Dean Kassmann is SVP of Engineering & Technology at IonQ. Prior to joining IonQ, Dr. Kassmann was Senior Director of Advanced Technology for Blue Origin where he established and led the team responsible for company-wide applied research in support of Blue Origin’s launch vehicle, engines, and in-space product lines. He has over 25 years of leadership in software, hardware, and technology development. Dr. Kassmann has contributed to a variety of technology areas across his career, including traditional chemical engineering, supply chain planning and optimization, rockets, and space research. After getting his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Dr. Kassmann joined Aspen Technology where he created the modeling tools, advanced control algorithms, and planning engines used for real-time operations in refineries, chemical plants, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. At Amazon, he invented the autonomous system that manages order fulfillment flow across Amazon's supply chain. At Blue Origin he grew and led many teams, and was part of the small team that developed the first series of New Shepard rockets that successfully performed the first powered, vertical soft landing from space. He later ran the Flight Sciences organization which developed the initial architecture for the orbital New Glenn rocket. Dr. Kassman went on to establish the first dedicated research and development team within Blue Origin. In that role, he led technology development from early idea generation to fielded capabilities across many different disciplines for Blue’s current and future products. At IonQ, Dr. Kassmann is responsible for all hardware and software development for IonQ’s quantum computers. He oversees hardware development from ions out to enclosures, and software development from cloud down to firmware. He leads the development lifecycle from concept through first and second engineering unit delivery, including the hand-off to manufacturing and production.