Back to jobs
New

Staff DevOps Engineer

Santa Clara, California, United States

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 Santa Clara, CA.
Travel: Up to 25%
Job ID: 1724 

The Role: 

We are looking for a Staff DevOps Engineer to join our Quantum Platform Network Security Engineering Team. The Platform Engineering team builds, secures, and operates scalable infrastructure for cloud-managed SaaS products with on-premises components deployed at customer sites. 

The DevSecOps discipline owns the "software factory" — the end-to-end system that takes code from commit to production securely, reliably, and fast, with security embedded into every stage. 

As a Staff Engineer, you set the technical direction for the software factory. You own its roadmap, make the architecture and tooling decisions that shape how every product team ships, and raise the bar through standards, review, and mentorship. You remain deeply hands-on by writing pipeline code, building and testing infrastructure-as-code modules, configuring security scanning, managing dependencies, operating release infrastructure, and, where on-premises infrastructure is in scope, running physical and virtual systems. The work is automation-first with every repetitive task a candidate for a pipeline or an agentic workflow.

  • CI/CD pipeline platform — the shared build, test, scan, sign, and deploy platform, with reusable templates and golden-path standards.
  • Pipeline security and policy — scanning strategy, security gates, risk thresholds, and automated go/no-go decisioning.
  • Release engineering and governance — the release train (versioning, environment promotion), the release gate with risk assessment, and an expedited, still-gated hotfix pipeline for emergency production changes.
  • Dependency management and supply-chain security — dependency health, Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) generation, artifact signing, and provenance.
  • Internal developer platform — self-service environment provisioning, onboarding, documentation, and the developer support model.
  • Infrastructure as Code — reusable, tested modules, policy-as-code enforcement, and environment consistency across cloud and hybrid deployments.
  • Security operations and compliance — vulnerability scanning, continuous compliance evidence, identity and access operations, and secrets lifecycle management.
  • On-premises and hybrid operations — operational consistency between cloud and on-premises systems, where applicable.
  • Agentic automation and AI security — agentic automation across the software factory, with guardrails and security controls for autonomous actions.

Responsibilities:

  • Set the direction — own the software-factory roadmap and the architecture and tooling decisions behind it, and bring the organization along with you, so that every service builds, tests, scans, signs, and deploys through self-service, with no manual gates beyond code review and release approval.
  • Make security the fast path — embed scanning and policy enforcement into every pipeline stage so secure delivery is the default, not a bottleneck.
  • Run release management — operate the release train (versioning, environment promotion) and the release gate, and the expedited hotfix pipeline fast but fully gated.
  • Keep dependencies and the supply chain healthy — automate dependency updates, track freshness, generate SBOMs, and verify artifact provenance.
  • Build and improve the internal developer platform — deliver self-service capabilities that let product teams ship quickly and safely.
  • Engineer infrastructure as code — write and test production modules with the same rigor product teams apply to application code.
  • Operate security and compliance — run vulnerability scanning, drive findings to closure within security-based service-level targets and keep audit evidence continuously current.
  • Automate with agents — build and operate agentic workflows for pipeline triage, dependency orchestration, and routine support, and enforce guardrails for autonomous actions.
  • Scale the team and broaden impact — mentor engineers at different seniority level, raise the bar through standards, review, and golden paths, and align Architecture, SRE, Cloud Operations, and Product Development behind the roadmap.

Requirements:

  • 8+ years of production engineering experience with recent hands-on work.
  • Hands-on, recent experience building and operating CI/CD pipeline platforms at production scale.
  • Security embedded into pipelines as a practitioner — has personally configured scanning and driven a real vulnerability to closure within a deadline.
  • Infrastructure-as-Code authored and tested, with production modules to show, not only consumed.
  • Demonstrated ownership of release, dependency, or vulnerability-management outcomes with measurable results.
  • Scripting and automation fluency, with a clear bias toward removing manual toil.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Supply-chain security depth (signing, SBOMs, provenance, SLSA). 
  • Internal developer platform or self-service design, measured by adoption.
  • Release-gate or release-train ownership, including expedited or emergency-change delivery under pressure.
  • Agentic delivery automation (AWS Agent Core or equivalent) and AI or LLM security practice. 

The approximate base salary range for this position is $187,944 - $246,068. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity, and a range of benefit options found on our career site.

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.

 

If you are interested in being a part of our team and mission, we encourage you to apply! 

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at IonQ? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...


IonQ, Inc. (“IonQ”) conducts pre-employment background and risk screening checks in order to (i) comply with legal, regulatory, contractual, and security obligations; (ii) meet requirements imposed by governmental or law enforcement agencies; (iii) assess a candidate’s suitability, integrity, and risk profile for employment and access to sensitive information or projects and (iv) protect IonQ, its clients and partners.

This Background Check Disclosure and Consent should be read together with IonQ’s Applicant Privacy Notice: https://www.ionq.com/applicant-privacy, which provide additional details regarding how personal data is collected, used, retained, transferred, and protected. To the extent permitted by applicable law, pre-employment background and risk screening checks may include verification or assessment of your:

  • Identity 
  • Employment history
  • Education and professional qualifications
  • Sanctions, restricted-party, and watchlist screening
  • Adverse media and reputational risk analysis
  • Public-record and open-source intelligence
  • Criminal records, court records, or similar information only where lawfully accessible and permitted

Your personal data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your country of residence, including the United States, Switzerland, and other jurisdictions where IonQ or its service providers operate. Where required, appropriate safeguards are implemented, including EU Standard Contractual Clauses, UK International Data Transfer Addendum, Swiss‑approved transfer mechanisms, and/or other legally recognized safeguards.

IonQ uses a third-party service provider to conduct pre-employment risk, integrity, and due-diligence screening. This third-party service provider provides risk-intelligence services that may include analysis of sanctions and watchlists, adverse media, public-record information, and other lawful open-source or commercial data sources. This third-party service provider does not act as a consumer reporting agency. Providing information for background checks is voluntary; however, failure to provide required information or consent may result in the inability to commence or continue employment.

By clicking “I Agree,” I acknowledge that I have read and understand this Background Check Disclosure and Consent, and I confirm that I have been provided access to IonQ’s Applicant Privacy Notice. I consent to pre-employment screening by IonQ through the third-party service provider, as described above, subject to applicable law.

 

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in IonQ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.