GPU HW Research Engineer (San Diego/Boxborough)

Qualcomm; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 161,800 - 242,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive annual discretionary bonus

Opportunity for annual RSU grants

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

Qualcomm in San Diego is looking for an innovative GPU architect to advance capabilities in AI, ML, and GPGPU computing. This role involves designing next-generation GPU architectures for mobile devices and data center GPUs. The ideal candidate should have a Bachelor's degree plus 4 years of relevant experience or higher. The position offers a competitive salary range of $161,800 to $242,600 along with bonuses and an excellent benefits package.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of GPU architectures, programming models, and application domains.
• Proficiency with APIs such as OpenCL, CUDA, Vulkan, or Direct3D 12.
• Experience with hardware design flow and basic knowledge of Verilog (or VHDL).
• Basic understanding of GPU memory and cache design hierarchy.
• Solid programming skills in C/C++.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with other GPU architects to enhance existing GPU architectures.
• Develop architectural solutions for diverse platforms.
• Work closely with software and hardware teams to deliver solutions.
• Participate in open-source GPGPU/ML/AI projects.
• Influence GPU capabilities for advanced use cases.

Skills

GPU architectures

Programming models

APIs (OpenCL, CUDA, Vulkan)

Hardware design flow

C/C++ programming

Python

Education

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

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

PhD in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field

Tools

Verilog

CUDA

OpenCL

Job description

Company

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Job Area

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > GPU ASICS Engineering

General Summary

Qualcomm’s GPU Research Team is seeking innovative GPU architects to advance state-of-the-art capabilities in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and General-Purpose GPU (GPGPU) computing. This is a unique opportunity to design next‑generation GPU architectures that power everything from mobile devices to Windows on Snapdragon (WoS) compute platforms and large‑scale data center GPUs.

What You’ll Do

• Collaborate with other GPU architects to design new hardware features and enhance existing GPU architectures for accelerating GPGPU, ML, and AI workloads.
• Develop architectural solutions for diverse platforms, including mobile, WoS, and data center GPUs.
• Work closely with software teams, hardware design teams, standardization bodies, and internal/external partners to deliver cutting‑edge solutions.
• Participate in open‑source GPGPU/ML/AI projects and contribute to industry‑leading initiatives.
• Influence the evolution of GPU capabilities for advanced use cases such as large language models (LLMs) and large vision models (LVMs).

Required Skills

• Strong understanding of GPU architectures, programming models, and application domains.
• Proficiency with APIs such as OpenCL, CUDA, Vulkan, or Direct3D 12.
• Experience with hardware design flow and basic knowledge of Verilog (or VHDL).
• Exposure to hardware simulation/emulation tools and waveform analysis.
• Basic understanding of GPU memory and cache design hierarchy.
• Solid programming skills in C/C++.
• Familiarity with Python is a strong plus.

Preferred Skills

• Hands‑on experience in development, debugging, and optimization of CUDA and OpenCL kernels, as well as GPU compute shaders.
• Deep understanding of quantization techniques and data types for large language models (LLMs) and large vision models (LVMs).
• Experience designing GPU hardware features for ML/AI acceleration.
• Experience with open‑source projects such as llama.cpp, vLLM, or similar frameworks is a big plus.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field and 4+ years of Software Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related work experience.
• Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field and 3+ years of Software Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related work experience.
• PhD in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field and 2+ years of Software Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related work experience.

Pay Range And Other Compensation & Benefits

$161,800.00 - $242,600.00

Salary is only one component of total compensation at Qualcomm. A competitive annual discretionary bonus program and opportunity for annual RSU grants are also offered. We provide a highly competitive benefits package to support success at work, at home, and at play.

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.