Senior Manager, High Performance Compute

IonQ is developing the world's most powerful full-stack quantum computer based on trapped-ion technology. We are pushing past the limits of classical physics and current supercomputing technology to unlock a new era of computing. Quantum computing has the potential to impact every area of human society for the better. IonQ’s computers will soon redefine industries like medicine, materials science, finance, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cryptography, and more. IonQ is at the forefront of this technological revolution.

At IonQ, we are building the world’s most powerful quantum computers. But before a quantum circuit runs on trapped ions, it often lives as a massive simulation on classical hardware. We are seeking a Senior Manager, High Performance Compute to lead the team responsible for the hybrid HPC computational platform that powers our physics simulations, hardware verification, and quantum algorithm development.

This is a Player-Coach role for a technical leader who refuses to lose their edge. You will manage a team of talented engineers while remaining hands-on with the technology. One day you might be hiring a HPC engineer and the next you might be debugging a race condition in a Slurm scheduler or profiling a simulation kernel for GPU efficiency. You will sit at the intersection of classical supercomputing and quantum simulations, building the hybrid infrastructure that allows us to push past the limits of classical physics.

Responsibilities:

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of HPC engineers. Foster a culture of technical rigor where "it works" isn't enough; it has to be performant.

• Own the strategy for our hybrid HPC environment. Balance workloads between our on-premise clusters and burst-capacity in the cloud to maximize simulation throughput per dollar and create a fantastic user experience.

• Partner directly with quantum physicists and applications teams to understand their simulation needs. Translate complex scientific requirements into concrete infrastructure roadmaps. Deliver on those roadmaps.

• Manage relationships with hardware vendors and cloud providers, negotiating for the specialized compute instances (e.g., H200s, high-memory nodes) required for our workloads.

• Architect and tune our job schedulers (leveraging Slurm) to handle massive, spiky workloads involving many concurrent simulation jobs.

• Dive deep into the stack to optimize I/O patterns, memory usage, and parallelization strategies.

• Build and maintain the "glue" that allows users to submit jobs seamlessly to on-prem hardware or cloud clusters.

• Troubleshoot complex failures in simulation pipelines, distinguishing between infrastructure issues and algorithmic bugs, providing a best-in-call user experience for submitting, running, and troubleshooting jobs.

You’d be a good fit with:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Physics, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience

• 7+ years of HPC experience, with deep expertise in Linux systems administration and cluster management

• 3+ years experience leading engineering teams, managing backlogs, and conducting performance reviews, with a desire to remain hands-on

• 3+ years experience with Slurm. You know how to configure fair-share scheduling, backfill, and preemption

• Proven experience deploying HPC clusters in the public cloud (AWS, Azure, or GCP) using tools like AWS ParallelCluster, Batch, or equivalent

• Strong proficiency in Python and Bash. You treat infrastructure as code (i.e. Ansible, Terraform, Packer)''

You’d be a great fit with:

• 10+ years of HPC experience

• 5+ years of experience in engineering management

• Experience running and optimizing large-scale scientific simulations (e.g., molecular dynamics, CFD, or electronic design automation)

• Understanding of MPI (Message Passing Interface) and GPU acceleration (CUDA/ROCm) frameworks

• A background in Physics or experience with quantum simulation software (e.g., Qiskit, Cirq, or proprietary solvers)

• Experience with high-performance parallel file systems (Lustre, GPFS/Spectrum Scale, or WEKA)

Location: This is a hybrid role based at our office in College Park, MD or Bothell, Washington or Boulder, Colorado.
Travel: Up to 15%
Job ID: 1355

The approximate base salary range for this position is $200,698 - $$262,76. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, and equity.

Compensation will vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Posted base salary figures are subject to change as new market data becomes available. Beyond base salary, total compensation includes a variable bonus and equity component and a range of benefit options found on our career site at ionq.co/jobs. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided when a candidate receives an offer of employment. Our US benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, matching 401K, unlimited PTO and paid holidays, parental/adoption leave, legal insurance, a home internet stipend, and pet insurance!

IonQ's HQ is located in College Park, Maryland, just outside of Washington DC. We are actively building out our recently opened manufacturing and production facility in Bothell, WA (near Seattle). Depending on the position, you may be required to be near one of our offices in College Park, Seattle, Toronto, Canada, and Basel, Switzerland. However, IonQ will expand into additional domestic and international geographies, so don’t let this stop you from applying!

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!