Employment Counsel

About IonQ
IonQ, Inc . [NYSE: IONQ] is the world’s leading quantum platform and merchant supplier - delivering integrated quantum solutions across computing, networking, sensing, and security. IonQ’s newest generation of quantum computers, the IonQ Tempo, is the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners including Amazon Web Services, and AstraZeneca achieve 20x performance results and accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. In 2025, the company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance .
Headquartered in College Park, Maryland, IonQ has operations in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Washington, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Our quantum computing services are available through all major cloud providers, while we also meet the needs of networking and sensing customers across land, sea, air, and space. IonQ is making quantum platforms more accessible and impactful than ever before.
Location: Remote, US
Travel: Up to 10%
Job ID:   1823
The Role
We are a rapidly scaling, publicly traded frontier-technology company, and our workforce is growing faster than the systems that support it. As Employment Counsel, you are the day-to-day legal engine of the Labor & Employment function — the first call for our People and Recruiting teams and the owner of the documentation, advice, and process that keep a fast-moving company compliant across a growing map of states and countries.
This is a builder’s role, not a caretaker’s one. You will inherit real ambiguity and turn it into order: standing up templates, playbooks, and self-serve resources where none exist today. You own the living, breathing employee lifecycle from hire to exit. If you are energized by handling complexity and want the reps that come with a company scaling in real time, this role is built for you.
Responsibilities
- Employee lifecycle documentation. Own offer letter, severance and separation agreement, and related lifecycle document templates to allow for producing signature-ready work product at volume. Draft state by-state adaptations and bespoke terms.
- Daily advisory to People & Recruiting. Be the first line of response for HRBP and Recruiter questions on ADA interactive processes, FMLA and state leave overlaps, wage-and-hour classification, and everyday employee relations matters. Track and log recurring questions, and build FAQs, guidance and trainings to build team skills and confidence for handling repeated matters efficiently and directly.
- Performance management & exits. Partner with HR to advise on and mitigate risk, and manage the execution of standard, non-complex separations.
- Discovery, records & legal holds. Draft objection letters and responses to employment subpoenas; direct the compilation of personnel files for production; run initial privilege and confidentiality reviews; and draft and manage legal holds consistent with company policy.
- Contractor & consultant compliance. Standardize the risk-management onboarding and offboarding workflow for consultants, and lead classification, IP, regulatory, security, and tax compliance. • Multistate compliance & outside counsel coordination. Keep us current across our active jurisdictions (currently including California, Washington, Colorado, Maryland/Virginia, Minnesota, Florida and Texas among others) and serve as the point of contact who scopes questions for, and coordinates the work of, non-US outside counsel.

Requirements
- JD and an active bar membership in good standing in any U.S. jurisdiction.
- Roughly 3–5 years of labor and employment experience, with a meaningful foundation built at a law firm — you have the basics down cold and can jump in without a runway.
- Strong command of federal and multi-state employment law (Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, and