Senior Software Engineer - Kernel Services

Company: Qualcomm
Location: San Diego
Posted on: May 3, 2025

Job Description:

Company:Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.Job Area:Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software EngineeringGeneral Summary:Qualcomm is seeking an embedded software engineer with 2 to 6 years of experience for the Core Platform Kernel Services Software team. The Core Platform Kernel Services software team develops and deploys drivers and Kernel Services responsible for achieving IPC and System level Debug to multiple subsystems on Qualcomm SOCs. These SOCs serve customers across the Mobile Handset, Compute, Automotive, XR/AR, Cloud AI, IoT and IIOT market segments. The Kernel Services team develops protocols and algorithms that are central to critical operations performed by all functions of the SOC such as Sensing, Image Capture, Audio functions among hundreds of others. The team owns, maintains and develops drivers across multiple operating systems including QuRT OS, Windows, Linux, QNX, FreeRTOS, Zephyr among others. The team actively develops open source solutions to achieve highly performance efficient and feature rich yet configurable IPC across subsystems. The team actively engages with the Open Source community to upstream and augment associated solutions as well.The multiple number of drivers and Services constantly evolve and find utility in various applications across multiple tiers of application across chipsets. The team works actively with OEMs, ODMs, Carriers, OS providers, etc. to perform requirements analysis towards catering to new and complex use cases on a regular basis. The successful candidate will not only have the opportunity to contribute significantly to all stages of software development, documentation, design, implementation and testing but also will have the opportunity to own and define roadmaps for significant areas of the IPC stack.The opportunity to significantly contribute to a team that is central to every chipset that Qualcomm produces puts a great deal of responsibility to deliver high quality and highly performing solutions on a regular basis. The successful candidate should have a growth mindset willing to constantly learn new technologies and adapt to new requirements from evolving use cases. It is an expectation from all successful candidates to innovate and efficiently productize these innovations to achieve market differentiation across our product families.Minimum Qualifications:

• 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:Ideal candidates will demonstrate the following:

• Experience in C and Data structures.
• In-depth knowledge of Windows development environment and functionality and architecture especially driver module.
• Excellent debugging and problem-solving skills in Linux Kernel. Familiar with ARM CoreSight architecture will be a plus.
• Good understanding of CPU Architecture, Memory and Bus architecture and how that impacts software performance.
• Able to debug complex problems across multiple layers of hardware, OS, compiler, and drivers.
• Experience with Windows OS, Visual Studio/LLVM compiler and Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) tools is preferred.
• Experience in Compiler and JIT technologies is a plus.
• Experience with optimizing for popular CPU software benchmarks is a plus.
• Familiarity with ETM will be a plus.
• Experience on Python/Perl will be a plus.
• Assembly and C++ language experience is a plus.Principal Duties and Responsibilities:Develops, creates, and modifies general computer applications software or specialized utility programs. Analyzes user needs and develops software solutions. Designs software or customizes software for client use with the aim of optimizing operational efficiency. May analyze and design databases within an application area, working individually or coordinating database development as part of a team. Modifies existing software to correct errors, allow it to adapt to new hardware, or to improve its performance. Analyzes user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints. Confers with systems analysts, engineers, programmers, and others to design system and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces. Stores, retrieves, and manipulates data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements. Designs, develops, and modifies software systems, using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcome and consequences of design.The responsibilities of this role include:
  • Working under close supervision.
  • Taking responsibility for own work and making decisions with limited impact; Impact of decisions is readily apparent; errors made typically only impact timeline (i.e., require additional time to correct).
  • Using verbal and written communication skills to convey basic, routine information about day-to-day activities to others who are fully knowledgeable in the subject area.
  • Completing most tasks with multiple steps which can be performed in various orders; some planning and prioritization must occur to complete the tasks effectively; mistakes may result in some rework.
  • Exercising some creativity to troubleshoot technical problems or deal with novel circumstances.
  • Using deductive problem solving to solve moderately complex problems; most problems have defined processes of diagnosis/detection; some limited data analysis may be required.The responsibilities of this role do not include:
    • Financial accountability (e.g., does not involve budgeting responsibility).
    • Influence over key organizational decisions.
    • Role in strategic planning.Level of Responsibility:
      • Communicates issues with team lead and peers.
      • Adapts to changes and setbacks to meet deadlines.
      • Communicates with project lead to provide status and information about impending obstacles.
      • Collaborates with others inside project team to accomplish project objectives.
      • Gathers, integrates, and interprets information specific to a module or sub-block of code from a variety of sources to troubleshoot issues and find solutions.
      • Collaborates with individuals within domain to complete the team's work.
      • Stays focused and deals with setbacks in a timely manner.
      • Seeks out learning opportunities to increase own knowledge and skill.
      • Completes assigned coding tasks to specifications on time without significant errors or bugs.
      • Resolves straightforward software issues and bugs within a reasonable amount of time.
      • Actively seeks answers for new challenges.
      • Prioritizes project deadlines and deliverables with close supervision.
      • Is receptive to others' suggestions about ways in which a problem can be addressed differently.
      • Escalates technical issues to an appropriate party (e.g., project lead, colleagues).
      • Networks with colleagues within domain to gain insight, ideas, and connections.Educational Requirements:
        • Minimum: Bachelors in Engineering (Computer Science/Electrical Engineering)
        • Preferred: Masters in Engineering (Computer Science/Electrical Engineering)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 or call Qualcomm's toll-free number found . 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.To all Staffing and Recruiting Agencies: Our Careers Site is only for individuals seeking a job at Qualcomm. Staffing and recruiting agencies and individuals being represented by an agency are not authorized to use this site or to submit profiles, applications or resumes, and any such submissions will be considered unsolicited. Qualcomm does not accept unsolicited resumes or applications from agencies. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Qualcomm employees or any other company location. Qualcomm is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/applications.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.Qualcomm expects its employees to abide by all applicable policies and procedures, including but not limited to security and other requirements regarding protection of Company confidential information and other confidential and/or proprietary information, to the extent those requirements are permissible under applicable law.Pay range and Other Compensation & Benefits: $111,300.00 - $166,900.00The 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 .If you would like more information about this role, please contact .
          #J-18808-Ljbffr

Keywords: Qualcomm, San Diego , Senior Software Engineer - Kernel Services, IT / Software / Systems , San Diego, California