Emulation Lead Engineer, Senior

Job Title

Emulation Lead Engineer, Senior

Role Summary

Lead emulation and performance validation efforts for Qualcomm DSP/processor IP using FPGA prototypes and commercial emulation platforms. Work with RTL, microarchitecture and software teams to validate functionality, debug issues, and measure/correlate performance between emulation and silicon.

Experience Level

Senior-level role. The posting references experience ranges roughly between 4–10 years in emulation, processor or ASIC performance verification; expect a senior engineer with multiple years of relevant emulation and verification experience.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include emulation-based validation, debugging, and performance analysis for processor/DSP subsystems.

• Plan and execute emulation and silicon validation campaigns for DSP/processor IP.
• Operate and maintain emulation platforms (FPGA prototyping, Veloce, Palladium) and associated flows.
• Prepare synthesis, place-and-route, constraints and clocking flows for emulation builds.
• Perform system-level debug, waveform analysis and content debug support to isolate complex issues.
• Validate and debug digital RTL and processor functionality; collaborate with RTL and microarchitecture teams to improve models.
• Develop tests and infrastructure to measure processor and application performance; perform performance correlation between emulation and silicon.
• Write scripts and tools to automate validation and analysis tasks.
• Communicate results and provide technical recommendations to cross-functional teams.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; concise list below. Education requirements are summarized separately.

• Must-have: 4+ years of experience in emulation, processor or ASIC performance verification with strong debugging and analytical skills.
• Must-have: Hands-on experience with emulation platforms and FPGA prototyping workflows.
• Must-have: Strong understanding of digital design and RTL, and processor architecture and functionality (CPU/DSP).
• Must-have: Proficient scripting in Python and TCL; familiarity with build automation (Makefiles, shell scripting).
• Must-have: Experience creating tests and infrastructure for performance validation and analysis.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with Synplify/Quartus/Vivado flows, Veloce, Palladium, place-and-route constraints and clocking for emulation.
• Nice-to-have: Experience in micro-architecture validation, application performance analysis, and performance correlation for ARM/DSP subsystems.
• Nice-to-have: Programming experience in C/C++ and familiarity with Perl or other scripting languages.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science or related field plus 3+ years of systems engineering or related work experience; OR Master's degree in those fields plus 2+ years' relevant experience; OR PhD in those fields plus 1+ year of relevant experience. (Degree fields listed in the source: Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related fields.)

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.