Director of Engineering – Automotive Platform SW

Nutanix; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 208,000 - 311,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. is seeking a Principal/Director level Project Engineer to lead automotive software-platform efforts. You will oversee lifecycle from concept to production, coordinating schedules, tasks, and quality to ensure on-time delivery.

You will interface with OEM executives and Qualcomm leadership, shaping requirements, driving alignment, and delivering robust platform software, with strong technical leadership and customer focus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 8+ years of software engineering or related experience.
• Master's degree with 7+ years of software engineering or related experience.
• PhD with 6+ years of software engineering or related experience.
• 4+ years of work experience with programming languages such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

Responsibilities

• Develop a deep understanding of the OEM’s roadmap, vehicle and backend architecture, requirements, and constraints.
• Lead and coordinate all technical aspects of business acquisition, delivery execution, and post-SOP maintenance.
• Represent the voice of the customer in internal reviews, aligning Qualcomm teams across engineering, product management, program management, and sales.
• Act as the chief technical counterpart to the OEM’s engineering leadership for ADAS programs.
• Serve as the main technical point of contact for SoC, platform software, tools, and system integration.
• Lead automotive software projects from conception to completion and maintain customer relationships with executives and leads.
• Define technical solutions based on Qualcomm’s portfolio, including SoCs, BSP, Platform Software, and reference platforms.
• Coordinate Qualcomm internal teams to meet customer milestones and resolve critical technical issues.

Skills

C/C++/Java/Python

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 Technologies, Inc.

Job Area:

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering

General Summary:

Seeking highly skilled and motivated Principal/Director level Project Engineer for Automotive Software Platform team.

In this role, you will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating the entire lifecycle of automotive software projects from concept to production.

This includes analyzing project requirements, preparing schedules, coordinating team tasks, and ensuring that projects meet quality standards and are completed on time.

In this highly visible role, you will interface directly with the T1s/OEM’s engineering executives and Qualcomm’s senior technical and business leadership.

You will:

• Develop a deep understanding of the OEM’s roadmap, vehicle and backend architecture, requirements, and constraints
• Lead and coordinate all technical aspects of business acquisition, delivery execution, and post-SOP maintenance
• Represent the “voice of the customer” in internal forums, escalating needs and driving alignment across Qualcomm engineering, product management, program management, and sales

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership:

• Act as the chief technical counterpart to the OEM’s engineering leadership for ADAS related programs.
• Serve as the main technical point of contact covering SoC, platform software, tools, and system integration topics.
• Lead and manage automotive software engineering projects from conception to completion.
• Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with the customer’s engineering executives, architects, and program leads.
• Anticipate customer needs and translate them into Qualcomm platform requirements, features, and solutions.
• Lead the technical workstreams for RFIs/RFQs and advanced engagement discussions with the OEM.
• Define technical solution proposals based on Qualcomm’s product portfolio, including SoCs, BSP, Platform Software and reference platforms.

Program Execution & Delivery

• Provide overarching technical leadership for all active programs with the OEM, across all phases (concept, development, validation, SOP, and maintenance).
• Coordinate and synchronize Qualcomm internal engineering teams (HW, SW, systems, safety, security, tools, test) to meet customer milestones.
• Drive resolution of critical technical issues, ensuring timely escalation and clear communication to both customer and Qualcomm management.
• Support design reviews, technical workshops, joint debugging sessions, and on‑site integration activities as needed.
• Identify, analyze, and mitigate project risks and issues.
• Prepare, schedule, coordinate, and monitor the assigned engineering projects.
• Manage external customer deliverables/expectations/escalations

Voice of the Customer & Internal Alignment

• Represent the customer’s priorities, constraints, and pain points in internal reviews, roadmap discussions, and management meetings.
• Provide structured feedback to product management and engineering on gaps, competitive pressure, and future requirements.
• Ensure internal stakeholders understand customer commitments, program risk, and required trade-offs.

Technical Thought Leadership & Mentoring

• Act as a technical role model with hands‑on, detail‑oriented, and able to deep‑dive into complex system issues when required.
• Guide and mentor cross‑functional Qualcomm teams working on the customer, helping them prioritize and solve problems effectively.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 8+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 7+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 6+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• 4+ years of work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Extensive experience in software engineering, including project management and leadership roles.
• Strong background in automotive systems engineering with focus on:
  • Compute platform architecture (SoC, GPU/DSP, accelerators)
  • Embedded SW stacks (OS such as QNX/Linux/Android, middleware, frameworks, toolchains)
  • Onboarding and optimizations of AD stacks, Parking & Driver monitoring SW and applications.
• Solid understanding of automotive safety and quality frameworks (e.g., ISO 26262, ASPICE, cybersecurity standards) and their impact on architecture and execution.
• Proven experience as a customer‑facing technical leader, such as chief engineer, system architect, technical program lead, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross‑functional teams without direct authority in a complex matrix organization.
• Strong problem‑solving skills, data‑driven and structured, with ability to remain calm and decisive under pressure.
• Willingness to travel to customer and Qualcomm sites (domestic and international) as needed.

Equal Opportunity Statement

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).

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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.

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Pay Range and Other Compensation & Benefits

$207,600.00 - $311,400.00

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.