Senior Physicist, Quantum Memory R&D at IonQ (Chattanooga, USA)
Job Description
IonQ is hiring a Senior Physicist for quantum memory research and development in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The role centres on IonQ’s silicon-vacancy (SiV) quantum memory platform: finding new uses for it with partners and extending what the memory nodes can do on a quantum network.
At a glance
- Role: Senior Physicist, Quantum Memory R&D
- Where: Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
- Pay: US$126,887–181,949
- Level: PhD in physics, applied physics, electrical engineering or a related field
- Apply: open until filled (re-checked 11 October 2026)
About the quantum memory physicist role
- Work with IonQ’s industry, government and academic partners, and internal teams, to implement new applications on the SiV quantum memory platform
- Evaluate and test new hardware, such as photon-pair sources and sensors, for compatibility with SiV memory nodes, to add network capabilities or enable new distributed applications
- Coordinate with internal teams and external vendors to develop and improve memory subsystems and software
What IonQ is looking for
- A PhD in physics, applied physics, electrical engineering or a closely related field
- Work in quantum optics and quantum computing, ideally with single photons or gate-based quantum systems
- Experience designing and testing complex opto-mechanical and opto-electronic setups
- Experience implementing applications on quantum hardware
Nice to have
- Experience with defect centres or other solid-state qubits
- Experience with optically mediated entanglement between qubits
- Writing lab software, preferably in Python
Pay and location
IonQ lists a pay range of US$126,887–181,949, depending on qualifications, experience and location. The role is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
How to apply
Apply through the official IonQ job posting. IonQ’s posting does not give a closing date, so the role is open until filled. ResearchJobs.in will re-check this listing on 11 October 2026. Check the posting for location and work-authorisation details before you apply.
Looking for more roles like this? Browse our research jobs on ResearchJobs.in.
Hiring institution: IonQ
Official advertisement: job-boards.greenhouse.io
How to prepare for this interview
- SiV centres: revise the silicon-vacancy centre in diamond: its level structure, why it needs cryogenic temperatures, and its spin-photon interface.
- Entanglement protocols: be ready to explain heralded remote entanglement and what limits its rate and fidelity.
- Photon sources: think about how a photon-pair source is matched to a memory in wavelength, bandwidth and timing.
- Build stories: prepare to describe an optical setup you designed and debugged, with numbers.
- Software: have an example of Python code you wrote to run or analyse an experiment.
About IonQ
IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ) builds trapped-ion quantum computers and describes itself as a quantum platform company working across computing, networking, sensing and security. It is headquartered in College Park, Maryland, with operations in several US states and in Italy, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and the United Kingdom, and its quantum computers are available through the major cloud providers.
