Senior Manager, Cryptographic Engineering

Location: This role is based onsite in Geneva, Switzerland.
Travel:
Job ID: 1893

ID Quantique (IDQ), part of IonQ, is a global leader in quantum-safe communications. We provide solutions to protect governments, telecommunication infrastructures, and banking & financial institutions from the “harvest-now, decrypt-later” threat, delivering both terrestrial and space-based quantum-safe networks in live operation globally.

The Role:

We are looking for a Senior Manager reporting to the Senior Manager, Hardware, to lead the people and the execution of our cryptographic engineering team. This team builds post-quantum cryptography (PQC) hardware acceleration for our quantum-safe product portfolio, targeting hardware security module (HSM) and network-appliance applications. This is a people-leadership and delivery role: you will manage and develop a team of 8+ highly specialised engineers, own programme execution, and partner closely with the programme’s senior technical leadership, who own the architecture and technical direction. It is an opportunity to lead exceptional people on a strategic security product line at one of the few companies where quantum-safe security is the core business.

Responsibilities:

You will manage engineers spanning applied cryptography, RTL and FPGA design, firmware and protocols, verification, QA and security certification: recruiting and onboarding, coaching and career development, objective setting, performance management and retention, building a high-performing and collaborative engineering culture. You will own execution of the programme: planning and milestones, dependency and risk management, resource allocation, budget ownership/management, and clear reporting to executive stakeholders. You will put in place the engineering processes the team runs on (development workflow, reviews, tooling, lab operations), remove blockers, and coordinate with talent acquisition, HR, product management, certification bodies, IP vendors and customers. You will work hand in hand with the programme’s senior technical leaders, giving them the room to own technical direction while you make the organisation around them work.

• Lead, recruit, develop and retain a team of highly specialised engineers across cryptography, hardware, software, verification, QA and security disciplines
• Own programme execution end to end: planning, risks, budget ownership/management, processes and executive reporting, in close partnership with the senior technical leadership

Requirements:

We are looking for a candidate with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent) and at least ten years in the development of complex hardware, embedded or security products, including five or more years of direct people management of engineering teams that shipped certified products. You have enough technical depth in digital hardware, embedded software or security engineering to earn the respect of deep specialists, to follow their trade-offs and to ask the right questions; exposure to cryptography or security products is a strong advantage.

You hire well and have grown senior specialists; you give honest feedback, delegate real ownership, and build teams people want to stay in. You run execution with rigour (planning, risk, reporting) without drowning engineers in process, and you communicate crisply with executives, partners and customers. Fluency in English is required; French or German is an advantage.

• Proven engineering people manager who has built and led specialist teams to shipped hardware or security products
• Execution owner with the technical credibility to lead deep experts, while leaving technical direction to the programme’s senior technical leadership

Preferred Qualifications:

You lead through trust, clarity and service to the team rather than hierarchy. You take pride in the growth of your people and the predictability of your delivery, you protect deep work and a high-trust culture, and you are motivated by making a team of exceptional specialists perform as more than the sum of its parts.

What We Offer:

• A role at one of the fastest growing and most exciting quantum companies in the world
• A competitive compensation scheme, benefits package, and equity plan designed to reward excellence
• Flexible work models that let you balance your life, your family, and your career
• Ongoing training and development to keep your skills sharp and your growth on track
• A career development plan within the IonQ group’s companies
• A dynamic, close-knit environment where you collaborate with a global team of experts
• A performance-driven culture built on trust, teamwork, and shared ambition