DDRSS Systems Engineer

Qualcomm; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 122,000 - 183,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. seeks an ASIC Engineer to define, model, design and verify IP for high-performance, low-power products across digital and/or analog blocks.

You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive silicon-ready solutions from pre-silicon validation to production. The ideal candidate has a BS/MS/PhD with embedded systems and C firmware experience, strong debugging skills, and familiarity with Verilog/SystemVerilog, LPDDR memory protocols, FPGA/emulation platforms, and

Qualifications

• BS/MS/PhD with embedded systems, hardware or software focus.
• Experience in ASIC design or related work.
• Knowledge of memory subsystems is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Define, model, design, verify and document IP blocks/SOCs.
• Collaborate with DV, software and architecture teams.
• Perform firmware development in C and debug across DV environments.
• Bring-up and validate DDR/LPDDR subsystems pre- and post-silicon.
• Analyze stability, performance and power metrics to guide decisions.
• Support next-generation memory subsystem validation and optimizations.

Skills

Embedded systems

C programming

Firmware development

System-level debugging

Digital design

Verilog/SystemVerilog knowledge

Education

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

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

PhD in Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Verilog/SystemVerilog

Emulation platforms

FPGA prototyping

Python scripting

Silicon bring-up

Job description

Company

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Job Area

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > ASICS Engineering

General Summary

As a leading technology innovator, Qualcomm pushes the boundaries of what's possible to enable next-generation experiences and drives communication and data processing transformation to help create a smarter, connected future for all. As a Qualcomm ASIC Engineer, you will define, model, design (digital and/or analog), optimize, verify, validate, implement, and document IP (block/SoC) development for a variety of high performance, high quality, low power world class products. Qualcomm Engineers collaborate with cross-functional groups to determine product execution path.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field and 2+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.

OR

Master's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field and 1+ year of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.

OR

PhD in Science, Engineering, or related field.

The DDRSS Systems Engineer is responsible for validating, tuning, and optimizing the DDR subsystem across pre-silicon and post-silicon platforms. This role requires close collaboration with design, validation, architecture, and software teams to ensure critical power, performance, reliability, and functionality features are successfully enabled in Qualcomm products.

The team is responsible for the development, integration, and validation of low-level DDR subsystem firmware and APIs. Engineers leverage their understanding of system architecture, memory subsystem behavior, and hardware/software interactions to methodically collect and analyze stability, power, performance, and functional data that drive product decisions and optimization efforts.

This is a highly cross-functional role requiring a strong foundation in embedded systems, digital design, and system-level debugging. Responsibilities include firmware development in C, validation of firmware across DV environments, emulation platforms, FPGA prototypes, and silicon, as well as post-silicon bring-up and performance characterization activities.

The ideal candidate will have a solid understanding of LPDDR protocols, caches, interconnects, and memory controllers. The candidate should be comfortable working across the entire product lifecycle, from design validation through silicon bring-up and production readiness.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain low-level firmware and system APIs for DDR subsystem initialization, training, power management, and performance features.
• Validate firmware functionality in simulation, emulation, FPGA, and silicon environments.
• Analyze and debug system issues spanning hardware, firmware, and software domains.
• Collect and interpret stability, performance, power, and reliability data to guide design and product decisions.
• Collaborate across design, DV, software, architecture, and product teams to enable and optimize DDR features.
• Perform DDR subsystem bring-up and characterization on pre-silicon and post-silicon platforms.
• Debug memory subsystem issues involving LPDDR interfaces, caches, interconnects, and memory controllers.
• Contribute to the definition and validation of next-generation memory subsystem capabilities and optimizations.

Required Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, with a focus on Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, or VLSI.
• 2+ years of experience in embedded firmware or low-level software development.
• Strong programming skills in C.
• Experience with embedded system debugging and hardware/software integration.
• Understanding of digital design fundamentals and computer architecture concepts.
• Experience using lab equipment and silicon debugging tools to collect and analyze system data.
• Familiarity with LPDDR memory interface concepts and protocol fundamentals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with LPDDR4/LPDDR5/LPDDR5X memory protocols, training algorithms, timing parameters, and power management features.
• Experience with DDR subsystem validation, characterization, and post-silicon bring-up.
• Experience debugging and collecting data from silicon platforms.
• Experience developing or maintaining Verilog/SystemVerilog simulation testbenches and validation environments.
• Familiarity with memory controllers, caches, coherent interconnects, and SoC architecture.
• Experience in performance analysis, power optimization, or system tuning activities.
• Familiarity with emulation platforms and FPGA prototyping environments.
• Experience with Python, scripting, or automation used for validation and data analysis.

EEO Employer

Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or any other protected classification.

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 disability‑[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).

To all Staffing and Recruiting Agencies

Our Careers Site is only for individuals seeking a job at Qualcomm. Staffing and recruiting agencies and individuals being represented by an agency are not authorized to use this site or to submit profiles, applications or resumes, and any such submissions will be considered unsolicited. Qualcomm does not accept unsolicited resumes or applications from agencies. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Qualcomm employees or any other company location. Qualcomm is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/applications.

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.

Pay Range And Other Compensation & Benefits

$121,800.00 - $182,600.00

The above pay scale reflects the broad, minimum to maximum, pay scale for this job code for the location for which it has been posted. Even more importantly, please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Qualcomm. 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. Your recruiter will be happy to discuss all that Qualcomm has to offer – and you can review more details about our US benefits at this link.

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