Lead Backend Software Engineer - IBM Quantum

Introduction Are you passionate about innovating in the field of quantum computing? We are looking for a skilled Lead Backend Software Engineer to drive backend technologies and initiatives within IBM Quantum. In this influential role, you will tackle complex technical challenges, break down intricate engineering problems, and foster collaboration across research, engineering, and product teams. Your contributions will play a crucial role in enhancing the reliability and innovation of the distributed systems that power quantum workloads. Your expertise will enable the delivery of scalable, secure, and high-performance services essential for quantum applications in optimization, AI, and scientific discovery. This position highlights your technical leadership and ownership of key components, ensuring consistent business value delivery. Your Role and Responsibilities As part of our dynamic team, you will: • Design, build, and maintain high-performance, scalable backend services and APIs that facilitate interaction between quantum processors, classical systems, and end users.

• Develop distributed system components that enhance performance, reliability, and scalability for quantum workloads in both cloud and on-premise settings.

• Work closely with researchers, frontend developers, product managers, and DevOps engineers to create robust and integrated solutions.

• Utilize your deep technical knowledge to suggest enhancements, troubleshoot complex issues, and elevate developer experience, operational efficiency, and system performance.

• Contribute to backend architecture evolution by participating in design discussions, code reviews, and technical decision-making.

• Ensure adherence to security best practices and reliable execution workflows, maintaining high standards for service quality and availability.

• Provide leadership to develop a top-tier engineering team.

• Understand stakeholder needs and craft high-quality solutions that deliver business value and improve user experience.

• Innovate pivotal solutions for the quantum computing community and scientific research.

• Leverage AI insights to inform architectural decisions and optimize distributed services for enhanced system resilience.

Required Technical and Professional Expertise • Demonstrated proficiency in backend development using TypeScript, JavaScript, Golang, Python, or similar programming languages for production-grade systems.

• Extensive experience in designing and maintaining scalable service architectures, including REST, gRPC, microservices, event-driven services, and distributed components.

• Solid grasp of distributed systems concepts, including concurrency, load balancing, service orchestration, caching, and data consistency.

• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, Docker, and containerized deployments.

• Proficiency with SQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL) and experience in designing data models for high-throughput systems.

• Experience in building and operating cloud-native systems and services across multiple environments (cloud, on-prem, hybrid).

• Proven experience with CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, automated testing, and modern DevOps practices.

• Familiarity with monitoring tools (Grafana, Sysdig, Prometheus) for incident-driven improvements.

• Experience with event-driven architectures and messaging systems.

• Excellent communication skills for effective stakeholder and cross-functional collaboration.

• Experience utilizing AI-assisted development tools (e.g., code generation, automated refactoring, test creation, or debugging assistants) to boost engineering productivity and code quality.

Preferred Technical and Professional Experience • Experience with HPC schedulers such as Slurm or LSF, with involvement in their use or development.

• Prior exposure to hybrid cloud, multi-cluster orchestration, or high-performance computing environments.

• Contributions to open-source or inner-source projects.

• Familiarity with AI-powered observability platforms or tools that can detect anomalies, performance regressions, or unusual workload patterns.

• Experience with exploring or adopting new AI technologies to enhance developer productivity, service reliability, or operational efficiency.

IBM is dedicated to fostering a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. IBM also complies with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.