Director Engineering - AI software stack

Qualcomm; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,000,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualcomm is seeking a Software Engineer to design and develop embedded and cloud edge software. This role involves defining the AI/ML technology roadmap and overseeing the end-to-end delivery of AI systems.

The ideal candidate should have a bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, or Computer Science, along with experience in programming languages like C, C++, Java, and Python. A passion for AI/ML is essential.

Join Qualcomm to drive innovation in a collaborative environment and shape next-generation products.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• 2+ years of experience with programming languages such as C, C++, Java, or Python.
• Deep understanding of AI/ML architectures.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and validate embedded and cloud edge software.
• Oversee end-to-end delivery of AI systems from research to production.
• Build and mentor multi-disciplinary AI/ML engineering teams.

Skills

C

C++

Java

Python

AI/ML

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field

Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field

PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field

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's possible to enable next-generation experiences and drives digital transformation to help create a smarter, connected future for all. As a Qualcomm Software Engineer, you will design, develop, create, modify, and validate embedded and cloud edge software, applications, and/or specialized utility programs that launch cutting‑edge, world class products that meet and exceed customer needs. Qualcomm Software Engineers collaborate with systems, hardware, architecture, test engineers and other teams to design system‑level software solutions and obtain information on performance requirements and interfaces.

Key Responsibilities

• AI/ML Strategy & Platform Leadership
• Define and own the AI/ML technology roadmap aligned with business goals across automotive and edge AI platforms.
• Drive adoption of LLMs, VLMs/LVMs, multimodal AI, and agentic AI systems for real‑world, safety‑critical deployments.
• Influence platform and silicon‑level decisions by translating AI workload requirements into hardware and software capabilities.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 1+ year of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• 2+ years of academic or work experience with programming languages such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

Execution & Delivery

• Oversee end‑to‑end delivery of AI systems from research to production, including model onboarding, optimization, validation and lifecycle management.
• Ensure performance, power, latency, memory and accuracy targets are met across heterogeneous compute (CPU/GPU/DSP/NPU).
• Establish best practices for model optimization (quantization, compression, batching, KV‑cache tuning and mixed precision).

Team & Organizational Leadership

• Build, mentor and scale multi‑disciplinary AI/ML engineering teams (ML engineers, systems engineers, platform engineers).
• Set technical direction, define career growth paths and uphold a high bar for engineering excellence.
• Foster a culture of ownership, accountability and innovation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD in AI/ML, Computer Science or related field.
• Deep understanding of LLMs, VLMs/LVMs, multimodal and agentic AI architectures.
• Experience with automotive or industrial platforms, embedded Linux/QNX and real‑time constraints.
• Familiarity with QNN‑like runtimes, inference SDKs and heterogeneous acceleration.
• Strong customer‑facing experience, including executive‑level technical discussions.
• Track record of influencing product and platform roadmaps through technical leadership.
• Experience in software architecture and design patterns.
• Knowledge of architectural approaches for large‑scale software applications.
• Previous customer‑facing experience is advantageous.
• Exposure to fine‑tuning GenAI models and reinforcement learning considered a plus.
• Expertise in inference accuracy, throughput optimization and edge deployment highly desirable.
• Lead system‑level problem triage to identify root causes and communicate testing/debugging results to relevant stakeholders.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Applicants: Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer. If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation during the application/hiring process, Qualcomm is committed to providing an accessible process. Qualcomm will provide reasonable accommodations to support individuals with disabilities to participate in the hiring process. Email disability‑[e-mail] or call Qualcomm's toll‑free number as needed.

Additional Information

If you would like more information about this role, please contact Qualcomm Careers.