IonQ

Senior Engineer Firmware

Pleasanton, California, United States · Senior · Contract

Work authorization required$142k-$186kDetected 8 hours ago

PythonC++AlgorithmsCode ReviewGitAWSFinancial ModelingLogisticsProcess ImprovementFPGAEmbedded SystemsElectrical EngineeringCollaboration

About the role

You will work closely with hardware engineers throughout the full product development cycle, from schematic review to board bring-up and production.

Collaborate with a cross-functional team of physicists, electronics engineers, and firmware engineers to design and deliver next-generation quantum instruments.
Implement control algorithms critical to the operation of high-precision sensing instruments.
Develop peripheral drivers for mixed-signal and other devices, working directly from electronic schematics.
Partner with hardware engineers to support board testing and hardware bring-up activities.
Clearly document and communicate your work through written and verbal channels with coworkers and collaborators.
In this role, you will design, implement, and verify embedded software for ST microcontrollers - including COTS devices and MCUs on custom ASICs - and develop the low-level control algorithms that make precision measurement possible.

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science with substantial embedded systems coursework, lab, or internship experience
other technical degrees considered with 5+ years of directly relevant experience.
Demonstrated ability to write production-quality C/C++ code for small embedded processors.
Proficiency writing interrupt service routines, peripheral drivers, and multi-threaded firmware for embedded MCUs using RTOSs and/or bare-metal environments.
Experience interfacing with external devices via TCP, UDP, UART, SPI, I2C, or similar protocols.
Proven ability to isolate and resolve bugs using debuggers and simulation tools.
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.
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.

Experience designing and implementing control algorithms such as PID controllers.
Proficiency in assembly language programming for embedded targets.
Experience implementing lightweight Ethernet stacks (e.g., lwIP) on small embedded systems.
Background working with SoC or FPGA devices.
Vector Atomic values teamwork, open and honest discourse, and work-life balance.
Employer 401(k) contributions
Fully stocked kitchen
It's atypical to be hired at the top end of this range for the role, as actual pay is based on several factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

In 2025, the company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance.
IonQ is making quantum platforms more accessible and impactful than ever before.

Posted base salary figures are subject to change as new market data becomes available.
The approximate base salary range for this position is $ 142,113 to $186,063 per year.

Platinum-level family health coverage (medical, dental, vision)
Health and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
20 days of paid time off & 11 paid holidays
Paid parental leave
We offer competitive compensation and benefits including:
The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity and benefits.
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.

We are looking for a skilled Senior Firmware Engineer to join a cross-functional team of physicists, electronics engineers, and firmware developers building next-generation quantum sensing instruments.

This listing is sourced directly from IonQ's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.