CPU-Core RTL Director

Qualcomm

Confirmed live yesterday High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Austin, TXSanta Clara, CA
Salary: $228,400–$342,600 / yr
Posted: 39 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Closes: Mar 17, 2027
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $227k

This role $286k

$159k $362k

below market most similar roles pay here above market

This role pays more than 85% of similar roles. Most pay $199,800–$254,750 — the blue band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $286k versus about $227k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm is a leading American semiconductor and telecommunications company based in San Diego, CA.

Qualcomm currently has 575 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $147,900–$221,900 across 550 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · CPU-Core RTL Director

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The CPU-Core RTL Director leads a team of engineers within the CPU Engineering group to develop high-performance, low-power CPU cores. This leadership role oversees the entire development lifecycle, from early architectural exploration and microarchitectural implementation to RTL design, verification readiness, physical design convergence, and silicon bring-up. The manager is responsible for delivering complex subsystems including instruction fetch, branch prediction, execution pipelines, and memory hierarchies. Key responsibilities involve making critical technical tradeoffs regarding power, performance, area, and frequency while managing cross-functional activities with Architecture, DFT, and Firmware teams. Candidates must possess expert knowledge of SystemVerilog and modern RTL development methodologies. The role solves the technical challenge of translating complex architectural requirements into scalable, production-ready silicon for mobile, automotive, XR, and AI computing platforms.

Skills

SystemVerilog RTL Design Microarchitecture CPU Design Physical Design DFT CAD Emulation Timing Closure Power Optimization Silicon Debug PPA SIMD MMU Virtualization Automation

What you'll do

Lead a team of RTL engineers to design and deliver complex CPU subsystems from concept to silicon.
Translate architectural requirements into scalable microarchitectural implementations for high-performance, low-power CPU cores.
Make critical technical tradeoffs involving power, performance, area, frequency, and project schedule.
Drive milestone planning including architecture reviews, RTL development, design freezes, and tapeout preparation.
Lead bug triage and resolution for functional, performance, power, and timing issues.
Coordinate cross-functional activities among Architecture, Verification, Physical Design, Power, DFT, and Firmware teams.
Support silicon bring-up, performance characterization, and post-silicon debug activities.
Recruit, mentor, and develop engineering talent while establishing technical growth plans.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
12+ years of experience in CPU RTL design, microarchitecture, or related semiconductor development.
3+ years of experience leading engineering teams or large technical projects.
Strong understanding of modern high-performance CPU architecture and microarchitecture.
Proven experience delivering complex RTL designs into production silicon.
MS or PhD degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline (preferred).
Expert knowledge of SystemVerilog and modern RTL development methodologies (preferred).
Deep expertise in CPU domains such as instruction fetch, out-of-order execution, or cache systems (preferred).

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