Senior Staff Embedded Software Engineer – AI Accelerator

Qualcomm; Cork; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary, stock and performance-related bonus

Maternity/Paternity Leave

Employee stock purchase scheme

Matching pension scheme

Education assistance

Relocation and immigration support

Life, medical, income and travel insurance

Subsidised memberships for physical and mental well-being

Bicycle purchase scheme

Employee run clubs and sporting activities

Job summary

Qualcomm is looking for a Senior Staff Embedded Software Engineer in Cork, Ireland. In this role, you will lead the development of embedded software for next-generation data centers and cloud systems. Your responsibilities include firmware architecture, overseeing integration, and driving customer-related resolutions.

The ideal candidate has over 12 years of experience in firmware development, strong proficiency in C/C++, and a deep understanding of SoC and system-level debugging. Qualcomm offers a competitive salary, stock options, and various benefits to support employee well-being.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in firmware or low-level system software development.
• Demonstrated technical leadership.
• Deep experience in SoC bring-up and hardware/software integration.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, and development of firmware and low-level system software.
• Drive customer and production issue resolution.
• Mentor senior engineers and grow technical talent.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Bash

SoC bring-up

system-level debugging

Linux-based environments

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field

Job description

About the Role

Senior Staff Embedded Software Engineer – Data Center AI Software team. Lead the development of low‑level firmware and platform software for next‑generation data centre and cloud‑scale AI/compute systems. Drive technical direction across firmware domains, oversee hardware‑software integration, performance optimisation and reliability engineering, and lead cross‑functional initiatives for cloud inference and acceleration platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, and development of firmware and low‑level system software across SoC, board, and platform levels.
• Own end‑to‑end firmware strategy across boot, reset, debug, security, power, RAS, IPC, and platform services.
• Drive SoC and platform bring‑up at scale, including system integration and validation across multiple product generations.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers; set coding, design, and quality standards.
• Define and influence firmware architecture for scalability, reliability, and performance in large‑scale cloud deployments.
• Lead cross‑functional design reviews, system debugging, and root‑cause analysis for complex platform issues.
• Establish best‑in‑class debuggability, observability, and CI/CD practices, including automation and pre‑silicon/post‑silicon validation strategies.
• Drive customer and production issue resolution, including deep field debugging and long‑term corrective actions.
• Collaborate with ODMs, silicon vendors, and manufacturing partners to ensure successful platform deployment and ramp.
• Influence roadmap and long‑term technical direction for firmware and platform software in AI accelerator systems.
• Drive continuous improvement across firmware teams, identifying systemic process‑level improvements and scaling best practices.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 12+ years of experience in firmware or low‑level system software development, with demonstrated technical leadership.
• Expert‑level proficiency in C/C++, with strong scripting skills (Python, Bash).
• Deep experience in SoC bring‑up, hardware/software integration, and system‑level debugging.
• Strong understanding of computer architecture, including memory hierarchy, interrupts, DMA, coherency, and interconnects.
• Proven ability to lead complex debugging efforts using JTAG, trace, logs, and instrumentation.
• Extensive experience working in Linux‑based environments and RTOS such as Zephyr.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience architecting firmware for cloud or hyperscale data‑center platforms.
• Strong familiarity with platform management ecosystems.
• Deep expertise in one or more of the following areas:
  • Boot architecture, secure boot, and firmware security
  • Power management, thermal control, and RAS at scale
  • Performance optimisation and system stress validation
  • Firmware CI/CD pipelines, simulation, and automation frameworks
• Experience with AI accelerators, heterogeneous compute systems, or high‑speed interconnects (PCIe, CXL, NVLink, etc.).
• Proven track record of working with hardware vendors, ODMs, and manufacturing ecosystems.
• Demonstrated ability to influence architecture and roadmap across organisations.

Leadership Expectations (Senior Staff Level)

• Act as a technical authority and decision‑maker across firmware domains.
• Drive alignment across teams and organisations to deliver cohesive platform solutions.
• Mentor senior engineers and grow technical talent within the organisation.
• Balance hands‑on engineering with strategic impact, contributing both at code level and architecture level.
• Anticipate and mitigate system‑level risks across product lifecycles.

Location

Cork, Ireland – a dynamic economic hub offering excellent quality of life, a growing international community, and convenient access to Europe via Cork Airport.

Benefits

• Salary, stock and performance‑related bonus
• Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Employee stock purchase scheme
• Matching pension scheme
• Education assistance
• Relocation and immigration support (if needed)
• Life, medical, income and travel insurance
• Subsidised memberships for physical and mental well‑being
• Bicycle purchase scheme
• Employee run clubs and sporting activities

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any protected classification.