Quantum Developer Relations Lead

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. Working in Research means joining a team that accelerates discovery at the intersection of high-performance computing, AI, quantum, and cloud. You’ll collaborate with leading scientists, engineers, and visionaries to push boundaries and turn ideas into reality. With a culture built on curiosity, creativity, and collaboration, IBM Research offers the opportunity to grow your career while contributing to breakthroughs that transform industries and change the world.

Your Role And Responsibilities Developer Adoption Own the strategy for growing adoption of IBM Quantum technologies across the global developer ecosystem.

You'll design programs that help developers become productive quickly, remove barriers to adoption, and create long-term engagement with IBM Quantum.

Responsibilities Include:

• Driving developer onboarding and activation.
• Building scalable education programs for developers at every experience level.
• Representing IBM Quantum through technical talks, workshops, hackathons, conferences, webinars, and community events.
• Creating reusable technical assets—including tutorials, documentation, videos, sample applications, and learning pathways—that accelerate developer success.
• Measuring adoption and continuously improving the developer journey.

Represent the voice of the developer throughout the product development lifecycle.

You'll work closely with Product Management and Engineering to identify friction points, prioritize improvements, and ensure IBM Quantum provides a best-in-class developer experience.

Responsibilities Include:

• Collecting and synthesizing developer feedback.
• Identifying trends, adoption barriers, and usability issues.
• Influencing product roadmap decisions using quantitative and qualitative insights.
• Improving SDK usability, APIs, documentation, onboarding, and tooling.
• Validating new features with developer communities before general release.

Build and strengthen one of the world's leading quantum developer communities.

You'll cultivate relationships with developers, researchers, educators, open-source contributors, universities, enterprise partners, and technical leaders to grow the broader quantum ecosystem.

Responsibilities Include:

• Developing strategic partnerships with academic institutions, research organizations, and industry leaders.
• Supporting workforce development initiatives that expand access to quantum computing education.
• Building programs that empower educators, ambassadors, and technical champions.
• Expanding IBM Quantum's reach through community-led initiatives and strategic collaborations.

Help shape the future of the Qiskit ecosystem.

You'll work closely with maintainers, contributors, and engineering teams to grow a healthy and sustainable open-source community.

Responsibilities Include:

• Encouraging external contributions.
• Creating reference implementations and technical examples.
• Supporting contributors through documentation, technical guidance, and community engagement.
• Advocating for open development practices that strengthen collaboration and transparency.

Developer Relations succeeds through influence.

You'll partner closely with Engineering, Product Management, Research, Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, and IBM Quantum Network teams to align developer initiatives with business priorities.

You'll bring developer insights into strategic planning while ensuring product launches, educational content, and community programs deliver a consistent developer experience.

Preferred Education Master's Degree

Required Technical And Professional Expertise Technical Expertise

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Physics, Engineering, Quantum Information Science, or a related technical discipline.
• Strong understanding of quantum computing and quantum software development using Qiskit or comparable frameworks.
• Experience building software, developer tools, technical demonstrations, or production applications.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to audiences ranging from beginners to domain experts.

Developer Relations Experience

• 5+ years of experience in Developer Relations, Developer Advocacy, Technical Education, Technical Community Management, or similar technical leadership roles.
• Demonstrated experience building and growing technical communities.
• Experience creating technical content including tutorials, documentation, workshops, blogs, videos, and conference presentations.
• Excellent public speaking and technical storytelling skills.
• Strong understanding of developer workflows and developer experience.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Experience working cross-functionally with Engineering, Product Management, Research, Marketing, and Customer Success teams.
• Strong stakeholder management and project leadership skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Ability to influence without direct authority.
• Comfortable leading multiple strategic initiatives simultaneously.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in Quantum Information Science, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline.
• Hands-on experience with quantum algorithms, quantum applications, or quantum software research.
• Meaningful contributions to open-source software projects.
• Experience leading developer programs, ambassador programs, certification programs, hackathons, or technical communities.
• Experience working with universities, research institutions, or national laboratories.
• Familiarity with AI, HPC, cloud computing, or hybrid quantum-classical workflows.
• Experience using developer analytics and community metrics to guide investment decisions.
• Experience speaking at major technical conferences.