Robotics Systems Integration and Test Engineer - Qualcomm Advanced Robotics Team

Qualcomm•San Diego, CA

10d•$122,500 - $183,700•Onsite

About The Position

Qualcomm Advanced Robotics Team is building the AI first stack and platform for the next generation general purpose robots - from AMRs and cobots to emerging humanoids by pairing heterogeneous compute (CPU/GPU/DSP/NPU) with a full Robotics SDK and developer tooling for manipulation, perception, navigation, and fleet workflows. We are leveraging our success in automated driving product portfolio, advanced AI end to end development and tools, and safety architecture to accelerate the growth in this emerging market. We are building a new robotics lab and are looking for hands-on roboticists who are excited about putting state‑of‑the‑art SoCs, Software and AI into real, physical robots. This role is focused on taking advanced AI models, algorithms, and systems—and making them work reliably on-device, on real robotic platforms operating in the real world. You will be part of a team translating cutting‑edge advances in AI, compute, and connectivity into complete physical AI systems. This includes deploying modern perception, VLA, and reasoning models onto robots, integrating them with sensors and actuators, and validating that they perform as expected outside of simulation. The work spans development, integration, testing, and demo readiness, with a strong emphasis on seeing how AI behaves when embedded in real robotic systems. This is a highly applied role at the intersection of mechanical systems, software, robotics, and AI. You’ll work hands‑on in the lab building and iterating on robot applications that showcase how Qualcomm’s technologies—Dragonwing, AI Engine, compute, Wi‑Fi, and 5G—enable intelligent, connected robots. Expect to spend time deploying models to hardware, debugging system‑level issues, building sample and reference applications, and preparing robots for internal and external demonstrations. If you are passionate about closing the gap between state‑of‑the‑art AI research and real‑world robotic capability—and want to work directly with robots as they perceive, plan, move, and act—this role is for you.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 1+ year of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field.

Nice To Haves

BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or related field.
Experience working with physical robots in lab or field environments
Strong foundation across robotics domains, including: Perception (vision, sensors, AI models), Planning and/or decision‑making, Control and actuation, Systems integration, Electronics, Metrology (e.g. sensor calibration procedures, high-performance measurement sensors)
Ability to take models, algorithms, or prototypes and deploy them onto real robots
Practical experience running robot testing, validation, and demos
Comfort developing full robotic applications, not just isolated components
Experience integrating hardware, software, and AI into cohesive systems
Familiarity with robotics software stacks (e.g., ROS/ROS2 or similar frameworks)
Strong debugging skills and a bias toward hands‑on problem solving
Willingness and enthusiasm to work onsite in a robotics lab
Background in mechanical, electrical, software, or systems engineering (or a blend)
Experience with on‑device AI deployment and optimization
Familiarity with networking, connectivity, or distributed robotics systems
Experience building reference designs, sample applications, or demo platforms
Prior work supporting customer demos or public demonstrations
Exposure to mobile robots, manipulators, drones, or autonomous systems

Responsibilities

Build end‑to‑end robotics applications that integrate perception, planning, control, and actuation on-device
Deploy AI and robotics models developed by research teams onto physical robots and evaluate real‑world performance
Translate Qualcomm’s AI, compute, and connectivity portfolio (Dragonwing, AI Engine, Wi‑Fi, 5G) into working robotics solutions
Perform robot integration and system bring‑up, including sensors, actuators, compute platforms, and networking
Develop and maintain robot applications for internal testing, external demos, and sample/reference solutions
Design and execute robot testing, validation, and benchmarking in lab environments
Prepare robots for demo readiness, ensuring reliability, repeatability, and polished behavior
Debug complex cross‑disciplinary issues spanning mechanical systems, electronic systems, embedded software, perception pipelines, and control
Collaborate with AI, systems, hardware, and platform teams to close the loop between development and deployment
Actively work in the robotics lab—configuring robots, running experiments, and iterating quickly with hardware