Wireless Firmware, Staff Engineer

Qualcomm•San Diego, CA

2d•$148,300 - $222,500

About The Position

Qualcomm Research (QR) division drives cutting-edge research in enabling the next generation (6G) of wireless. This involves the development of research-grade prototypes and early-stage platforms to enable advances in RF, baseband, communication protocols, and algorithms. It also focuses on User Experience (UX) technologies for XR, AI-powered context-aware communications, agentic AI, and robotics; multi-modal sensing using RF, vision, and maps; and system architectures to meet and drive industry standards. These prototypes/platforms are end-to-end systems for technology characterization, demonstration of advanced technologies, improved application performance and user experience, utilization of Qualcomm's compute platforms, leveraging open-source libraries, and pre-commercial inter-operability trials with industry partners. This role requires advanced SW development across multiple domains, layers, and platforms. This requisition seeks SW engineers to develop and integrate embedded SW for advanced features, algorithms, and protocols on new compute, baseband/RF platforms. We are looking for highly innovative and motivated engineers who can execute. You will be working in a fast-paced, intellectually challenging environment. Successful applicants will be creative, enthusiastic innovators comfortable with researching new technologies and implementing firmware/software for cutting-edge research and products.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree + 4 years of working experience, or master’s degree + 3 years of working, or PhD degree + 2, in fields related to Embedded Software Engineering
Proficiency in C/C++ programming
Understanding of multi-threading, OS fundamentals
Analytical and problem-solving skills
Ability to communicate technical ideas and work status (estimates, risks, dependencies) clearly, both verbally and in writing
Ability to work effectively across teams in a fast-paced, collaborative and diverse software engineering environment

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of wireless communication theory and systems such as 5G NR, 802.11
Experience in implementing and optimizing signal processing algorithms on general purpose and heterogeneous processors including GPUs and DSPs
Experience in complex software debugging and system performance optimization
Experience in developing device drivers and bringing up new HW platform
Aptitude to seek and adopt productivity enhancement processes/tools (AI-based & other) on top of a strong foundation of technical and programming skills.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, integrate, and maintain embedded software across the full development lifecycle.
The work output typically targets technology characterization, operator trials, demos, and industry showcases.
Optimize performance and timing constraints in real-time embedded systems.
Create and maintain high-quality technical documentation, including design descriptions, architecture specifications, usage and release notes.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including but not limited to baseband and RF System engineers, Hardware engineers, test/integration engineers.
Stay current with emerging technologies and contribute to the evolution of wireless system architectures.