Q

Qualcomm

Designs mobile chips and licenses wireless patents

Next-Gen – High-Speed HBM - LPDDR Memory Controller ASIC Digital Design Engineer, ASIC Engineering

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026
$145.6k - $218.4k+ Annual discretionary bonus + Annual RSU grants
Senior
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD
San Diego, CA, USA
In Person
Hardware EngineeringSilicon & ASIC Design
Company Historically Provides H1B Sponsorship

About the job

Requirements
  • A Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, or a related field and 4+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience; alternatively, a Master's degree in those fields and 3+ years of related experience, or a PhD in those fields and 2+ years of related experience.
  • A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Science, Engineering, or a related field.
  • At least 5 years of ASIC design, RTL coding, and front-end digital design experience.
  • At least 3 years of hardware architecture experience.
  • At least 3 years of direct hardware architecture experience.
  • Required education: Master's degree in Computer Engineering and/or Electrical Engineering.
Responsibilities
  • Work on architecture, design (RTL coding), and deployment of next-generation, high-speed memory systems into QCT products.
  • Develop or contribute to architecture and design specifications and drive the micro-architecture of portions of the logic design.
  • Implement and deliver RTL and work with verification engineers to deliver high-quality designs.
  • Debug designs and provide debug support when they are integrated into the rest of the chip.
  • Perform synthesis, timing closure, physical design support, gate-level simulations, and power analysis.
  • Contribute regularly to improving design methodology to drive productivity and quality of results.
Desired Qualifications
  • 3–10 years of ASIC design (RTL coding) experience is preferred.
  • Exposure to RTL design verification flows is a plus.
  • A Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering and at least 5 years of high-speed digital design experience.
  • A Master's degree is preferred.
  • Experience with LPDDR memory and cache controllers, and NoC-based architectures, especially front-end interfacing to CPU, DSP, and multimedia processors.
  • Exposure to HBM memory-type designs.
  • Experience with on-chip tightly coupled SRAM and L3 cache controller architecture/design.
  • Experience with x86 or ARM CPU/bus architectures.
  • Knowledge of memory-transaction ordering and methods to enforce proper ordering in conformance with ISA architecture specifications.

About the company

Qualcomm designs the Snapdragon processors and modems inside many Android phones, and it licenses its wireless patents to device makers around the world. It helped commercialize CDMA, the cellular technology behind 3G networks, and its patents cover core parts of the 4G and 5G standards that phones use to connect. The company does not run its own chip factories; contract foundries make its chips, which it sells to makers of phones, PCs, cars, and connected devices. Device makers also pay Qualcomm royalties for using its patented technology, which forms a second business alongside chip sales. Qualcomm was founded in 1985 and is based in San Diego, California.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

San Diego, California

Founded

1985

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Cars are a second engine: automotive chip revenue rose 61% to $1.59 billion in the June 2026 quarter.
  • Pays for learning: Qualcomm funds tuition assistance and apprenticeships and sells staff discounted shares through a stock purchase plan.
  • Profits support stability: Qualcomm earned $2.21 non-GAAP per share in the June 2026 quarter despite a 4% sales dip.

What critics are saying

  • Apple is walking away: Qualcomm expects Apple revenue to fall about 50% from the September to December 2026 quarter.
  • Data-center deals start thin: in July 2026, management said custom chips will cut chip gross margin 1.5 to 2 points.
  • Cuts keep trickling: Qualcomm filed WARN notices in April 2026 covering 144 layoffs, including 68 in San Diego.

What makes Qualcomm unique

  • Phones are only part of it: handsets were $5.09 billion of $8.50 billion chip revenue in fiscal Q3 2026.
  • Cloud giants buy its custom chips: two hyperscaler design wins start producing revenue in the December 2026 quarter.
  • It owns an AI software layer: Qualcomm completed its Modular acquisition in July 2026 for open generative AI software.

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Benefits

  • Premium-free health coverage
  • Onsite health & fitness centers
  • Retirement programs
  • Disability & life insurance programs
  • Tuition reimbursement
  • Product discounts
  • Flexible time off
  • Parental leave

Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

3%

1 year growth

2%

2 year growth

0%
Yahoo Finance
Oct 27th, 2026
January bonus for 2026 work won't count against $25,560 Social Security earnings limit

Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon told staff the chipmaker will cut jobs worldwide in a "performance-focused reduction" after annual employee reviews, Reuters reported on October 20, 2026, citing an internal memo. Notifications begin in November, and the number of layoffs is unclear. Laid-off workers who start Social Security in January 2027 may worry that final pay will count against the $25,560 earnings limit. Social Security counts wages when the work was done, so bonuses, vacation pay and possibly severance for 2026 work shouldn't count toward 2027. A 2027 W-2 may still list that money, so retirees should get an itemised breakdown from payroll and tell Social Security which payments cover 2026. Above the limit, Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 earned, but it credits withheld months once full retirement age is reached.

Bloomberg
Oct 27th, 2026
Anduril and Qualcomm to build BlueChip laptops designed and assembled in the US

Anduril Industries and Qualcomm are producing laptops designed and assembled in the US, called BlueChip. The computers are meant to supply critical industries through a US-based supply chain.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 23rd, 2026
Qualcomm targets $15B data center sales by fiscal 2029 as handset revenue falls

Qualcomm is entering the data center chip market, with first revenue expected in the December quarter. The company says it has secured two custom chip customers, both global-scale hyperscalers, holds purchase orders from both, and has started making the wafers. Management targets data center revenue of $5 billion in fiscal 2027 and $15 billion in fiscal 2029. These are targets, not results. It closed its acquisition of Modular Inc. on July 29, 2026, to add data center software. The stock returned 4.5% over the past year, against 15.1% for the S&P 500. Revenue fell 4.0% in fiscal Q3 2026, and gross margin dropped to 53.1% from 55.6% a year earlier, as higher memory prices weighed.

CNBC
Oct 23rd, 2026
Indonesia's wealth fund steps in as stocks slide; Qualcomm plans layoffs, Lindt CEO exits

Indonesian stocks saw another round of panic selling this week after reports that index provider MSCI is considering downgrading the country's market status. Danantara, Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, stepped in to stabilise the market. Its chief executive officer, Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, has called sharp pullbacks long-term buying opportunities. Qualcomm plans a new round of global layoffs, with figures undisclosed. Chief executive officer Cristiano Amon said in an internal memo that the cuts aim to build a stronger performance culture. Its shares have lagged the broader market this year. Lindt chief executive officer Adalbert Lechner stepped down on Monday after nearly 33 years at the company. His predecessor returns on an interim basis. Lindt raised prices about 16% in the first half to offset higher cocoa costs, then cut its full-year guidance twice as consumers pulled back.

Design & Reuse
Oct 22nd, 2026
Qualcomm buys RISC-V startup Akeana to push into AI and data-center chips.

Qualcomm buys RISC-V startup Akeana to push into AI and data-center chips. October 22, 2026 - By dealroom.co What's the deal? Qualcomm has acquired Akeana, a US semiconductor startup that designs processors using the open-source RISC-V architecture. Terms were undisclosed. The deal brings Akeana's technology and engineering team into Qualcomm to expand its push in AI and data centers. Who's Akeana? Founded in 2021 by engineers who previously built server processors at Marvell, the startup raised more than $100 million in August 2024 from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, and Fidelity. Its RISC-V designs let companies customise processors for AI systems, computers, and data centers.