Staff Engineer, Application Engineering (AI)

Qualcomm • Santa Clara, CA

2d

About The Position

As a Staff Application Software Engineer in the WIN Customer Engineering team, you will lead the integration of state-of-the-art AI/ML capabilities into Qualcomm’s next-generation Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 8 Access Point platforms. You will bridge the gap between advanced AI research and commercial deployment, helping Tier-1 customers run optimized CNNs and LLMs directly on the edge device (AP/Router).
This role requires a unique blend of Machine Learning expertise (quantization, model optimization) and Embedded Systems knowledge (DDR profiling, Linux kernel) to ensure AI applications operate efficiently.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Software Applications Engineering, Software Development experience, or related work experience.
• OR Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of Software Applications Engineering, Software Development experience, or related work experience.
• OR PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Software Applications Engineering, Software Development experience, or related work experience.
• 2+ years of experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.
• 1+ year of experience with debugging techniques.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• Experience: 5+ years of software engineering experience with a strong focus on Embedded AI/ML.
• AI/ML Expertise: Deep proficiency in PyTorch or TensorFlow. Hands-on experience with CNNs (Object Detection, Classification) and LLMs (Transformers).
• Model Optimization: Expert knowledge of Model Quantization (Post-Training Quantization, QAT), model compression, and debugging accuracy issues.
• Systems Programming: Strong coding skills in C/C++ and Python. Experience with Linux user-space development, multi-threading, and memory management.
• Performance Profiling: Proficiency with profiling tools (e.g., perf, eBPF, hardware counters) to analyze DDR bandwidth, cache misses, and CPU load.
• Soft Skills: Excellent problem-solving abilities and communication skills to articulate complex AI concepts to networking engineers and customers.

Responsibilities

• Edge AI Model Development & Optimization
• Model Optimization: Lead the optimization of AI models (CNNs, Transformers, LLMs) for deployment on resource-constrained embedded targets. Utilize Quantization techniques (INT8/INT4) and pruning to fit models within limited memory (DDR) and compute budgets.
• Hardware Acceleration: Offload inference workloads to the Hexagon NPU (NSP) and DSP to maximize performance per watt, ensuring minimal impact on the host CPU.
• Debug & Profiling: perform deep-dive debugging of accuracy loss during quantization and runtime inference failures.
• Agentic AI & LLM Applications
• Network Agents: Develop "Agentic" workflows where local LLMs (e.g., Llama 3, Phi-3) analyze network telemetry to autonomously optimize Wi-Fi performance (e.g., "Gaming Mode" QoS tuning, Mesh steering) or assist with troubleshooting.
• Edge Inference: Implement pipelines for on-device Generative AI and Multi-modal models (Vision + Text) to enable smart sensing and security features on the Gateway.
• System Performance & Integration
• Resource Management: Conduct rigorous CPU and DDR profiling to ensure AI workloads do not starve the networking stack (packet processing latency, throughput). Tune system memory interaction between the NPU, CPU, and Wi-Fi subsystems.
• Integration: Integrate AI inference engines (e.g., TFLite, ONNX Runtime, Qualcomm AI Stack) into the OpenWrt/Linux based SDK.
• Customer Enablement & Strategy
• Technical Leadership: Serve as the AI subject matter expert for customers, guiding them on model selection, training pipelines, and deployment strategies for Qualcomm platforms.
• Cloud Hybridization: Architect solutions that balance edge processing with cloud-based model updates and scalability.

Benefits

• We also offer a competitive annual discretionary bonus program and opportunity for annual RSU grants (employees on sales-incentive plans are not eligible for our annual bonus).
• In addition, our highly competitive benefits package is designed to support your success at work, at home, and at play.

What This Job Offers

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