Software Engineer - Qualcomm Advanced Robotics Team - Multiple levels

Qualcomm; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 180,600 - 271,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

RSU grants

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

Qualcomm in Santa Clara is looking for a Senior Software Engineer for their robotics software platform. You will shape the architecture and lead technical developments while collaborating across teams to deliver high-performance solutions.

Successful candidates will possess strong experience in robotics platforms and software engineering, alongside a deep understanding of modern programming languages. The role provides competitive compensation and the chance to work on cutting-edge technology.

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years of Software Engineering experience.
• 3+ years with programming languages like C, C++, Java, or Python.
• Proven record in building robots and shipping core SDKs.

Responsibilities

• Develop software architecture for Qualcomm Robotics platform.
• Drive real-world validation and establish performance metrics.
• Mentor senior engineers and guide product integrations.

Skills

Programming languages (C, C++, Java, Python)

Embedded systems

Robotics platforms

Real-time distributed systems

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

Tools

ROS2

DDS

Linux

Ubuntu

Job description

About Qualcomm Robotics

Qualcomm Advanced Robotics Team is building the AI‑first stack and platform for the next generation general purpose robots – from AMRs and cobots to emerging humanoids by pairing heterogeneous compute (CPU/GPU/DSP/NPU) with a full Robotics SDK and developer tooling for manipulation, perception, navigation, and fleet workflows. We are leveraging our success in automated driving, advanced AI end‑to‑end development, and safety architecture to accelerate growth in this emerging market.

The Opportunity

As a Software Engineer you will be the senior technical developer for Qualcomm’s robotics software platform – defining the end‑to‑end architecture, raising the engineering bar across core middleware and services such as ROS2/DDS, and leading cross‑functional teams to deliver production‑grade SDKs and reference solutions that customers can take to market. You’ll combine deep systems expertise with hands‑on leadership across perception/SLAM, planning and control, real‑time Linux/MCU, and on‑device AI shipping robust software on Qualcomm robotics SoCs.

What you’ll do

• Develop the software architecture for the Qualcomm Robotics platform interfaces, runtime, QoS, and safety envelopes across Linux plus MCU subsystems; drive DDS/ROS2 patterns for reliable, real‑time data flow on heterogeneous compute and map and optimize the system.
• Develop the platform roadmap and conduct technical design reviews across perception (VIO/SLAM, DFS), mapping, semantic scene understanding, navigation, manipulation, and SDK components; ensure high performance and low power on our SoCs.
• Drive real‑world validation using sim‑in‑the‑loop and HIL; establish metrics for robustness, determinism, and regression across camera/IMU/LiDAR stacks and whole‑robot scenarios.
• Optimize for heterogeneous compute (CPU/GPU/DSP/NPU) and camera pipeline/ISP; guide teams on concurrency, memory and power budgets, and accelerator utilization for on‑device AI.
• Champion safety and reliability practices and interfaces compatible with relevant standards such as ISO 26262 or IEC 61508 and design for field diagnostics, observability, and OTA update paths.
• Mentor and grow senior engineers across core platform, perception, controls, and SDK, setting crisp technical direction, code quality bars, and review culture.
• Engage customers and partners as the senior technical face of the platform, clarify requirements, guide integrations, and translate learnings into the roadmap.

How you’ll lead

• Set the technical bar for platform correctness, determinism, and developer experience.
• Coach senior ICs and tech leads, building a strong review culture and CI/CD discipline for robotics.
• Partner with product and silicon teams to align software roadmaps with SoC capabilities and customer needs.

Why Qualcomm

• Opportunity to shape the software heart of a rapidly scaling robotics portfolio used across industrial, commercial, and emerging humanoid form factors.
• Build on a mature developer ecosystem and ship at the edge, globally.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 6+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• Master’s degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 5+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• 3+ years of work experience with programming languages such as C, C++, Java, or Python.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years in software engineering, with 4+ years building robotics platforms, Ubuntu, ROS2 or complex real‑time distributed systems; proven record shipping SDKs or core runtimes.
• Expert in modern C++ and Python with production experience in ROS2 and DDS, including QoS, discovery, message design, and tracing.
• Depth in physical AI embedded and virtual platforms, SLAM, visual‑inertial odometry, dense or stereo depth, semantic mapping, planning, controls, or manipulation – demonstrable system‑level integration on embedded platforms.
• Strong background in Linux for robotics, real‑time considerations, and MCU/RTOS interactions such as time sync, safety islands, bootloaders, and field firmware management.
• Performance engineering on heterogeneous SoCs (CPU/GPU/NPU/DSP) and camera/ISP stacks; hands‑on profiling and optimization.
• BS/MS in CS, EE, Robotics, or related field (PhD a plus).
• Track record leading large cross‑functional efforts such as architecture docs, design reviews, de‑risking, and postmortems that landed in customer products.
• Experience delivering developer‑facing SDKs and documentation; familiarity with Qualcomm robotics stacks and ROS2 package ecosystems.
• Demonstrated results in on‑device AI for perception or policy (model optimization, quantization, or pipeline fusion) on edge devices.
• Contributions to ROS, ROS2, or relevant open‑source robotics projects; publications or patents in SLAM, perception, manipulation, or real‑time systems.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Leverage advanced software knowledge and experience to design, develop, create, modify, and validate critical embedded and cloud edge software, applications, and specialized utility programs.
• Analyze user needs, software requirements, and time and cost constraints to design and customize sophisticated software for optimal operational efficiency.
• Design and implement software sub‑systems for complex, large‑scale products and systems.
• Lead design, coding, and testing efforts to ensure projects are completed to specifications and schedules.
• Perform highly complex code reviews, regression tests, triage, and fix issues to ensure code quality.
• Collaborate with individuals outside the software function (e.g., hardware, systems, and test engineers) to increase leverage and design solutions that work with other components of a specific project.
• Write detailed technical documentation for highly complex software projects; review documentation for junior engineers.

Level of Responsibility

• Work independently with minimal supervision.
• Provide supervision or guidance to other team members.
• Decision‑making is critical in nature and highly impacts program, product, or project success.
• Require verbal and written communication skills to convey complex information; may require negotiation, influence, or tact.
• Have moderate influence over key organizational decisions and may be consulted by senior leadership.
• Tasks often require multiple steps which can be performed in various orders; extensive planning, problem‑solving, and prioritization are necessary to complete the tasks effectively.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing an accessible process for individuals with disabilities during the application and hiring process. Qualcomm is also committed to making our workplace accessible for individuals with disabilities.

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.

Benefits and Compensation

Pay range: $180,600.00 – $271,000.00. This salary range reflects the broad, minimum to maximum, pay scale for this job code for the location for which it has been posted. In addition, Qualcomm offers a competitive annual discretionary bonus program and the opportunity for annual RSU grants. Our benefits package is designed to support your success at work, at home, and at play.

For more information about this role, please contact Qualcomm Careers.