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Qualcomm

Qualcomm

Designs, manufactures, and licenses wireless semiconductors

AI/ML Camera Lead Engineer - Camera Engineering

Full-TimeUpdated on 9/18/2026
$186.7k - $280.1k/yr

+ Annual discretionary bonus + Annual RSU grants

Mid, Senior
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD
San Diego, CA, USA
In Person
Company Historically Provides H1B Sponsorship

About the job

Requirements
  • A Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or a Master's degree or PhD in one of these fields, with the required relevant experience.
  • Strong hands-on experience with application-specific integrated circuit register-transfer-level design.
  • Proficiency in Verilog, SystemVerilog, or VHDL.
  • Solid understanding of application-specific integrated circuit design flows, including synthesis, timing, clock-domain crossing, and low-power analysis.
  • Experience with camera or image signal processor hardware, image processing, video, multimedia, computer vision, or digital signal processing hardware.
  • Proficiency in Python and/or C++, or Java, for tooling, automation, and generative artificial intelligence evaluation workflows.
  • Practical experience with large language models, embedding models, or agentic artificial intelligence systems applied to engineering workflows.
  • Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams.
  • At least 6 years of relevant Software Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related work experience with a Bachelor's degree; at least 5 years with a Master's degree; or at least 4 years with a PhD.
Responsibilities
  • Collaborate with system and camera architects to define and implement micro-architectures for image and video processing pipelines.
  • Design, implement, and own application-specific integrated circuit intellectual property blocks from architecture through register-transfer-level delivery.
  • Develop high-quality register-transfer-level designs using Verilog, SystemVerilog, or VHDL for camera, image signal processor, computer vision, and multimedia hardware.
  • Run synthesis and review results to ensure performance, power, and area goals are met.
  • Perform and review clock-domain crossing, low-power, timing, and design rule checks.
  • Work closely with design verification and physical design teams to support test planning, debugging, and design closure.
  • Create and maintain micro-architecture and design documentation.
  • Oversee the design and delivery of an internal benchmark suite for large language models used in hardware design and generative artificial intelligence-assisted workflows, with defined key performance indicators and regression tracking.
  • Oversee the design and delivery of agentic artificial intelligence solutions for hardware design across register-transfer-level development, review, debugging, and verification workflows.
  • Identify, prototype, and drive measurable generative artificial intelligence research directions for hardware and chip design.
  • Guide generative artificial intelligence concepts from research and development into internal deployment while ensuring technical rigor and practical value.
  • Coach team members, set clear expectations, and contribute directly to technical execution.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with SystemC or hardware modeling.
  • Prior application-specific integrated circuit implementation of camera or image processing intellectual property.
  • Experience defining or maintaining benchmarking and evaluation frameworks for machine learning or large language model systems.
  • Familiarity with agentic artificial intelligence frameworks or tools used for code generation, review, or analysis.
  • Scripting experience with Python, Tool Command Language, Perl, or shell for register-transfer-level or generative artificial intelligence flows.

About the company

Qualcomm designs and licenses semiconductor technologies for wireless connectivity used in mobile devices, cars, and IoT. Its products include system-on-chips and RF components, plus a large portfolio of patents that it licenses to other companies. The company combines end-to-end semiconductor design with IP licensing to serve mobile, automotive, and IoT markets. Its goal is to expand wireless technology adoption by delivering standards-based silicon solutions and monetizing its intellectual property to support ongoing connectivity innovation.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

San Diego, California

Founded

1985

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Amazon's September 8, 2026 pact targets up to $60 billion through 2036.
  • Qualcomm's September 8, 2026 Dragonwing IQ-8275 Ubuntu certification strengthens industrial AI deployment.
  • September 2026 Snapdragon X2 driver updates improve gaming compatibility across 22 titles.

What critics are saying

  • Apple's modem exit accelerates in September 2026, cutting Qualcomm's highest-margin royalty stream.
  • Amazon's custom-chip deal prices data-center growth below handset margins, pressuring 2027 profitability.
  • NVIDIA, AMD, and internal hyperscaler silicon can sideline Qualcomm's fledgling data-center ambitions.

What makes Qualcomm unique

  • Qualcomm owns cellular patents and modem silicon, anchoring handset licensing economics.
  • Snapdragon X2 and Dragonwing pair power-efficient Arm compute with broad software certification.
  • Amazon chose Qualcomm for multi-generation AI data-center silicon, validating hyperscaler-custom design.

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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

Headcount

6 month growth

2%

1 year growth

1%

2 year growth

0%
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Sep 11th, 2026
Qualcomm and Amazon ink $60B server chip deal — but will it succeed where Qualcomm failed in 2018?

Qualcomm announced Tuesday that Amazon could purchase up to $60 billion of its server chips over the next decade. The companies will co-develop customised silicon for Amazon Web Services data centres, beginning with AI inference chips. This marks Qualcomm's second attempt at the server chip market. In 2017, the company launched its Centriq 2400 processor but shut down the business within a year after failing to secure volume orders. The data centre group shrank from over 1,000 employees to about 50 by late 2018. This time, Amazon's commitment includes binding purchase agreements. Qualcomm issued Amazon warrants for 25 million shares at $161.26, which vest based on executed commercial agreements and actual chip purchases capped at $60 billion through 2036.

Estadão
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Samsung invests $13M in BlueStacks' GamePop Android gaming platform

BlueStacks, maker of the GamePop platform that streams Android games to televisions, has received $13 million in investment from Samsung. The funding reflects shared goals between the companies to expand mobile gaming experiences to other platforms. Intel, Qualcomm, Andreessen Horowitz and Redpoint also back the project, dubbed the "Netflix of games". BlueStacks CEO Rosen Sharma says they aim to bring popular mobile content to living rooms worldwide, noting a shift in gaming preferences among younger players. Last year, BlueStacks launched a compact "free version" of the device requiring a $7 monthly subscription. The Ouya competitor offers over 500 Android games. The original GamePop was discontinued shortly after the GamePop Mini launched.

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Yahoo Finance
Sep 8th, 2026
Amazon partners with Qualcomm on AI inference chips as shares slip 1.3%

Amazon announced a multigeneration partnership with Qualcomm to develop AI inference chips and optical networking technology capable of 1.6 terabits per second. The company's shares fell approximately 1.3% in early trading following the news. AWS generated $42.2 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 37%, with operating income reaching $16.6 billion. Amazon reported that both its chip franchise and broader AI business surpassed $25 billion in annual revenue run rates. Under the partnership, Qualcomm will help design Amazon hardware whilst using more AWS infrastructure and AI services for its own semiconductor development. AWS posted an operating margin of roughly 39.3%. The companies did not disclose pricing, purchase commitments, or a deployment timetable for the collaboration.

Business Today Malaysia
Sep 8th, 2026
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Qualcomm has struck a deal with Amazon to develop custom chips for AI data centres, issuing a warrant that gives Amazon the right to purchase approximately $4 billion in shares. The San Diego-based chipmaker's stock rose more than 7% in early trading following the announcement on Tuesday. The collaboration marks a significant partnership between the two companies in the AI infrastructure space. Custom chip development has become increasingly important as tech giants seek to optimise their data centre operations for artificial intelligence workloads.