Staff Design Quality Engineer

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 will work onsite at our office located in Bothell, WA.
Travel: Up to 10%, domestic. **
Job ID:** 1730

The Role: 

We are looking for a Design Quality Engineer to join our Manufacturing & Operations team. As a Design Quality Engineer, you’ll be part of a cross-functional team whose mission is to lead IonQ on its journey to build the world’s best quantum computers to solve the world’s most complex problems.

In this role, you will be responsible for introducing and maturing IonQ’s design quality discipline — building on an active NPI process already in motion and bringing structured quality methods, design standards, and cross-functional partnerships that make our hardware easier to build, validate, and scale. IonQ’s engineering and manufacturing teams work closely together through a concurrent engineering model; the ideal candidate thrives in that kind of collaborative environment, earns influence through technical credibility rather than gatekeeping, and is energized by getting upstream of problems rather than reacting to them.

Responsibilities:

• Own holistic Design for Manufacturability and Assembly (DFM/DFA) reviews across the full system, spanning all subsystems, to identify cross-cutting design quality risks, recurring failure patterns, and systemic issues before they propagate into build.
• Drive and ensure adoption and implementation of design standards within Engineering, including GD&T drawing conventions, fastener standards, component design libraries, and interface standards.
• Lead active standardization initiatives already underway, including collimator consolidation, fastener standards, and CAD configuration standards, in close partnership with the System CAD Configurator and Engineering Operations.
• Introduce structured quality planning into IonQ’s NPI programs — defining which design quality deliverables (DFMEA, DVP&R, key characteristics, measurement plans) belong at each E/V/P build stage, and working with NPI teams to weave them into the existing program rhythm without adding friction.
• Review Design Verification and Validation plans and reports (DVP&R) in step with IonQ’s iterative build cycles; work with engineering to ensure V&V plans are drafted ahead of E builds and matured through validation.
• Review engineering drawings and CAD models for correct, complete, and unambiguous GD&T per ASME Y14.5; perform and review tolerance stack-up analyses to confirm assemblies will fit and function across tolerance ranges.
• Participate in and help refine IonQ’s change control process as a quality reviewer — evaluating design changes for V&V impact and configuration consistency across E, V, and P system baselines, and flagging when a change warrants re-verification before the next build.
• Lead structured root-cause and corrective/preventive action for design-related failures from build, test, or the field; verify effectiveness before closure and feed lessons learned back into design rules, checklists, and documentation.
• Support PPAP and first-article inspection (AS9102) activities at the NPI-to-production transition; coordinate prototype and pilot build quality feedback back into the design to improve first-pass yield on future builds.
• Define, track, and report design quality metrics (DFMEA AP burn-down, V&V completion rate, design-review action closure, first-pass yield at prototype/pilot) and use data to drive continuous improvement of methods, templates, and standard work.
• Help establish IonQ’s design-control documentation practices in a way that reflects good engineering discipline and that positions the organization for future quality certifications.
• Mentor engineers in design quality methods and serve as the organization’s technical authority on design controls, risk methods, and GD&T standards; raise the design quality capability of the broader team over time.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, systems, manufacturing, or a related engineering discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of quality, design, or reliability engineering experience in a precision hardware environment, such as semiconductor, aerospace, defense, advanced instrumentation, or medical devices.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating Design FMEAs (AIAG-VDA or equivalent) and leading structured root-cause and corrective action investigations through to verified closure.
• Strong GD&T proficiency per ASME Y14.5 and hands-on experience with tolerance stack-up analysis; comfortable reviewing, interpreting, and redlining engineering drawings and CAD models.
• Experience developing and reviewing Design Verification and Validation plans (DVP&R).
• Working knowledge of a design controls QMS framework, such as ISO 9001 Clause 8.3, with the ability to apply its requirements to a fast-moving hardware development environment.
• Proven track record of driving cross-functional standards adoption, ensuring engineering teams understand, apply, and maintain them in practice.
• Excellent cross-functional communication skills with the judgment to translate quality risk into clear, actionable decisions for both engineering teams and senior leadership.

**Preferred Qualifications:
**

• Experience with opto-mechanical, photonic, vacuum system, or cryogenic hardware — IonQ’s systems are precision opto-mechanical assemblies and this background meaningfully shortens ramp time.
• APQP/PPAP experience and familiarity with first-article inspection (AS9102) or equivalent production-readiness frameworks used at the NPI-to-production transition.
• Familiarity with AS9100 or equivalent aerospace/defense QMS frameworks, including configuration management, key characteristics, and first article requirements.
• Experience standing up or maturing a design quality function from an informal or nascent baseline.
• Comfort working within PLM and change management tooling (such as Windchill, Arena, or Teamcenter) and familiarity with formal ECO disposition workflows.
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) or Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE), or equivalent professional certification.
• Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in mechanical engineering, systems engineering, or a related discipline.

The approximate base salary range for this position is $131,962 - $172,773. 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!