Firmware Development Engineer, Sr. Staff

Job Title

Firmware Development Engineer, Sr. Staff

Role Summary

Develop and enable CPU power-management firmware for Qualcomm custom CPUs within SoCs. Work with hardware and firmware teams to design, implement, and verify embedded firmware for power, boot, RAS, debug, security, and runtime services across pre- and post-silicon environments.

Experience Level

Senior — requires substantial independent experience in embedded firmware and system bring-up (typically 6+ years of relevant engineering work).

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities focus on firmware design, verification, and cross-team collaboration to deliver CPU power-management solutions.

• Design, implement, and verify embedded firmware in pre-silicon and post-silicon environments.
• Define and implement power-management solutions for CPU subsystems.
• Collaborate with hardware power-management, platform architects, and other firmware teams during platform bring-up and debug.
• Develop drivers and services for boot, RAS, debug, security, and runtime features.
• Drive development in simulators, FPGA emulation, and other pre-silicon testbeds.
• Define inter-processor communication interfaces between embedded controllers and platform CPUs.
• Engage with open-source communities to upstream support for processor architectures and drivers.
• Contribute to hiring, mentoring, and defining team skill requirements.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience required to perform the role; a separate Education Requirements section lists degree expectations.

• Strong proficiency in C and C++; experience with low-level debugging and firmware diagnostics.
• Proven embedded firmware development experience, including driver development and system bring-up.
• Experience working independently and making technically significant decisions that affect broader teams.
• Experience with pre-silicon and post-silicon validation (simulators, FPGA emulation, silicon bring-up).
• Effective verbal and written communication skills; ability to collaborate across hardware and software teams.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with RTOS or OS kernel environments (Zephyr, FreeRTOS, eCos, µC/OS, or similar) and driver development.
• Assembly language skills and familiarity with ARMv8 architecture.
• Experience defining interprocessor communication and platform firmware interfaces.
• Prior contributions to open-source firmware or architecture support.

Education Requirements

Minimum qualifications specify a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or a related field plus significant relevant work experience; alternatives include a Master’s or PhD with fewer years of experience. The posting also indicates an MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science (or equivalent professional experience) as preferred. Equivalent practical experience in lieu of a degree is acknowledged.

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.