below marketmost similar roles pay hereabove market
This role pays more than
84%
of similar roles. Most pay
$170,075–$225,500
— the blue band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$246k
versus about
$198k
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.
The CPU Software Architecture Principal Engineer joins the software CPU architecture group to develop long-term roadmaps and define architecture specifications for Snapdragon chipsets. This role involves designing and developing low-level firmware for CPU bootstrapping and power controllers, while managing software and hardware design trade-offs. Key responsibilities include coordinating the debugging of critical software issues related to high-performance CPU microarchitecture, such as prefetching, speculation, and memory ordering. The engineer will define short and long-term software architecture roadmaps aligned with Arm ISA evolution and engage with Arm, RISC-V architects, and third-party partners. Required skills include proficiency in C, C++, Java, or Python, alongside expertise in memory consistency, virtualization, and security. The work focuses on system-on-chip development for handsets, IoT, automotive, and compute platforms.
Design and develop low-level firmware for CPU bootstrapping and power controllers.
Develop firmware for boot, debug, idle, and active CPU power management.
Coordinate debugging of critical software issues caused by high-performance CPU microarchitectures.
Define short-term and long-term software architecture roadmaps based on Arm ISA evolution.
Represent CPU software teams in technical engagements with Arm, RISC-V architects, and third-party partners.
Analyze software and hardware design trade-offs for CPU power management.
Develop software for heterogeneous compute platforms consisting of ARM or RISC-V CPUs and hardware accelerators.
What we're looking for
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 8+ years of Software Engineering experience.
Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 7+ years of Software Engineering experience.
PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 6+ years of Software Engineering experience.
4+ years of work experience with programming languages such as C, C++, Java, or Python.
15+ years of experience in the embedded domain to design, develop, and support software solutions on multi-core CPUs with strong C/C++ skills (preferred).
Very deep expertise in computer architecture areas such as memory consistency, coherency, management, virtualization, security, or super scalar architectures (preferred).
Very good exposure to ARM or RISC-V architectures (preferred).
Experience in embedded platforms including low-level drivers, firmware, kernel, and user-space components (preferred).
CPU Architecture
Micro-architecture
C
C++
Python
Perl
SIMD
Vector Architectures
RTL
Data Structures
Algorithms
Software Design Patterns
OS Internals
Compiler Technologies
Branch Prediction
Prefetchers
CPU Architecture
Micro-architecture
C
C++
Python
Perl
SIMD
Vector Architectures
RTL
OS Internals
Compiler Technologies
Data Structures
Algorithms
Software Design Patterns
CPU Architecture
Micro-architecture
C
C++
Python
Perl
SIMD
Vector Architectures
RTL
Data Structures
Algorithms
Software Design Patterns
OS Internals
Compiler Technologies
Branch Prediction
Prefetchers