Qualcomm · 17 hours ago
Staff Engineer, Application Engineering (AI)
Santa Clara, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$145K/yr - $218K/yr
4+ years expQualcomm Atheros, Inc. is seeking a Staff Application Software Engineer to lead the integration of AI/ML capabilities into their next-generation Wi-Fi Access Point platforms. The role involves optimizing AI models for embedded systems, developing AI workflows, and providing technical leadership to customers.
Telecom & CommunicationsArtificial Intelligence (AI)SoftwareGenerative AITelecommunicationsWireless
Responsibilities
Edge AI Model Development & Optimization
Model Optimization: Lead the optimization of AI models (CNNs, Transformers, LLMs) for deployment on resource-constrained embedded targets. Utilize Quantization techniques (INT8/INT4) and pruning to fit models within limited memory (DDR) and compute budgets
Hardware Acceleration: Offload inference workloads to the Hexagon NPU (NSP) and DSP to maximize performance per watt, ensuring minimal impact on the host CPU
Debug & Profiling: perform deep-dive debugging of accuracy loss during quantization and runtime inference failures
Agentic AI & LLM Applications
Network Agents: Develop "Agentic" workflows where local LLMs (e.g., Llama 3, Phi-3) analyze network telemetry to autonomously optimize Wi-Fi performance (e.g., "Gaming Mode" QoS tuning, Mesh steering) or assist with troubleshooting
Edge Inference: Implement pipelines for on-device Generative AI and Multi-modal models (Vision + Text) to enable smart sensing and security features on the Gateway
System Performance & Integration
Resource Management: Conduct rigorous CPU and DDR profiling to ensure AI workloads do not starve the networking stack (packet processing latency, throughput). Tune system memory interaction between the NPU, CPU, and Wi-Fi subsystems
Integration: Integrate AI inference engines (e.g., TFLite, ONNX Runtime, Qualcomm AI Stack) into the OpenWrt/Linux based SDK
Customer Enablement & Strategy
Technical Leadership: Serve as the AI subject matter expert for customers, guiding them on model selection, training pipelines, and deployment strategies for Qualcomm platforms
Cloud Hybridization: Architect solutions that balance edge processing with cloud-based model updates and scalability
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Software Applications Engineering, Software Development experience, or related work experience
OR Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of Software Applications Engineering, Software Development experience, or related work experience
OR PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Software Applications Engineering, Software Development experience, or related work experience
2+ years of experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc
1+ year of experience with debugging techniques
Preferred
Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
Experience: 5+ years of software engineering experience with a strong focus on Embedded AI/ML
AI/ML Expertise: Deep proficiency in PyTorch or TensorFlow. Hands-on experience with CNNs (Object Detection, Classification) and LLMs (Transformers)
Model Optimization: Expert knowledge of Model Quantization (Post-Training Quantization, QAT), model compression, and debugging accuracy issues
Systems Programming: Strong coding skills in C/C++ and Python. Experience with Linux user-space development, multi-threading, and memory management
Performance Profiling: Proficiency with profiling tools (e.g., perf, eBPF, hardware counters) to analyze DDR bandwidth, cache misses, and CPU load
Soft Skills: Excellent problem-solving abilities and communication skills to articulate complex AI concepts to networking engineers and customers
Benefits
Competitive annual discretionary bonus program
Opportunity for annual RSU grants
Highly competitive benefits package
Company
Qualcomm
Qualcomm designs wireless technologies and semiconductors that power connectivity, communication, and smart devices.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Qualcomm has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
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Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (2013)
2024 (1910)
2023 (3216)
2022 (2885)
2021 (2104)
2020 (1181)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$3.5M1991-12-20IPO
1988-01-01Undisclosed· $3.5M
Leadership Team
Cristiano Amon
President & CEO
I
Isaac Eteminan
CEO
Recent News
2026-02-12
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