Wireless Software Engineer
Qualcomm
Wireless Software Engineer
Qualcomm
Designs mobile chips and licenses wireless patents
General Summary:
Qualcomm is a company of inventors that unlocked 5G — ushering in an age of rapid acceleration in connectivity and new possibilities that will transform industries, create jobs, and enrich lives. But this is just the beginning. It takes inventive minds with diverse skills, backgrounds, and cultures to transform 5G's potential into world-changing technologies and products. This is the Invention Age — and this is where you come in.
The Modem Systems Software team builds the low-level firmware and protocol software that powers cellular connectivity across billions of devices worldwide — spanning smartphones, automotive, IoT, fixed wireless access, and next-generation 5G/6G platforms. We are re-imagining how modem software is designed, built, verified, and maintained in an AI-native paradigm, where large language models, agentic tooling, and machine-assisted engineering are first-class parts of the development lifecycle.
As a Modem Software Engineer, you will design, develop, and optimize real-time embedded software for Qualcomm's modem subsystem (MPSS). You will work close to the metal — writing performant, resource-constrained C/C++ that runs on DSP and Arm cores across cellular protocol layers, device drivers, and RTOS-level components.
Beyond traditional embedded development, this role is explicitly AI-native. You are expected to leverage, build, and improve AI-assisted development workflows — using code-generation agents, LLM-based code review, automated test synthesis, log/crash triage assistants, and retrieval-augmented tooling over our codebase — to dramatically accelerate delivery, quality, and debugging in a highly complex firmware environment.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities:
Design, implement, and optimize real-time embedded modem software across protocol layers, drivers, and platform services, meeting strict latency, memory, and power constraints.
Apply rigorous data-structure and algorithm design to build efficient, scalable firmware components.
Own end-to-end feature delivery: requirements, architecture, implementation, unit/integration testing, on-target bring-up, and maintenance.
Pioneer AI-native development practices within the team — integrate AI coding agents into daily workflows, establish agent rules and prompt patterns, and measurably reduce development and debug cycle time.
Build and maintain AI-assisted tooling for code review, static analysis, test synthesis, and automated crash/log triage over the modem codebase.
Debug and root-cause complex, multi-layer issues on target hardware, increasingly leveraging AI-assisted analysis of logs, traces, and RAM dumps.
Collaborate cross-functionally with systems, hardware, test, and integration teams to deliver production-quality modem firmware.
Contribute to code reviews, design reviews, and continuous improvement of engineering standards — including standards for the responsible and effective use of AI in the SDLC.
Mentor peers on both embedded fundamentals and AI-native engineering techniques.
Minimum Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.Preferred Qualifications:
• Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 1+ year of experience with programming (e.g., C, C++, Python), computer architecture, or embedded systems.
• 1+ year of applicable wireless, semiconductor and/or embedded software industry experience.
• 6+ months of WWAN modem development specific experience.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities:
• Applies Modem knowledge to assist in the design, implementation, verification, validation, and commercialization of Wireless WAN (or cellular) modem air interface RAN technologies software.
Assists in the transceiver, HW control, and wireless Radio Access Stratum software implementation of a multi-RAT (Radio Access Technology) from industry specifications (most notably 3GPP with LTE and 5GNR).
• Applies knowledge of RF and/or WWAN L1/L2/L3 specifications to assist in the implementation of the shared resources of a multi-mode modem.
• Assists in the development of models and simulations to design a well-defined component.
• Collaborates with team members to develop a modem IP that meets industry and customer requirements with high performance (e.g., throughput, latency, power consumption) and acceptable cost (e.g., silicon area, calibration complexity, code size).
• Develops test cases to test/verify design for a well-defined component to validate modem against specifications.
• Writes technical documentation and feature descriptions for Modem Tech SW projects.
Level of Responsibility:
• Works under supervision.
• Decision-making affects direct area of work and/or work group.
• Requires verbal and written communication skills to convey basic, routine factual information.
• Tasks consist of a limited number of steps and can be referenced using directions or manuals.
Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer. If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation during the application/hiring process, rest assured that Qualcomm is committed to providing an accessible process. You may e-mail [email protected] or call Qualcomm's toll-free number found here. Upon request, Qualcomm will provide reasonable accommodations to support individuals with disabilities to be able participate in the hiring process. Qualcomm is also committed to making our workplace accessible for individuals with disabilities. (Keep in mind that this email address is used to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. We will not respond here to requests for updates on applications or resume inquiries).
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EEO Employer: Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or any other protected classification.
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Pay range and Other Compensation & Benefits:
$114,500.00 - $171,700.00The above pay scale reflects the broad, minimum to maximum, pay scale for this job code for the location for which it has been posted. Even more importantly, please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Qualcomm. We also offer a competitive annual discretionary bonus program and opportunity for annual RSU grants (employees on sales-incentive plans are not eligible for our annual bonus). In addition, our highly competitive benefits package is designed to support your success at work, at home, and at play. Your recruiter will be happy to discuss all that Qualcomm has to offer – and you can review more details about our US benefits at this link.
If you would like more information about this role, please contact Qualcomm Careers.
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.
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