SoC Performance Architect (Server CPU)

Job Title

SoC Performance Architect (Server CPU)

Role Summary

Lead server CPU workload analysis, performance modeling, competitive projection, and cross-stack optimization for SoC products. Work with architecture, design, software, and partner teams to identify bottlenecks, build analytical and empirical models, and deliver actionable recommendations that improve system performance and competitiveness.

Experience Level

Entry-level / Early-career (new grads and PhD new grads encouraged to apply). Experience guidance in minimum qualifications: Bachelor's +2 years, Master's +1 year, or PhD (see Education Requirements for details).

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities focus on end-to-end performance analysis, modeling, and cross-functional optimization.

• Define performance methodologies, metrics, and KPI frameworks for workload tracking and feature evaluation.
• Enable and analyze complex server workloads on internal platforms; perform profiling and bottleneck analysis across CPU, cache, memory, interconnect, and I/O.
• Use profiling and performance-monitoring tools to capture hotspots, CPI breakdowns, memory behavior, and microarchitectural stalls.
• Build analytical and empirical models for workload behavior, scaling, and sensitivity studies.
• Generate performance projections for roadmap products and external competitors.
• Identify and prioritize optimization opportunities and drive cross-functional execution with architecture, design, compiler, OS, firmware, and application teams.
• Communicate findings, tradeoffs, and product implications to technical and executive stakeholders.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience.

• Deep knowledge of CPU microarchitecture: pipelines, out-of-order execution, branch prediction, caches, prefetching, SMT, and performance bottlenecks.
• Strong understanding of SoC architecture: on-chip interconnect/fabric, memory controllers, DRAM systems, coherency, and I/O subsystems.
• Strong understanding of OS and compiler behavior, including scheduling, memory management, synchronization, code generation, and runtime performance effects.
• Hands-on experience with industry-standard performance analysis and profiling tools and workflows.
• Experience enabling and debugging complex server workloads in Linux environments.
• Strong scripting and data-analysis skills for large profiling datasets and developing performance models.
• Experience in system-architecture technology areas and products (minimum: ~2 years in relevant system architecture work as noted in minimum qualifications).

Nice-to-have:

• Pre-silicon performance modeling, simulation, or trace-based analysis experience.
• Familiarity with PMU-based top-down analysis, CPI decomposition, memory-subsystem analysis, and sensitivity modeling.

Education Requirements

Options in posting: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field (plus ~2 years relevant experience); OR Master's in those fields (plus ~1 year relevant experience); OR PhD in those fields (no additional experience required). The posting accepts these degree alternatives as the formal education pathways for the role.

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.