Embedded Real Time Operating System Staff Software Engineer (QuRT OS, Zephyr)

Qualcomm • San Diego, CA

10d • $160,200 - $240,200

About The Position

Qualcomm Technologies is seeking a Staff Embedded Software Engineer for its Core Platform Kernel software team. The team develops and deploys real-time operating system software across Qualcomm SoC subsystems serving Mobile Handset, XR, Compute, Automotive, Cloud AI, and IoT markets. It is responsible for the QuRT OS and Zephyr RTOS platforms.

The role combines hands-on RTOS and low-level system software development with technical leadership, particularly in Qualcomm’s Zephyr strategy and engagement with the open-source Zephyr ecosystem. The engineer will help maintain upstream Zephyr components, enable Zephyr deployment across Qualcomm products, and contribute to platform architecture and engineering practices. Staff Engineers are expected to own key technical areas, make sound engineering tradeoffs, mentor colleagues, and remain actively involved in code.

For QuRT OS, the engineer will develop and maintain features for Qualcomm’s RTOS optimized for the Hexagon DSP, supporting workloads such as edge AI, modem processing, audio, and sensor processing. For Zephyr, the engineer will provide technical stewardship, maintain or own key components, collaborate with the wider community, and help ensure internal development aligns with upstream practices. The position also emphasizes modern development tools, automation, CI, debugging, and continuous improvement of engineering workflows and software quality.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field and 4+ years of relevant software, electrical, or systems engineering work experience; or a master’s degree in a listed or related field and 3+ years; or a PhD in a listed or related field and 2+ years.
• 2+ years of experience with high-performance microprocessor design.
• Strong hands-on experience with RTOS concepts and low-level system software.
• Professional development experience in C or C++; assembly language experience is a plus.
• Deep understanding of RTOS fundamentals, including scheduling, interrupts, synchronization, memory management, and multicore systems.
• Experience debugging complex embedded software using logs, traces, crash dumps, and hardware debuggers.
• Demonstrated experience contributing to collaborative software projects using Git and modern code-review workflows.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across teams and technical organizations.
• Tool fluency, curiosity, adaptability, and pragmatic engineering judgment when using automation and modern development tools.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Zephyr, QuRT, FreeRTOS, the Linux kernel, or other commercial or open-source operating systems.
• Prior experience as a maintainer, subsystem owner, or technical lead within an open-source project.
• Significant upstream contribution history within Zephyr or a similar open-source community.
• Experience reviewing and integrating code contributions from multiple developers.
• Familiarity with board support packages, device drivers, architecture enablement, or kernel development.
• Experience with multicore SoC architectures and embedded processor subsystems.
• Experience with off-target development and simulation environments such as QEMU or ISS platforms.
• Experience with CI and automation systems such as Jenkins or GitHub Actions.
• Experience with safety- or security-related software development practices, including ASPICE, ISO 26262, or ISO 21434.
• Experience collaborating across company boundaries in community-driven software development environments.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain RTOS and low-level system software components.
• Own and resolve complex system-level issues involving performance, stability, scalability, and correctness.
• Lead feature development from problem definition through deployment.
• Analyze crash dumps, traces, and logs to conduct root-cause analysis.
• Collaborate with hardware, systems, validation, and software teams to deliver robust solutions.
• Participate in design and code reviews and influence technical direction and engineering standards.
• Drive Qualcomm’s engagement with the Zephyr open-source community through technical discussions, code reviews, and upstream collaboration.
• Mentor engineers in upstream development practices, code quality, and community engagement.
• Influence technical roadmaps, architecture decisions, and software quality initiatives.
• Drive QuRT OS enhancements that expose the capabilities of the Hexagon processor architecture.
• Own QuRT OS features across requirements, architecture, implementation, testing, documentation, integration, and support.
• Improve CI, automation, and test infrastructure for development velocity and software quality.
• Serve as a maintainer or technical owner for Zephyr subsystems, drivers, platform infrastructure, or architecture components.
• Review, guide, and integrate contributions from internal and external developers.
• Design Zephyr capabilities with an emphasis on upstream acceptance and long-term maintainability.
• Lead architecture discussions and influence technical direction within the Zephyr project.
• Drive Qualcomm’s upstream contribution strategy and align internal development with community practices.
• Enable Zephyr deployment across Qualcomm platforms through board support packages, architecture enablement, driver development, and system software integration.
• Improve testing, CI infrastructure, release readiness, and software quality across upstream and Qualcomm-maintained components.
• Represent Qualcomm in technical working groups, design reviews, and community discussions.
• Use development tools, automation, scripting, CI systems, debuggers, profilers, static analysis tools, and simulation environments appropriately to improve engineering effectiveness.
• Identify opportunities to improve engineering workflows, developer productivity, and software quality.

Benefits

• Competitive annual discretionary bonus program.
• Opportunity for annual RSU grants, except for employees on sales-incentive plans.
• Competitive benefits package designed to support employees at work, at home, and at play.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior