AI Systems Architecture Engineer – Lead Senior Engineer/Senior Engineer
Qualcomm · Posted Oct 27
Semiconductor, 5G wireless technology, mobile platform, and AI computing solutions
Get a personal compatibility score
Add a resume for personal matches
About the role
Qualcomm's Engineering Group (Software Engineering) develops next-generation intelligent computing, AI, connectivity, and low-power embedded technologies. The team is seeking an experienced AI Systems Architect to define, prototype, and optimize AI computing systems across heterogeneous hardware and software platforms. The role spans hardware, firmware, runtime, compiler, and application layers, evaluating system-level tradeoffs and prototyping architectures that maximize performance, power efficiency, scalability, and platform utilization for AI workloads.
What you will do
- Define and evaluate system architectures for AI platforms incorporating heterogeneous compute elements such as CPU, NPU, GPU, Memory interconnects and subsystems.
- Experience with profiling/modeling tools to understand optimal use of resources for getting best system performance
- Develop system-architecture prototypes to evaluate - workload partitioning across compute engines, data movement and memory traffic, compute and memory bottlenecks, scheduling and resource allocation, power, thermal, and performance tradeoffs
- Analyze AI workloads to determine the best utilization of available architectural resources across available compute and memory resources
- Investigate end-to-end AI execution pipelines, including -Model compilation and graph partitioning, Runtime scheduling, Kernel selection, Memory allocation, Data transfers, Synchronization, Accelerator utilization
- Build analytical models, simulators, emulators, and proof-of-concept implementations for assessing architectural concepts before hardware availability.
- Evaluate the impact of system-level parameters such as Compute throughput, Memory bandwidth, Cache and local memory capacity, Interconnect bandwidth and latency, DMA and data-transfer efficiency, Accelerator occupancy
- Identify performance bottlenecks and recommend architectural improvements based on workload characterization, profiling data, and benchmark results.
- Collaborate with hardware architects, AI accelerator designers, compiler teams, runtime engineers, firmware developers, performance engineers, and product teams.
- Define workload-driven architectural requirements and translate them into platform-level specifications.
- Develop technical proposals, architecture studies, tradeoff analyses, and performance projections for future AI platforms.
Skills used in this role
What the employer is looking for
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
- Strong programming skills in C, C++, and Python.
- Experience in one or more of the following areas: AI or machine-learning systems; Computer architecture; Heterogeneous computing; SoC architecture; Accelerator architecture; High-performance computing; Embedded systems; System performance analysis
- 3-7 years of experience in hardware focused system optimization role (hiring across multiple levels).
- Strong understanding of computer architecture concepts
- Ability to develop quantitative models and make architecture recommendations based on empirical data.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to learn quickly, think critically, and adapt in a fast-paced and rapidly evolving technology environment.
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience. OR Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 1+ year of Software Engineering or related work experience. OR PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field.
- 2+ years of academic or work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.
Preferred qualifications
- Experience with AI specific performance optimization would be preferred. Hands-on experience optimizing AI models for performance, power, and accuracy on hardware accelerators such as CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs.
- Experience using processor-specific optimization tools, libraries, and profiling technologies to improve AI performance on CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs is a plus.
- Strong understanding of modern machine learning architectures, including CNNs, RNNs, Transformers, and ensemble methods would be good to have.
- Proficiency with AI frameworks and tooling such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, ONNX Runtime, and MLIR would be good to have.
- Experience with transformer-based models such as BERT, GPT, T5, and Llama. Experience developing, optimizing, or deploying large language models (LLMs) or foundation models is a strong plus.
Benefits and support
- Compensation and benefits are detailed in the job posting
About Qualcomm
Qualcomm is a global leader in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry, including mobile processors, 5G, and on-device artificial intelligence. The company designs and markets digital communications products, semiconductor solutions, and system software used globally across smartphones, automotive solutions, IoT devices, and computing systems. Through extensive R&D and intellectual property licensing, Qualcomm powers a highly interconnected and smarter world.
- Industry
- Semiconductors
- Company size
- 50000+ employees
- Founded
- 1985
- Location
- San Diego, California, USA
- Funding stage
- Public Company
Funding
Public Company · $53M raised
- 2018-11-01Grant
Leadership
President and Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
James H. Thompson
Chief Technology Officer
Chief Marketing Officer
Ann Chaplin
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Recent coverage
Tom's Hardware
Qualcomm Tells Employees to Prepare for Worldwide Job Cuts2026-10-21
Futurum Group
Qualcomm + PickNik + Layoffs = The Robotics Segment's Stakes Are Starting To Feel A Bit Real2026-10-22
PR Newswire
Qualcomm Schedules Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2026 Earnings Release and Conference Call2026-10-22
Qualcomm Newsroom
Qualcomm Announces Renewal of Global Patent License Agreement with Apple2026-09-24