Partner Lead

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: US, Remote
Travel: Up to 20%**
Job ID:** 1878

The Role: 

IonQ is seeking Regional Partner Leads for the Americas to develop a small number of carefully selected lighthouse channel and reseller partners. You will build deep relationships with the local resellers, distributors, systems integrators and telecommunications partners best positioned to pursue priority customers and support early adoption of our frontier-technology portfolio. The role covers IonQ’s entire portfolio—compute, networking, security, sensing, space and merchant services—with focused pursuits selected to match each lighthouse partner’s capabilities and customer needs.

The role also drives quantum opportunities with global partners within the region—for example, remote access to IonQ quantum computing capacity through a Hyperscaler in Europe, or quantum computing and quantum-safe cybersecurity pursuits with a global consulting firm’s local practice—in alignment with the respective global alliance lead. Computing pursuits include hardware in data centers, remote cloud access, and application and algorithm development. Specialist channel partners may focus on networking, security, sensing, space or merchant services, with pursuits matched to their expertise, customer access and IonQ’s available capabilities.

You will engage local partner teams, qualify customers and co-sell early engagements. Partners learn through this shared work, and successful engagements become references and playbooks for measured expansion.

This role operates in a matrixed structure, reporting directly to the SVP, Global Partner Ecosystem (Partnerships), with close alignment to regional sales leads on priorities, account plans, opportunity execution and commercial outcomes.

Responsibilities:

Selective Regional Partner Development

• Prioritize markets and a few lighthouse partners based on customer access, executive commitment, technical capacity, local procurement capability and willingness to invest in joint pursuits.
• Build deep partner-level plans with named customers, committed resources and first-win milestones; allocate effort to productive relationships before broadening coverage.

Global Partners in the Region

• Proactively originate and progress quantum opportunities with local hyperscaler teams and advisory practices in partnership with the respective global alliance lead and regional sales leads. Co-sell quantum computing deployments, application and algorithm development, and quantum-safe cybersecurity with consulting firms and SIs; drive remote quantum computing capacity resale with hyperscalers. Match each pursuit to partner capability and validated customer demand.
• Own local partner engagement and coordinate regional quantum pursuits within shared account plans; agree responsibilities, customer ownership, technical support, outcomes and commercial milestones with global leads and regional sales leads. Run shared pursuit and pipeline reviews.
• Engage global sponsorship, specialist resources and commercial frameworks in support of local opportunities; feed market evidence and barriers back to global alliance leads. Global alliance leads retain ownership of named worldwide relationships and mobilize partner headquarters, programs and resources; you develop local partner teams and opportunities.

Hands-On Co-Sell & Commercialization

• Personally work alongside partners through discovery, qualification, use-case selection, proposals, negotiation and close; develop partner skills through live quantum customer engagements. For specialist channel partners, build focused pursuits such as space-related quantum communications or sensing opportunities, as supported by the partner’s expertise and validated IonQ capabilities.
• Engage Field Engineering, Partner Engineering and Platform Sales Specialists to define feasible customer outcomes. Partner Engineering validates technical feasibility; Field Engineering and Platform Sales Specialists support discovery, solution development and live pursuits across the full portfolio: compute, networking, security, sensing, space and merchant services. 
• Support local procurement and complex sovereign or regulated-market pursuits with the appropriate internal specialists; maintain clear rules of engagement across partners and direct Sales.
• Teach by doing: jointly discover needs, qualify use cases, shape solutions, co-sell and deliver early engagements. Build reusable success stories and playbooks, then expand based on evidence of repeatability.

Lighthouse Success & Replication

• Own a disciplined regional partner forecast. Track each quantum opportunity in one shared record with distinct local and global contributions.
• Build customer-approved quantum success stories and capture practical sales, delivery and commercial lessons with global leads. Work with Programs and Marketing to turn lighthouse engagement lessons into reusable tools, and GTM approaches.
• Repeat successful approaches with additional customers, then selectively add partners when evidence and support capacity justify expansion; follow company policy and applicable local and trade requirements.

Requirements:

• 8+ years in regional channel sales or strategic partner management, with a record of productive reseller, SI, distributor or telco relationships. Strong regional market knowledge and ability to activate local teams of global partners; experience jointly managing opportunities with global alliance owners and direct Sales.
• Relevant regional languages and relationships in priority markets: US and Latin America; Europe and MENA; or APJ, including Korea, Japan and Singapore.
• A proven track record of developing focused, early-stage partnerships into scalable channels that deliver sustained revenue growth.
• Demonstrated commercial expertise in frontier technologies or an emerging technology category: translating uncertain capabilities, evolving roadmaps and customer needs into credible, staged adoption plans. 
• A record of building a small number of deep partnerships and personally co-selling early customer engagements, from discovery and qualification through solution development, negotiation and close. 
• Experience converting early customer engagements into approved references, reusable solution patterns and repeatable partner sales motions.
• Cross-cultural communication skills, strong executive communication, commercial negotiation and cross-functional leadership; discipline in pipeline qualification, forecasting and investment prioritization. 
• Ability to travel regionally and internationally, and master’s degree or equivalent professional experience.

**Preferred Qualifications:
**

• Quantum experience is an advantage, including quantum computing, networking and security, space or sensing.
• Relevant experience may include commercialization, partnerships, customer adoption or technical solution development. 
• Experience with sovereign or regulated markets, public-sector procurement, or international trade compliance relevant to advanced technology. 
• Ability to work closely with technical specialists, distinguish validated capabilities from future potential, and establish customer success criteria without overstating readiness.

Primary Measures of Success

• Qualified partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline, closed revenue, conversion and forecast accuracy, with documented attribution and no double counting across global and regional teams.
• Lighthouse quantum engagement progress against agreed customer outcomes: data-center hardware deployment, paid quantum cloud access, application and algorithm development, quantum-safe cybersecurity, or specialist networking, sensing, space and merchant services engagements, with technical validation, commercial success and referenceability.
• Depth and productivity of selected partnerships: committed partner resources, active joint pursuits, time to first win and partner capability demonstrated in live engagements.
• Evidence of replication: customer-approved success stories, reusable playbooks, follow-on opportunities and repeat wins; additional partners activated only when delivery capacity and repeatability support expansion.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first year, you will have secured referenceable wins from a few carefully selected local and global lighthouse partners and jointly progressed qualified customer engagements toward successful technical and commercial outcomes. You will have established an effective global–regional pursuit cadence and documented the evidence, partner capability and playbooks needed to replicate success. Expansion will follow demonstrated readiness and results. Reference wins should reflect the regional partner mix across the portfolio, including quantum computing hardware, cloud access, application and algorithm development, quantum-safe cybersecurity, and specialist networking, sensing, space or merchant services opportunities.

OTE for this role is expected to be $380K
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:$182,400—$262,200 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.

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