Chief Architect - Optical Communication Terminals at Ionq in Broomfield, CO

Job description

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. About Skyloom Skyloom, an IonQ company, is a telecommunications company founded with the mission to develop, deploy, and operate one of the fundamental pieces of tomorrow’s space communication infrastructure to provide data transport services on a planetary scale. If you have a strong sense of purpose, focus, urgency, and willingness to compete—or if working on space lasers excites you—join our team to develop the future generation of space communication technology. The Role Skyloom, an IonQ company, is seeking a Chief Architect to provide technical leadership and architectural direction for next-generation Optical Communication Terminals (OCTs) supporting government and commercial space applications. You will translate customer and product needs into system-level requirements, develop and guide optical communications architectures, evaluate technical tradeoffs, and establish the engineering direction needed to deliver high-performance optical communications systems. Working closely with systems engineering and multidisciplinary engineering teams, you will provide technical guidance from early concept and design through development, integration, and validation. This is an architecture-focused leadership role emphasizing technical judgment, system-level thinking, and collaboration rather than day-to-day hardware development or testing. Candidate Profile The ideal candidate brings a strong technical foundation in optoelectronics, laser communications and optical link design, and aerospace or space-based systems. You have experience translating complex technical requirements into practical system architectures, evaluating design tradeoffs, and guiding multidisciplinary engineering teams. You combine strong engineering fundamentals with architectural judgment, problem-solving ability, and the communication skills needed to influence technical decisions. Experience developing Optical Communication Terminals (OCTs) or Free Space Optical (FSO) communication systems is highly valuable. We are also interested in candidates from adjacent technical backgrounds who demonstrate the depth, aptitude, and leadership capabilities to grow into broader optical communications architecture ownership. Location & Travel This role offers the flexibility to work remotely within the United States, with periodic travel to collaborate with our engineering teams as needed. Skyloom operates through a distributed engineering model, allowing the Chief Architect to focus on system architecture, technical leadership, and design decisions while partnering closely with teams responsible for hardware development, integration, and testing. Onsite collaboration will be coordinated around key technical milestones, design reviews, and activities requiring direct engagement with engineering teams. Responsibilities Lead the development and evolution of system-l