Chief Architect - Optical Communication Terminals

Chief Architect - Optical Communication Terminals

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

We are seeking a highly skilled and innovative Chief Architect to join our team. This position reports directly to Skyloom's VP of Engineering as a member of the Engineering & Operations leadership team.

As Chief Architect, you will lead the architecture, design, and development of next-generation Optical Communication Terminals (OCTs) for government and commercial space applications. You will drive system architecture, optimize end-to-end optical communication performance, and contribute to innovation in areas including free-space optical communications, adaptive optics, beam steering, and laser propagation.

As a Chief Architect, you will design, implement, and optimize free-space optical communication terminals across government and commercial customers. You will analyze and improve system performance metrics—such as wavefront error, SNR, and BER—while contributing to innovation in areas like atmospheric turbulence mitigation, adaptive optics, and laser propagation.

This role also offers leadership opportunities, including guiding projects, collaborating across disciplines, and contributing to R&D shaping next-generation OCT products.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering activities for an optical communications payload from concept through launch
• Define, analyze, and validate system and subsystem requirements for space environments
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop integrated communication solutions, focusing on system architecture, performance, and reliability.
• Derive quantified requirements for optical communication terminals using analytical techniques, numerical modeling, and bench-top testing.
• Conduct hardware/software validation of optical communication systems and subsystems
• Provide technical support for integration and troubleshooting of optical systems and develop root cause analysis for products exhibiting non-conformances in the optics subsystem.
• Analyze large amounts of laboratory data for validation and improvement purposes.
• Provide clear and rigorous presentations/reports on the subjects listed above, effectively communicating with a broad range of cross-functional teams.

Communication & Teamwork Skills

• Own critical design review processes, ensuring quality, completeness, and compliance
• Lead system-level test planning, verification, and compliance analysis
• Collaborate across multidisciplinary teams (RF, software, FPGA, integration, quality, operations)
• Possess excellent communication skills to convey technical concepts clearly and efficiently across a range of subject areas, engaging with management, peers, and suppliers.
• Organize and deliver assigned projects independently according to the project schedule.
• Demonstrate enthusiasm for working on multiple projects simultaneously in a self-directed manner, thriving in a fast-paced, multi-cultural startup environment.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience designing and developing Free Space Optical (FSO) communication systems or Optical Communication Terminals (OCTs). Demonstrated experience in optical system design, modeling, and validation.
• Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Strong understanding of wavefront errors, SNR, BER, and link budgets
• Exhibit strong analytical skills for building models and solving complex problems.
• Experience with optical simulation/modelling tools (e.g., Zemax, Code V, MATLAB, Python)
• Knowledge of adaptive optics, beam steering, Pointing, Acquisition and Tracking (PAT), and pointing error impacts.
• Knowledge in the development of space optical instruments, especially in the field of telescopes, spectrometers, and interferometers within an industrial or scientific environment.
• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, the candidate must be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., a protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Preferred Experience

• Space-flight industry experience
• Laser Safety knowledge
• Experience transitioning an optical product into production
• Direct experience with Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISLs) and high-speed optical communication systems, including 100 Gbps LEO optical networks.
• Spanish speaking is a plus

Compensation

The approximate base salary range for this position is $167,808 - $225,704. The total compensation package includes base salary, bonus, equity, and a range of benefits.

**Benefits will be provided by Skyloom, Inc., an IonQ Company, and will differ from the benefits listed on the IonQ website.**