Backend Software Developer – Quantum

Overview

Introduction At IBM Research, we are the innovation engine of IBM. Exploring what’s next in computing and shaping the technologies the world will rely on tomorrow. From advancing AI and hybrid cloud to pioneering practical quantum computing, we anticipate challenges and unlock new opportunities for clients, partners, and society.

We are seeking a passionate and skilled Software Developer to join our Backend Software Services team. This role is for those who crave technical challenges and thrive in environments where innovation is the norm. You’ll work on cutting-edge problems, from orchestrating complex job execution pipelines to dynamically managing resources for maximum efficiency. The systems you help build will directly impact real-world applications in fields like cryptography, AI, and scientific research, unlocking new possibilities in optimization and materials discovery.

You’ll be responsible for designing robust systems, improving performance, enhancing fault tolerance, and driving the productization of critical services. Through collaborative programming, design sessions, and rigorous code reviews, you’ll contribute to building scalable and resilient platforms that enable quantum workloads to run efficiently and reliably. Our work is critical to transforming complex quantum concepts into scalable, real-world solutions that are shaping the future of computing.

Joining this team as a Software Engineer means stepping into a high-impact role where you’ll develop and optimize services running on both cloud and on-premise infrastructure.

• Develop and maintain high-performance, scalable, and reliable backend services.
• Design APIs and microservices that enable seamless interaction between users, quantum processors and classical computing resources.
• Optimize distributed systems improving the performance, reliability and scalability of quantum computing workloads.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including quantum researchers, frontend developers and Dev Ops engineers to deliver robust solutions.
• Implement security best practices to ensure secure execution and access control for quantum workloads.
• Shape and elevate a top-tier engineering team through leadership.
• Innovate solutions that are pivotal to the quantum computing community and scientific research.

Bachelor s Degree

• Proficiency in languages like Golang, C, Rust or Python with a track record of building production-level backend applications.
• Strong background and proficiency in designing, developing, and maintaining high-quality, reliable web services, RESTful APIs or gRPC for service communication.
• Experience working with container orchestration technologies (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker, Open Shift)
• Solid experience working with database technologies (e.g., SQL, Postgres).
• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders across time-zones

• Experience with monitoring and alerting systems such as Grafana, Sysdig, or similar tools, ensuring system reliability and proactive issue resolution.
• Exposure to L3 support engineering practices, including designing, developing, and testing solutions to resolve complex customer-reported problems.
• Familiarity with event-driven architectures to build scalable, loosely coupled systems.
• Hands-on experience working with CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code and automated testing.
• Understanding of distributed systems and messaging queues to support reliable communication between services
• Experience with HPC schedulers such as slurm or LSF, from using such components to developing them.