Ambient Compute System Architecture and Power Engineer

Location: San Diego, California, United States of America

Department: Multimedia Systems

Work Location: onsite

Company:

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Job Area:

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Multimedia Systems

General Summary:

As part of Qualcomm’s Low-Power AI (LPAI) Systems group, this role focuses on performance optimization, data-path and power analysis, and architecture of embedded AI subsystems, with emphasis on XR and ambient use cases. The engineer will drive power-efficient system design and analysis across DSP/AI subsystems by analyzing power-performance trade-offs and enabling optimizations across software and hardware for on-device AI. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Analyze and optimize performance and power of LPAI subsystem (DSP, eNPU, memory) with focus on XR and always-on AI workloads. 
• Support system integration, benchmarking, and commercialization of LPAI solutions across Mobile, XR, Compute, and IoT platforms. 
• Perform detailed data-path and memory-access analysis (cache, SRAM, DDR) to identify bottlenecks impacting performance efficiency. 
• Drive ambient system workload partitioning, software optimizations, clock/BW voting, and data reuse strategies. 
• Collaborate with HW, SW, and PdM teams to review low-power feature roadmap. 
• Execute lab-based power measurements, correlate silicon data with modelling. 
• Document performance and power analysis, competitive analysis findings, and architectural recommendations for internal stakeholders. 

Minimum Qualifications:

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

Requirements 

• Experience with embedded processor architectures such as DSPs and NPUs, with understanding of processor power behavior. 
• Experience working with embedded platforms, RTOS, and performance/power profiling tools. 
• Strong programming skills in Python for analysis, modeling, and automation. 
• Solid understanding of memory systems, data movement, bandwidth analysis, and Cache memory strategies. 
• Strong fundamentals in power modeling, power analysis, and system-level power optimization. 
• Hands-on experience with power measurement tools, and data analysis techniques 
• Knowledge of fixed-point implementation and algorithm optimization techniques. 
• Ability to work across cross‑functional and geographically distributed teams. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience with Qualcomm DSP and LPAI architectures, SDKs, or internal power tools. 
• Background in audio, or always-on AI use cases. 
• Exposure to ML inference workloads and their power-performance characteristics

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Pay range and Other Compensation & Benefits:

$148,300.00 - $222,500.00

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.