CPU Emulation Engineer (Multiple Levels)

Job Title

CPU Emulation Engineer (Multiple Levels)

Role Summary

Join the CPU verification team to design, build, and maintain emulation-based verification infrastructure for high-performance CPU designs. Work closely with RTL, performance, verification and software teams to enable CPU bring-up, functional verification, performance benchmarking and debug across simulation and emulation platforms.

Experience Level

Multiple levels (mid to senior). Typical experience range varies by level; postings indicate hires from roughly 2+ years up to senior-level experience depending on role scope.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities focus on delivering and operating emulation solutions for CPU verification.

• Architect and implement emulation testbench infrastructure using C/C++ and SystemVerilog.
• Develop verification methodology that is scalable and portable across simulation and emulation.
• Integrate and run verification workloads: testcases, OS boot, performance benchmarks, and regression suites.
• Debug emulation performance, area, and resource utilization; root-cause functional and performance issues.
• Build debugging infrastructure and metrics collection for emulation environments.
• Collaborate with emulation CAD and cross-functional teams to resolve infrastructure issues and enable productivity.
• Execute verification plans including design and DV environment bring-up and regression enablement.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and practical experience expected for the role. Preferred items listed separately.

• Experience developing testbench/infrastructure in C/C++ and SystemVerilog for verification.
• Proven ability to develop and apply verification methodology across simulation and emulation platforms.
• Experience debugging emulation behavior, performance, and resource constraints.
• Experience running OS boot sequences, performance benchmarks, and packaging workloads for regression runs.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with RTL, verification, performance and software teams.
• Familiarity with emulation infrastructure and interaction with emulation CAD teams.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with emulation platforms such as Palladium, Zebu, Veloce, or FPGA-based environments.
• Experience synthesizing and optimizing designs and verification components in synthesizable Verilog.
• Experience with C/C++ DPI transactors and monitors.
• Scripting experience (Perl, Python, shell) and experience packaging workloads for cloud execution.
• Experience debugging ARM CPU-based designs, knowledge of ARM ISA and programmer's model, Linux boot and firmware, or CPU architecture/microarchitecture.

Education Requirements

Degrees: Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering or related technical field. Posting lists level-dependent experience requirements (examples shown): Bachelor's with ~2–4+ years, Master's with ~1–3+ years, or PhD with varying years of experience depending on the specific level.

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.