
Senior Software Engineering Manager, Developer Tools
ionq • Bothell, Washington, United States
Posted: July 14, 2026
Job Description
Location: This role is based at our Bothell, WA office, with the option to work a few days a week remotely.
Job ID: 1734
The Role:
We are looking for a senior software engineering manager to lead and grow our developer tools team. In this role, you’ll help deliver access to our industry-leading quantum computers and simulators via software development kits (SDKs) that make programming them a delight. You’ll regularly engage with the developer community to stay up to date with trends in industry and research communities alike.
The ideal candidate will have experience leading or contributing to multiple simultaneous initiatives, balancing multiple activities with a keen eye for prioritizing for the biggest impact. You’ll be able to balance technical expertise and savvy with strong business judgment to make great technology choices with lasting impact. You’ll strive for simplicity and demonstrate significant creativity and incisive judgment. You'll enjoy learning technical topics, working across multiple business streams, and be uniquely positioned to help us reach the next horizon in secure quantum computing.
Responsibilities:
- Lead a team of software engineers creating SDKs and libraries for programming quantum computers and interacting with the systems and services around them
- Contribute to our codebase not as the lead developer, but to remain connected to the work your team is doing as a player-coach
- Participate in developer forums and events to keep your finger on the pulse of this rapidly evolving field
- Provide technical expertise and strong thought leadership in building robust, well-engineered, and scalable software solutions, participating in code reviews and ensuring best practices
- Drive functional and technical delivery of key team and org-wide programs/initiatives
- Partner with Engineering Managers, Product Managers, and other cross functional partners to define, scope, and drive large programs to conclusion.
- Develop, implement, and iterate on program management techniques, frameworks, and KPIs to achieve goals with well defined success criteria.
- Define and produce high quality written proposals, communications and documentation
- Create widely circulated plans, driving consistency, clarity and building alignment across teams
- Help influence peers / leaders and build consensus while dealing with ambiguity
- In your first three months, you’ll be helping hire key staff to scale this function.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Physics, or related field, or equivalent practical experience
- 6+ years of hands-on technical leadership and people management experience
- 5+ years experience of open source contributions
- 3+ years experience of programming experience in Python
- Past experience building SDKs, and ideally those built for use in hybrid cloud environments
- Knowledge of team management best practices and demonstrated experience building and scaling effective teams that drives a high performance culture in a distributed work environment
- Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to partner and align with external software teams
- Sound project management, analytical skills and ability to establish metrics to measure and drive a high return on investment
- Expertise in modern software development practices and tools (e.g., continuous integration and delivery, observability, etc.)
- Client focus and the ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with internal and external partners.
Preferred Qualifications:
- MS or PhD in Computer Science, Physics, Quantum Information Science, or a related degree
- 10+ years of technical leadership and people management experience
- 3+ years of managing distributed teams
- Experience as an open source project maintainer with an active community
- A background in quantum computing and/or quantum information science
- Proficiency in quantum computing SDKs (Qiskit, Pennylane, CirQ)
The approximate base salary range for this position is $200,698 - $262,765. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity, and a range of benefit options found on our career site.
Additional Content
Location: This role is based at our Bothell, WA office, with the option to work a few days a week remotely.
Job ID: 1734
The Role:
We are looking for a senior software engineering manager to lead and grow our developer tools team. In this role, you’ll help deliver access to our industry-leading quantum computers and simulators via software development kits (SDKs) that make programming them a delight. You’ll regularly engage with the developer community to stay up to date with trends in industry and research communities alike.
The ideal candidate will have experience leading or contributing to multiple simultaneous initiatives, balancing multiple activities with a keen eye for prioritizing for the biggest impact. You’ll be able to balance technical expertise and savvy with strong business judgment to make great technology choices with lasting impact. You’ll strive for simplicity and demonstrate significant creativity and incisive judgment. You'll enjoy learning technical topics, working across multiple business streams, and be uniquely positioned to help us reach the next horizon in secure quantum computing.
Responsibilities:
- Lead a team of software engineers creating SDKs and libraries for programming quantum computers and interacting with the systems and services around them
- Contribute to our codebase not as the lead developer, but to remain connected to the work your team is doing as a player-coach
- Participate in developer forums and events to keep your finger on the pulse of this rapidly evolving field
- Provide technical expertise and strong thought leadership in building robust, well-engineered, and scalable software solutions, participating in code reviews and ensuring best practices
- Drive functional and technical delivery of key team and org-wide programs/initiatives
- Partner with Engineering Managers, Product Managers, and other cross functional partners to define, scope, and drive large programs to conclusion.
- Develop, implement, and iterate on program management techniques, frameworks, and KPIs to achieve goals with well defined success criteria.
- Define and produce high quality written proposals, communications and documentation
- Create widely circulated plans, driving consistency, clarity and building alignment across teams
- Help influence peers / leaders and build consensus while dealing with ambiguity
- In your first three months, you’ll be helping hire key staff to scale this function.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Physics, or related field, or equivalent practical experience
- 6+ years of hands-on technical leadership and people management experience
- 5+ years experience of open source contributions
- 3+ years experience of programming experience in Python
- Past experience building SDKs, and ideally those built for use in hybrid cloud environments
- Knowledge of team management best practices and demonstrated experience building and scaling effective teams that drives a high performance culture in a distributed work environment
- Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to partner and align with external software teams
- Sound project management, analytical skills and ability to establish metrics to measure and drive a high return on investment
- Expertise in modern software development practices and tools (e.g., continuous integration and delivery, observability, etc.)
- Client focus and the ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with internal and external partners.
Preferred Qualifications:
- MS or PhD in Computer Science, Physics, Quantum Information Science, or a related degree
- 10+ years of technical leadership and people management experience
- 3+ years of managing distributed teams
- Experience as an open source project maintainer with an active community
- A background in quantum computing and/or quantum information science
- Proficiency in quantum computing SDKs (Qiskit, Pennylane, CirQ)
The approximate base salary range for this position is $200,698 - $262,765. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity, and a range of benefit options found on our career site.