IonQ Expands Leadership Team with Rick Muller Appointment as VP of Quantum Systems

IonQ has appointed Dr. Rick Muller as Vice President of Quantum Systems, aiming to build the world's most powerful quantum computers with 2 million qubits by 2030. Muller brings extensive experience from IARPA and Sandia National Laboratories, and will lead development toward IonQ's goal. His leadership is expected to bolster IonQ's capabilities in quantum computing and federal applications, reinforcing the company's role as a trusted partner in both commercial and government sectors.

IonQ Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] has appointed Dr. Rick Muller as Vice President of Quantum Systems, aiming to build the world's most powerful quantum computers with 2 million qubits by 2030. Muller brings extensive experience from the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) and Sandia National Laboratories, and will lead development toward IonQ's ambitious goal [1].

Muller's appointment follows a national search led by PSIRCH, IonQ's executive search partner. He will join the company this month and lead IonQ's quantum computing systems development team. Muller's deep technical expertise and federal systems engineering experience will be instrumental in accelerating IonQ's technology roadmap [1].

As Director of IARPA, Muller was responsible for implementing research programs in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, biometrics, and text analytics for the U.S. intelligence community. Prior to that, he led the Quantum and Advanced Microsystems group at Sandia National Laboratories and directed the Department of Energy’s Quantum Systems Accelerator, one of the flagship centers established under the National Quantum Initiative [1].

"IonQ is at the forefront of evolving quantum computing from research concepts into leading commercial applications," said Muller. "Joining IonQ gives me the opportunity to help scale technology that can solve meaningful problems across science, security, and industry. I’m excited to contribute to the next generation of systems that will continue to make quantum computing impactful" [1].

Muller's appointment is expected to bolster IonQ's capabilities in quantum computing and federal applications, reinforcing the company's role as a trusted partner in both commercial and government sectors. IonQ 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 [1].

IonQ’s current generation quantum computers, IonQ Forte and IonQ Forte Enterprise, have been helping customers and partners such as Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve 20x performance results. The company's advancements in quantum networking also position it as a leader in building the quantum internet [1].

References:
[1] https://ionq.com/news/ionq-expands-engineering-leadership-team-hiring-rick-muller-as-vice
[2] https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20250721579007/ionq-expands-engineering-leadership-team-hiring-rick-muller-as-vice-president-of-quantum-systems