Lead, Talent Development

We are looking for a Lead, Talent Development to join the People team. As Lead, Talent Development, you'll be part of a cross-functional team whose mission is to lead IonQ on its journey to build the world's best quantum computers to solve the world's most complex problems.

Winning the quantum race depends on physicists, engineers and operators who get better faster than the field moves, and on managers capable of leading them. You will own how people grow here end to end: diagnosing what capability we need, designing how people acquire it, and aggregating the data to support it.

This role sits at the intersection of strategy and execution. That means your instinct on any problem should be leverage: our managers, our own technical experts, AI, and the right vendors. You will design the system, and others will help you deliver it.

The ideal candidate is someone who ships a version one in weeks rather than quarters, is energized by ambiguity, and wants to build the playbook rather than run someone else's.

Responsibilities

• Own IonQ’s talent development strategy: diagnose capability and performance gaps in partnership with People Business Partners and business leaders, identify root causes beyond training, and set the priorities the company invests in.
• Architect and ship development experiences end to end, from design through facilitation, adoption and measurement, across audiences ranging from new hires to executives.
• Build IonQ’s leadership bench: define what great looks like for managers and leaders, and create development pathways for new managers, senior leaders and high-potential talent that accelerate readiness for greater scope.
• Create development paths for deep technical experts, including scientists and engineers who should advance without managing people, while equipping those who move into management to lead technical teams effectively.
• Embed AI into how employees and managers develop through on-demand coaching and practice, personalized development paths and manager tools, so that live learning time is reserved for connection and application.
• Scale IonQ’s enablement ecosystem: activate internal experts to teach each other, own the talent development vendor portfolio and learning budget, and apply clear judgment about when to build, when to buy and when not to intervene.
• Define and track a measurement framework covering adoption, time to proficiency, behavior change and business impact, and translate the results into insights leaders can act on.

Requirements

• Experience designing and shipping talent development or enablement programs within high-growth technology, engineering or similarly complex organizations, with specific examples delivered in short windows.
• Demonstrated AI fluency across the development lifecycle, from needs analysis and content design through delivery and measurement. You have built or shipped AI-enabled learning experiences or tools, not simply used them.
• Demonstrated judgment on when to buy, when to build and when to do nothing, with examples of each.
• Exceptional facilitation skills, including the ability to hold a room with senior leaders and highly technical audiences.
• Experience operating as a function of one or close to it, including a clear point of view on prioritization and what you deliberately chose not to do.
• Strong consultative and influencing skills without formal authority, including experience partnering with senior leaders to secure sponsorship and drive adoption.
• Ability to define meaningful development KPIs and translate outcomes into business impact rather than relying primarily on attendance or satisfaction scores.
• Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education, training and professional experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree or background in instructional design, adult learning theory, organizational development, or industrial and organizational psychology.
• Experience designing development for research, scientific or engineering populations at both individual contributor and manager levels.
• Experience preparing an organization for rapid scaling, role evolution or reskilling.
• Experience embedding operational excellence practices, such as Leader Standard Work or Managing Daily Improvement, into leadership development.
• Experience designing early-career, rotational or other structured talent programs.