, cabling, and custom equipment.
• Able to read schematics and data sheets to define measurement ranges.
• Proficient with lab equipment such as oscilloscopes, VNA, SA, power supplies, function generators, and DVM.
• U.S. export control compliance with eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Be a team leader for testing and debugging complex electronic circuits across FPGA, MCU, mixed-signal, and photonics devices.
• Collaborate with physicists, electrical, mechanical, software, and optical engineers to develop test procedures 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 and oversee execution at external facilities when needed.
• Use electronic test equipment to characterize and verify performance.
• Define equipment and software to create automated data systems for production.

Skills

Leadership

Test engineering

Lab testing

Electronics debugging

Data analysis

Education

BSEE / MSEE

Tools

Oscilloscopes

VNA

Power supplies

Function generators

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.

Location:

This role is based onsite at our office in Pleasanton, CA.
Travel: Up to 10%, domestic or international.
Job ID: 1780

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.

Responsibilities

• 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.

Requirements

• 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 AS9100compliance would be a plus
• Experience with environmental testing for space electronics, including radiation effects, is a plus.

The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity, and a range of benefit options found on our career site.

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

Wage Transparency:

$1—$1 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.