Quantum Computing Engineer Freelance Jobs in Seattle, WA

Location: This role is based at our Bothell, WA office, operating in a hybrid working model. 
Travel: Up to 5%
Job ID: 1757

The Role: 

IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world's leading quantum company delivering solutions to solve the world's most complex problems. IonQ's newest generation quantum computers, IonQ Tempo and IonQ Forte Enterprise, are the latest in cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners such as Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve 20x performance results. The company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance in 2025.

The company is accelerating its technology roadmap and intends to deliver the world's most powerful quantum computers with 2 million qubits by 2030 to accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. IonQ's advancements in quantum networking position the company as a leader in building the quantum internet.

We are looking for a Staff Scientist, Quantum Algorithms and Applications to join the Computational Sciences team at IonQ. This is a newly formed group within Applications R&D, focused on general physics problems in condensed matter and high energy physics alongside combinatorial optimization. You will bring dedicated condensed matter and high energy physics capability into the team, applied through quantum computation on IonQ's trapped-ion systems, working on problems that today are delivered through a borrowed virtual team drawn from across the organisation.

The work sits at the meeting point of traditional classical simulation and fault-tolerant quantum computing, and the role demands real capability in both. You will bring judgement about where each approach earns its place, working independently against goals and helping shape how IonQ tackles real scientific problems as the company moves towards fault-tolerant applications.

Responsibilities:

In this position you will lead scientific work on condensed matter and high energy physics problems, connecting them to quantum computation. On the condensed matter side this covers magnetic systems, phase transitions, spintronics, strongly correlated spin dynamics, spin liquids and high temperature superconductivity, including Fermi-Hubbard models, optical conductivity and eta pairing. On the high energy physics side it covers 2+1D systems, lattice QCD and lattice gauge theory.

A particular focus is comparing results computed on quantum computers against experimental data such as neutron scattering, using dynamical structure factors, spectral functions and spin transport. You will pair these quantum approaches with established classical simulation methods rather than treating them as alternatives.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead condensed matter and high energy physics application projects, working independently against agreed goals.
• Connect physics problems to quantum computation, selecting appropriate fault-tolerant algorithms and mapping problems onto quantum-native formulations.
• Combine classical simulation and HPC workloads with quantum methods in integrated end-to-end workflows.
• Compare computed results against experimental data, including neutron scattering observables such as dynamical structure factors and spectral functions.
• Collaborate with other fault-tolerant algorithms researchers and with the quantum chemistry and software engineering teams, and contribute to publications and external technical representation.

Requirements:

This role requires both halves of an uncommon combination. You will need genuine subject matter depth in condensed matter or high energy physics, and equally, practical experience with quantum computing and quantum algorithms applied to scientific problems. Candidates strong in one and not the other are unlikely to be a fit. You will be comfortable working across classical simulation and quantum methods, and using scientific programming to integrate tools, run computations and maintain a code base.

You would be a great fit with:

• A doctorate in Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science or a related field, with postdoctoral or industry experience and a track record of carrying research forward independently.
• Deep expertise in condensed matter or high energy physics: magnetic systems, strongly correlated materials, superconductivity, spin dynamics, Fermi-Hubbard models, lattice gauge theory or related areas.
• Experience with classical simulation methods and HPC workloads for these problems, ideally including packages such as QuantumATK, QuantumEspresso or VASP, and an understanding of how to integrate classical and quantum approaches.
• Direct experience applying quantum algorithms to scientific problems, including fault-tolerant methods such as quantum phase estimation, Hamiltonian simulation or quantum singular value transformation, and an understanding of how they map onto condensed matter and high energy physics problems.
• Scientific programming in Python and C++ sufficient to integrate tools, run computations and maintain a code base in version control.

Also valuable: hands-on use of classical packages including QuantumATK, QuantumEspresso or VASP; the ability to design novel fault-tolerant algorithms; a peer-reviewed publication record; client or partner facing delivery experience; active participation in the fault-tolerant quantum computing community through tools, metrics, talks, repositories or patents; and familiarity with agentic AI tooling such as OpenAI Codex or Anthropic Claude Code.

The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity, and a range of benefit options found on our career site.