AI Systems Architecture Engineer – Lead Senior Engineer/Senior Engineer

QUALCOMM, Inc.; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualcomm India Private Limited in Bengaluru seeks an experienced AI Systems Architect to define, prototype, and optimize AI computing systems across heterogeneous hardware and software platforms.

The role requires expertise in AI workloads, heterogeneous computing, system performance analysis, and architectural modeling, collaborating across hardware, firmware, and software teams to maximize performance and efficiency.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field is a plus.
• 2+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience (as per minimum qualifications).
• Experience in programming languages C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

Responsibilities

• Define and evaluate system architectures for AI platforms with heterogeneous compute elements (CPU, NPU, GPU, memory interconnects).
• Profile and model system performance to optimize resource usage and identify bottlenecks.
• Develop prototypes to evaluate workload partitioning, data movement, and memory traffic.
• Analyze AI workloads to maximize performance, power efficiency, and scalability across platforms.
• Explore end-to-end AI execution pipelines including model compilation, scheduling, and memory management.
• Create analytical models, simulators, and proofs-of-concept for architectural concepts before hardware is available.
• Collaborate with hardware architects, AI accelerators, compiler teams, and product groups.

Skills

C

C++

Python

System performance analysis

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree

PhD in Engineering/CS/IS

Tools

Profiling/modeling tools

CPU/GPU/NPU optimization tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

MLIR

Job description

Company

Qualcomm India Private Limited

Job Area

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering

General Summary

As a leading technology innovator, Qualcomm pushes the boundaries of what is possible to enable next-generation intelligent computing, AI, connectivity, and low-power embedded technologies.

We are seeking an experienced AI Systems Architect to define, prototype, and optimize next-generation AI computing systems across heterogeneous hardware and software platforms. This role will focus on understanding how AI workloads utilize system resources and developing architectural solutions that maximize performance, power efficiency, scalability, and overall platform utilization.

The ideal candidate will work across hardware, firmware, runtime, compiler, and application layers to evaluate system-level tradeoffs and prototype innovative architectures for AI workloads. The role requires strong expertise in AI workloads, heterogeneous computing, system performance analysis, and architectural modeling.

Responsibilities

• Define and evaluate system architectures for AI platforms incorporating heterogeneous compute elements such as CPU, NPU, GPU, Memory interconnects and subsystems.


• Experience with profiling/modeling tools to understand optimal use of resources for getting best system performance


• Develop system-architecture prototypes to evaluate - workload partitioning across compute engines, data movement and memory traffic, compute and memory bottlenecks, scheduling and resource allocation, power, thermal, and performance tradeoffs


• Analyze AI workloads to determine the best utilization of available architectural resources across available compute and memory resources


• Investigate end-to-end AI execution pipelines, including -Model compilation and graph partitioning, Runtime scheduling, Kernel selection, Memory allocation, Data transfers, Synchronization, Accelerator utilization


• Build analytical models, simulators, emulators, and proof-of-concept implementations for assessing architectural concepts before hardware availability.


• Evaluate the impact of system-level parameters such as Compute throughput, Memory bandwidth, Cache and local memory capacity, Interconnect bandwidth and latency, DMA and data-transfer efficiency, Accelerator occupancy


• Identify performance bottlenecks and recommend architectural improvements based on workload characterization, profiling data, and benchmark results.


• Collaborate with hardware architects, AI accelerator designers, compiler teams, runtime engineers, firmware developers, performance engineers, and product teams.


• Define workload-driven architectural requirements and translate them into platform-level specifications.


• Develop technical proposals, architecture studies, tradeoff analyses, and performance projections for future AI platforms.

Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.


• Strong programming skills in C, C++, and Python.


• Experience in one or more of the following areas:
  
  
  
  • AI or machine-learning systems
  
  
  • Computer architecture
  
  
  • Heterogeneous computing
  
  
  • SoC architecture
  
  
  • Accelerator architecture
  
  
  • High-performance computing
  
  
  • Embedded systems
  
  
  • System performance analysis
  
  
  
  


• 3-7 years of experience in hardware focused system optimization role (hiring across multiple levels).


• Strong understanding of computer architecture concepts


• Ability to develop quantitative models and make architecture recommendations based on empirical data.


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.


• Demonstrated ability to learn quickly, think critically, and adapt in a fast-paced and rapidly evolving technology environment.

Good to have

• Experience with AI specific performance optimization would be preferred. Hands-on experience optimizing AI models for performance, power, and accuracy on hardware accelerators such as CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs.


• Experience using processor-specific optimization tools, libraries, and profiling technologies to improve AI performance on CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs is a plus.


• Strong understanding of modern machine learning architectures, including CNNs, RNNs, Transformers, and ensemble methods would be good to have.


• Proficiency with AI frameworks and tooling such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, ONNX Runtime, and MLIR would be good to have.


• Experience with transformer-based models such as BERT, GPT, T5, and Llama. Experience developing, optimizing, or deploying large language models (LLMs) or foundation models is a strong plus.

Minimum Qualifications

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


• 2+ years of academic or work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

Applicants: Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer. If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation during the application/hiring process, rest assured that Qualcomm is committed to providing an accessible process. You may e-mail [e-mail] or call Qualcomm's toll-free number found here. Upon request, Qualcomm will provide reasonable accommodations to support individuals with disabilities to be able participate in the hiring process. Qualcomm is also committed to making our workplace accessible for individuals with disabilities. (Keep in mind that this email address is used to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. We will not respond here to requests for updates on applications or resume inquiries).

Qualcomm expects its employees to abide by all applicable policies and procedures, including but not limited to security and other requirements regarding protection of Company confidential information and other confidential and/or proprietary information, to the extent those requirements are permissible under applicable law.