DDR Validation Engineer, Staff

Job Title

DDR Validation Engineer, Staff

Role Summary

Member of Qualcomm's System Validation & Emulation (SVE) team responsible for end-to-end validation of memory subsystems across pre- and post-silicon phases. The role focuses on developing and executing system-level test content, automation, and debug to ensure silicon quality for AI accelerator and flagship mobile platforms.

Experience Level

Senior - typically requires 5+ years of experience in DDR/memory subsystem validation or silicon bring-up; minimum qualifications specify multi-year experience tied to degree level (see Education Requirements).

Responsibilities

Lead DDR memory validation and readiness across emulation, FPGA, and silicon platforms.

• Define and execute DDR validation strategy for LPDDR5X/LPDDR6 across pre- and post-silicon environments.
• Drive memory bring-up, training validation, frequency scaling, low-power state validation, and feature enablement.
• Develop and run validation plans for functionality, performance, reliability, power, and corner cases.
• Lead debug of DDR controller, PHY, firmware, SI/PI, timing, and system-level interactions.
• Validate DDR interactions with CPU, GPU, NPU, cache hierarchy, NoC, and system software.
• Characterize bandwidth, latency, QoS, memory pressure, and AI workload behavior.
• Build scalable automation, regression infrastructure, and debug analytics frameworks.
• Collaborate with Architecture, Design, Firmware, SI/PI, Package, and DRAM vendors to root-cause and resolve issues.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience.

• 5+ years of DDR/memory subsystem validation or silicon bring-up experience.
• Strong understanding of LPDDR4/5/5X/6 architectures, DDR controllers, and PHYs.
• Experience with memory training and calibration algorithms.
• Knowledge of cache/coherency and NoC architectures.
• Familiarity with power management and low-power memory features.
• Strong post-silicon debug experience.
• Proficiency in C/C++ and low-level software development for bring-up and validation.
• Ability to develop automation and regression infrastructures for scalable validation.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with mobile SoC, AI compute, automotive, or server platform validation.
• Familiarity with SI/PI analysis, memory performance tuning, and thermal characterization.
• Experience driving first-silicon memory bring-up and volume production qualification.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Science, Engineering, or a related technical field (examples: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science). The posting specifies degree-plus-experience combinations: Bachelor's with 4+ years, Master's with 3+ years, or PhD with 2+ years of relevant ASIC design/verification/validation/integration or related work.

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.