Security Operations Center Analyst
IonQ
About IonQ:
IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world’s leading quantum company delivering solutions to solve the world’s most complex problems. IonQ’s newest generation quantum computers, IonQ Tempo and IonQ Forte Enterprise, are the latest in cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners such as Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve 20x performance results. The company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance in 2025.
The company is accelerating its technology roadmap and intends to deliver the world’s most powerful quantum computers with 2 million qubits by 2030 to accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. IonQ’s advancements in quantum networking position the company as a leader in building the quantum internet.
As the leader in quantum technology and quantum infrastructure, we're expanding our security operations capability and looking for an SOC Analyst who is excited to help build and mature our detection and response function. You'll work in an environment that values collaboration, inclusivity, and great ideas — no matter where they come from. We promote teamwork, openness, and a culture where people are encouraged to share improvements and challenge the status quo in a constructive way.
In this role, you'll handle the full lifecycle of monitoring, analyzing, and responding to security events across our environment. You'll combine quick, effective triage with deeper investigations, threat hunting, and hands-on remediation. You'll also have opportunities to influence tooling, detections, processes, and personal development as our team grows.
Responsibilities:
- Monitor SIEM, EDR, IDS/IPS, cloud security, and email security alerts for potential threats or abnormal activity.
- Triage, validate, and investigate security alerts; identify false positives; escalate or resolve incidents as appropriate.
- Perform in-depth analysis of suspicious activity and correlate logs across multiple systems to determine root cause, scope, and impact.
- Execute containment and remediation actions such as host isolation, account lockdown, IOC blocking, vulnerability mitigation, and post-recovery validation.
- Conduct proactive threat hunting based on threat intelligence, behavioral patterns, or hypothesis-driven analysis.
- Support forensic data collection and examination (endpoint artifacts, system logs, cloud audit logs, etc.).
- Analyze suspicious files, scripts, URLs, and domains using sandboxing, tooling, and threat intelligence sources.
- Recommend and contribute to improvements in SIEM rules, detections, automation workflows, and security playbooks.
- Participate in incident response activities, including documentation, communication with stakeholders, and post-incident reviews.
- Monitor and maintain the health and accuracy of security tooling, connectors, and log ingestion pipelines.
- Help improve security processes, policies, and standards as part of a growing team.
- Maintain clear, organized case notes and produce reports when needed.
- Opportunity to help shape a growing SOC and influence detection engineering, automation, and incident response processes.
Qualifications:
- 1–3+ years of experience in a SOC, incident response, or security operations environment.
- Hands-on experience with SIEM, EDR, and cloud security tools (e.g., Microsoft Sentinel, Defender XDR, Splunk, CrowdStrike, etc.).
- Strong understanding of Windows, Linux, and/or macOS internals; identity security; authentication flows; and network fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP).
- Familiarity with threat landscape, threat intelligence workflows, and MITRE ATT&CK.
- Ability to write basic queries or scripts (KQL, SPL, PowerShell, Python, etc.).
- Analytical thinker with strong troubleshooting skills and a structured approach to incident handling.
- Clear communication skills and the ability to document technical findings concisely and accurately.
- A commitment to doing work the right way — following sound processes, documenting thoroughly, and maintaining a high standard for quality and security operations.
- A genuine desire to learn, grow, and continuously improve as the environment, tools, and challenges evolve.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with the Microsoft security stack (Sentinel, Defender for Endpoint/XDR, Entra ID Protection).
- Experience with threat hunting, detection tuning, or security automation.
- Certifications such as Security+, CySA+, SC-200, AZ-500, GCIH/GCED/GCIA, or equivalent.
- Experience working in fast-paced, high-growth tech environments.
Additional Information
- Occasional on-call rotation may be required depending on team structure.
- Background check required; clearance not required unless project-specific.
Location: Ideally, this role will work onsite at our office located in Bothell, WA or College Park, MD. We are open to hybrid and remote options for the right candidate.
Travel: Minimal, less than 10%
Job ID: 1440
The approximate base salary range for this position is $83,430 - $109,232. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, and equity.
Compensation will vary based on individual factors such as education, qualifications, and experience of the final candidate(s), specific office location, and calibration against relevant market data and internal team equity. Posted base salary figures are subject to change as new market data becomes available. Our benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, matching 401K, unlimited PTO and paid holidays, parental/adoption leave, legal insurance, and a home technology stipend. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided when a candidate receives an offer of employment.
IonQ's HQ is located in College Park, Maryland, just outside of Washington DC. We are actively building out our recently opened manufacturing and production facility in Bothell, WA (near Seattle). Depending on the position, you may be required to be near one of our offices in College Park, Seattle, Toronto, Canada, and Basel, Switzerland. However, IonQ will expand into additional domestic and international geographies, so don’t let this stop you from applying!
At IonQ, we believe in fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all while striving to identify and eliminate barriers. We empower employees to thrive by fostering a culture of autonomy, productivity, and respect. We are dedicated to creating an environment where individuals can feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued.
We are committed to equity and justice. We welcome different voices and viewpoints and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.
US Technical Jobs. The position you are applying for will require access to technology that is subject to U.S. export control and government contract restrictions. Employment with IonQ is contingent on either verifying “U.S. Person” (e.g., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. permanent resident, or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum) status for export controls and government contracts work, obtaining any necessary license, and/or confirming the availability of a license exception under U.S. export controls. Please note that in the absence of confirming you are a U.S. Person for export control and government contracts work purposes, IonQ may choose not to apply for a license or decline to use a license exception (if available) for you to access export-controlled technology that may require authorization, and similarly, you may not qualify for government contracts work that requires U.S. Persons, and IonQ may decline to proceed with your application on those bases alone. Accordingly, we will have some additional questions regarding your immigration status that will be used for export control and compliance purposes, and the answers will be reviewed by compliance personnel to ensure compliance with federal law.
US Non-Technical Jobs. Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum. Accordingly, we will have some additional questions regarding your immigration status that will be used for export control and compliance purposes, and the answers will be reviewed by compliance personnel to ensure compliance with federal law.
If you are interested in being a part of our team and mission, we encourage you to apply!