Staff DSP Application Engineer

Job Title

Staff DSP Application Engineer

Role Summary

Customer-facing engineering role to enable adoption and deployment of Qualcomm DSP solutions in optical transceivers and Active Electrical Cables (AEC) for AI and cloud infrastructure. Work with customers, product management, system architects, and internal engineering teams to integrate, validate, and optimize high-speed PAM4 connectivity solutions (100G/200G/400G per lane).

Experience Level

Senior (Staff) — typically requires mid-to-senior level experience; role expects several years of relevant experience in semiconductor, networking, optical communications, or high-speed connectivity (see Education Requirements for degree/experience combinations).

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities span customer engagements, system validation, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure successful integration and deployment of DSP-enabled connectivity products.

• Act as primary technical contact for customers integrating Optical Transceiver and AEC products; support evaluation through production deployment.
• Assist with system bring-up, interoperability testing, feature enablement, and performance optimization in customer systems (switches, NICs, GPUs, AI accelerators, servers).
• Perform system-level debug involving DSPs, SerDes, firmware, optical modules, PCB channels, PMICs, and clocking subsystems; analyze eye diagrams, BER, jitter, and equalization settings.
• Support lab and in-field characterization, validation, and IEEE 802.3 compliance/interoperability testing activities.
• Develop technical documentation: application notes, reference configurations, and deployment guidelines; provide customer feedback to product and engineering teams.
• Collaborate with internal teams to resolve customer issues and drive product quality improvements.

Requirements

Must-have:

• 5–7 years of experience in semiconductor, networking, optical communications, or high-speed connectivity technologies.
• Strong understanding of PAM4 signaling, SerDes architectures, equalization techniques, and Ethernet connectivity.
• Experience with high-speed test equipment (oscilloscopes, BERTs, VNAs) and signal integrity/link performance analysis.
• Proficiency with scripting or analysis tools such as Python or MATLAB for automation and data analysis.
• Strong analytical troubleshooting skills and excellent verbal and written communication.
• Willingness to travel occasionally (up to ~15%).

Nice-to-have:

• Experience supporting data center, networking, switch, or hyperscale cloud customers.
• Familiarity with IEEE Ethernet standards, compliance testing methodologies, and manufacturing validation/characterization.
• Knowledge of DSP equalization techniques (CTLE, FFE, DFE, adaptive equalization) and optical transceiver components.
• Experience with optical module validation, characterization, or manufacturing support.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field with 4+ years relevant hardware engineering experience; OR Master's degree in those fields with 3+ years of relevant experience; OR PhD in those fields with 2+ years of relevant experience. The posting allows related technical fields; no specific certifications were listed.

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.