Engineer, Staff – Ambient AI Technology

Socket.dev; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 202,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. is seeking a Staff Engineer to lead the architecture and evolution of Ambient Perception frameworks and context-aware engines.

The role spans multimodal data collection, secure data delivery and storage, and low-power AI runtimes across Android, Linux, Windows, XR, automotive, and IoT platforms powered by Qualcomm SoCs. You will influence software architecture for future AI assistants, proactive experiences, and edge intelligence across CPU, DSP, NPU, and GPU

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 4+ years in software engineering or related field.
• Master's degree with 3+ years in software engineering or related field.
• PhD with 2+ years in software engineering or related field.
• 2+ years of work experience with C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

Skills

C

C++

Java

Python

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering / Information Systems / Computer Science

Master's degree in Engineering / Information Systems / Computer Science

PhD in Engineering / Information Systems / Computer Science

Tools

Linux kernel

Driver development

ARM-based architectures

Job description

Company:

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Job Area:

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering

General Summary:

Qualcomm is a global leader in intelligent computing, connectivity, and edge AI technologies. Our Snapdragon platforms power the next generation of mobile, compute, automotive, XR, IoT, and connected devices. As part of Qualcomm’s software organization, you will work with a world-class team of hardware, systems, AI, and software engineers to define and deliver the future of always-on, context-aware, and agentic AI experiences on power-constrained edge devices.

The Ambient Perception Platform team is responsible for the architecture, development, integration, optimization, and commercialization of the Ambient Perception Platform across Android, Linux, Windows, XR, automotive, and IoT platforms powered by Qualcomm SoCs. Our mission is to enable intelligent, low-power, context-aware experiences that continuously understand user intent, environmental context, and device state while maintaining industry-leading battery efficiency and privacy.

We are seeking a highly motivated Staff Engineers to lead the architecture and evolution of next-generation Ambient Perception frameworks, context awareness engines, multimodal data collection systems, secure data delivery and storage architectures, and low-power AI runtime platforms. This role offers an opportunity to influence the software architecture that powers future AI assistants, proactive experiences, multimodal sensing systems, autonomous edge intelligence solutions, and heterogeneous computing frameworks that operate efficiently across CPU, DSP, NPU across Qualcomm’s product portfolio.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field AND 4+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field AND 3+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field AND 2+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• 2+ years of work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 8–12+ years of combined software architecture, embedded systems development, and platform integration experience.
• Strong programming skills in C, C++, and Python.
• Experience developing software on ARM-based and heterogeneous SoC architectures.
• Proven experience leading architecture design, technical roadmaps, and cross-functional engineering initiatives.
• Experience architecting SDKs, middleware, or platform frameworks for AI-enabled applications.
• Strong understanding of Ambient Perception, context-aware computing, and multimodal sensing systems.
• Knowledge of On-Device AI workload optimization across CPU, DSP, NPU, and GPU architectures.
• Experience developing software on ARM, DSP, and heterogeneous computing platforms.
• Strong understanding of low-power system design, workload offloading, and always-on architectures.
• Experience with power, performance, memory, and latency optimization for edge AI applications.
• Familiarity with IPC, shared memory frameworks, and heterogeneous compute scheduling.
• Experience with Linux kernel architecture, driver development, and system debugging.
• Familiarity with AI safety, model governance, privacy-preserving AI, and responsible AI deployment practices.

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).

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 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:

$134,800.00 - $202,200.00

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.