Lead Engineer - Thermal
QualcommJob Title
Lead Engineer - Thermal
Role Summary
Design, analyze, and optimize power and thermal solutions for high-power CPU-based server-class SoCs. Work within the Qualcomm PPAT team and collaborate with silicon design, power architecture, package, platform, and system teams to ensure reliable power and thermal performance in server environments.
Experience Level
Senior. Experience guidance provided in the posting: Bachelor's +3+ years, Master's +2+ years, PhD +1+ year (see Education Requirements).
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include power optimization, thermal solution definition, validation, and cross-functional support during silicon and platform bring-up.
- Enable and optimize power features: CPU performance/state management, system idle states, and telemetry.
- Define and evaluate thermal solutions: limits management, heatsinks, vapor chambers, cold plates, TIM selection, and throttling state management.
- Collaborate with platform teams on server mechanical design and airflow.
- Support power-thermal co-optimization during silicon bring-up.
- Plan and execute lab validation: power breakdowns, thermocouple measurements, workload testing, and power-virus tests.
- Correlate simulation results with lab data and drive design improvements.
- Partner with silicon, power architecture, BIOS/firmware, ODM/OEM, and cooling vendors.
- Provide thermal guidance during platform bring-up and customer engagements.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience.
- Practical experience with power and thermal engineering for CPU/GPU/accelerator and server-class SoCs.
- Experience with CPU performance and state management, idle states, and power/performance telemetry.
- Experience defining thermal solutions and limits management.
- Lab validation experience: power/thermal measurements and correlating simulation to hardware data.
- Proficiency in programming (C, C++, Java, Python) with at least 2 years of practical use.
- Experience collaborating across silicon, platform, firmware, and mechanical teams.
- Strong problem-solving and data-analysis skills for performance and thermal tuning.
Nice-to-have:
- Experience at Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, or similar semiconductor companies and on data-center or cloud server products.
- Familiarity with cooling vendors, TIM selection, and server mechanical design.
Education Requirements
Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. Posting specifies degree-equivalent experience: Bachelor's +3+ years' related experience, Master's +2+ years, or PhD +1+ year.
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.
