Senior Software Engineer — RISC-V Instruction Set Simulator

Qualcomm; Cupertino (CA); On-site; USD 167,000 - 251,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. seeks an experienced engineer to build a high-performance RISC-V ISA simulator in C++ for 64-bit processors. You will translate the specification into tested code and verify co-simulation with RTL, contributing to a broad set of verification tools and workflows.

The role spans architecture, software, and verification, emphasizing correctness and performance in a production-grade environment. Familiarity with Linux, GDB/ELF, and simulators is a plus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 4+ years of related hardware/software engineering experience.
• Master's degree with 3+ years of related experience.
• PhD with 2+ years of related experience.

Responsibilities

• Implement the ISA in C++ translating RISC-V specs across extensions.
• Maintain fetch/decode/execute, memory protection, and privilege logic for correctness.
• Co-simulation harness with RTL and flag differences one instruction at a time.
• Write targeted unit tests and compare results against the spec.
• Contribute to simulator extensions and user-focused tooling.

Skills

Solid C++ skills

Reader of unfamiliar codebases

Processor architecture knowledge

Detail-oriented

Specification-driven

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 Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field

Tools

QEMU

Spike

gem5

GDB

ELF binaries

Job description

Company:

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Job Area:

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > CPU Engineering

About the Role

We are building a high-performance, production-grade RISC-V Instruction Set Simulator (ISS) that serves as the golden reference model for a family of next-generation 64-bit RISC-V processors. The ISS is a key component of our verification flow: it drives co-simulation against RTL, powers random test generation, and gives software teams a fast, accurate platform to develop and debug pre-silicon firmware.

The work is at the intersection of computer architecture, systems software, and verification engineering — writing the kind of C++ that has to be both correct to the bit and fast enough to run long-running benchmarks and boot Linux.

What You'll Work On

• Implement the ISA: Translate RISC-V specification chapters into working C++ code. We cover a wide range of extensions: integer, floating-point, vector, bit manipulation, security features, interrupt handling, and more.
• Simulation correctness: Help maintain the fetch/decode/execute engine, memory protection, virtual memory, and privilege-level logic that make the simulator a trustworthy reference.
• Co-simulation: Work on the harness that runs the ISS alongside RTL and flags any differences, one instruction at a time.
• Testing: Write targeted unit tests that exercise individual features and compare against expected results derived from the RISC-V spec.
• Developer tooling: Contribute to and maintain a large collection of simulator extensions and utilities that help the user community be more productive.

What We're Looking For

• Solid C++ skills and comfort reading unfamiliar codebases.
• Comfortable with basic processor architecture, including pipelines, memory, privilege levels, and interrupts.
• Strong attention to detail; this work is spec-driven and correctness matters.
• Willingness to read a specification document and turn it into tested code.
• Some exposure to low-level or systems programming, such as embedded systems, operating systems, compilers, or hardware description.

Nice to Have

• Experience with RISC-V, x86, or ARM architecture.
• Familiarity with simulators or emulators such as QEMU, Spike, gem5, or similar tools.
• Experience with GDB, ELF binaries, or bare-metal bring-up.
• Background in hardware verification or RTL co-simulation.
• Knowledge of Linux internals.
• Python 3+ experience.

Minimum Qualifications

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

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.

Pay range and Other Compensation & Benefits:

$167,100.00 - $250,700.00

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.