CPU-Core RTL Director
QualcommJob Title
CPU-Core RTL Director
Role Summary
Lead and manage a team of CPU RTL engineers responsible for delivering high-performance, low-power custom CPU cores from architecture through silicon. Provide technical direction across microarchitecture, RTL implementation, verification readiness, physical design convergence, and post-silicon bring-up.
Experience Level
Senior — typically requires extensive leadership and domain experience. The role expects 12+ years of CPU RTL or microarchitecture experience and at least 3 years leading engineering teams or large technical projects.
Responsibilities
The role combines technical leadership, project execution, PPA ownership, and people management across multiple CPU projects.
- Lead CPU RTL teams working on instruction fetch, decode, branch prediction, execution pipelines, memory subsystems, cache hierarchy, and power management.
- Translate architectural requirements into scalable microarchitectural and RTL implementations in partnership with architects.
- Own RTL execution from concept through tapeout and support post-silicon bring-up, characterization, and debug.
- Drive milestone planning, verification readiness, design freezes, and risk mitigation to meet schedule targets.
- Make tradeoffs across power, performance, area, frequency, timing, and schedule; direct timing closure and power-optimization efforts.
- Coordinate cross-functional activities with Architecture, Verification, Physical Design, Power, DFT, CAD, Emulation, Firmware, and Program Management.
- Recruit, mentor, and develop engineers; establish growth plans and foster a culture of technical excellence and accountability.
- Champion design quality, methodology improvements, automation, and engineering productivity initiatives.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience for successful performance in this role.
- 12+ years of experience in CPU RTL design, microarchitecture, or related semiconductor development.
- 3+ years of experience leading engineering teams or large technical projects.
- Deep understanding of modern high-performance CPU architecture and microarchitecture.
- Proven track record delivering complex RTL designs into production silicon.
- Expert knowledge of SystemVerilog and modern RTL development methodologies.
- Strong understanding of timing closure, physical design interactions, power optimization, and silicon implementation.
- Experience driving cross-functional execution and resolving critical product issues under schedule pressure.
- Strong communication and leadership skills with the ability to influence across organizations.
- Nice-to-have: experience with methodology automation, AI-assisted design workflows, and productivity tools; expertise in specific CPU domains (instruction fetch, branch prediction, OoO scheduling, SIMD, memory hierarchy, MMU, cache/coherency, power management).
Education Requirements
Required: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field. The posting lists degree-to-experience alternatives in minimum qualifications: Bachelor + 8+ years; Master + 7+ years; PhD + 6+ years. Preferred: MS or PhD in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline. Related technical fields are acceptable per the posting.
About the Company
Company: Qualcomm
Headquarters: San Diego, California, United States
Qualcomm is a global leader in semiconductor and telecommunications equipment, specializing in mobile technologies and innovations. Known for its Adreno GPUs, the company provides solutions enabling advancements in mobile gaming, AI, VR/AR, and autonomous driving. Qualcomm's cutting-edge technology and commitment to high-performance, power-efficient designs drive the evolution of mobile graphics and connectivity worldwide.
