Staff Engineer - Firmware

About Vector Atomic:

Vector Atomic, an IonQ company, is building quantum technology to transform navigation, timing, geophysical exploration, and telecommunications. Our team of engineers, scientists, software developers, and operations professionals works together to solve complex challenges and turn bold ideas into real-world solutions. We value collaboration, curiosity, and diverse perspectives, and we give every team member the opportunity to make an immediate impact while growing their skills. If you're excited to work on breakthrough technology in a fast-paced, hands-on environment, we'd love to hear from you.

As a Technical Lead for Real-Time Control Systems, you will provide the architectural vision and technical leadership necessary to build next-generation quantum instruments. You will be responsible for designing complex embedded systems on ARM SoC and ST Micro platforms, developing robust data acquisition pipelines, and implementing the control algorithms that drive precision sensing technology. This role sits at the intersection of hardware and software, requiring you to bridge the gap between physicists, electronics engineers, and firmware teams. Beyond writing production-quality code, you will serve as a mentor and strategist, driving coding standards, hardware bring-up strategies, and the continuous improvement of development infrastructure to ensure the scalability of quantum control frameworks.
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.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership: Provide architectural direction for real-time control systems and lead technical discussions across hardware and firmware teams.
• System Architecture: Design system controllers on ARM SoC, including user-space drivers, libraries, and reusable frameworks for quantum system control.
• Software Development: Write high-performance, production-quality code in C/C++ and Rust, establishing team-wide best practices and coding standards.
• Control Theory & Implementation: Define and implement essential control algorithms, including robust control loops with reliable error handling for precision instruments.
• Hardware Collaboration: Lead board testing and hardware bring-up strategies in coordination with hardware engineers.
• Mentorship: Guide junior and senior engineers through code reviews, pair programming, and proactive technical coaching.
• Process Improvement: Drive the evolution of development processes, tooling, and infrastructure, including CI/CD and automated testing.
• Strategic Representation: Act as the primary technical voice for the team during cross-functional reviews and strategic planning sessions.
  Location: This role is based onsite at our office in Pleasanton, CA.
  Travel: Up to 5%

• BS/MS in EE, CE, or CS with 8–12 years of experience, or a PhD with 8+ years of related work experience.
• To comply with the US export control laws, Vector Atomic employees must be U.S. citizens (born or naturalized), lawful U.S. permanent residents (i.e. green card holders), and certain categories of refugees, and asylees.
• Embedded Expertise: Demonstrated mastery of complex embedded system architecture and designing software systems from the ground up.
• Systems Programming: Deep understanding of hardware-software interfaces (TCP, UART, MMAP) and low-level system programming.
• Technical Problem Solving: Strong debugging and troubleshooting skills using profilers, debuggers, and simulation tools.
• Leadership: Proven ability to lead technical initiatives and influence engineering decisions across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written skills for articulating complex concepts to diverse audiences.
• Environment: Must be comfortable working in a laboratory setting.

Preferred Qualifications

• Rust Proficiency: Extensive experience developing production Rust systems, including async runtimes, concurrency patterns, and performance optimization.
• C++ Hybrid: Experience with embedded Linux alongside a strong understanding of C/C++ systems programming.
• Advanced Control Theory: Expert-level knowledge of PID, state-space controllers, and adaptive control algorithms.
• DSP & Algorithms: Experience with fixed-point algorithms, digital signal processing (DSP), and digital filter design.
• Hardware-Software Co-design: Strong background working with SoC/FPGA devices and Linux kernel/device driver development.
• Tooling & Scripting: Proficiency in Python for scientific libraries and developer tool creation.
• Lab Equipment Mastery: Hands-on experience using oscilloscopes, function generators, and voltmeters to verify code performance.
• DevOps for Embedded: Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and automated testing frameworks tailored for hardware/firmware.

Vector Atomic values teamwork, open and honest discourse, and work-life balance. We offer competitive compensation and benefits including:

• Platinum-level family health coverage (medical, dental, vision)
• Health and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Employer 401(k) contributions
• 20 days of paid time off / 11 paid holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Fully stocked kitchen

Pay Range
The approximate base salary range for this position is $163,430 to $213,972 per year. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity and benefits. It's atypical to be hired at the top end of this range for the role, as actual pay is based on several factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience level.

Vector Atomic is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from all backgrounds regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or any other classification protected by law.

Vector Atomic does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third-party recruiting agencies in response to job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to our hiring managers or HR team.