Staff Engineer, RMA

Qualcomm

Confirmed live today High trust

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
San Diego, CA
Salary
$131,800–$197,800 / yr
Posted
4 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live today
Closes
Mar 16, 2027

Market check

Salary context

Below market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $198k
This role $165k
$119k most similar roles pay here $249k

This role pays less than 88% of similar roles. Most pay $174,937–$222,000 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $165k 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 615 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $155,400–$232,600 across 593 roles with salary data.

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View all roles at Qualcomm

At a glance

TL;DR · Staff Engineer, RMA

Staff Engineer, RMA joins the Customer Quality Team to resolve product quality issues associated with Return Merchandise Authorizations. This role involves leading debug and data-gathering activities in partnership with cross-functional teams including Design, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain to address customer-reported failures. The engineer performs technical evaluations of returned devices at system and device levels to identify root causes for issues like ESD, mechanical damage, or SMT Reflow. Day-to-day responsibilities include managing analysis cycle times, improving internal quality systems, and providing the voice of the customer to internal stakeholders. Key tools and technologies utilized include ATE, X-ray, CSAM, IV curve analysis, and bench testing. The role focuses on solving complex semiconductor and SoC-level problems involving application processors, memory subsystems, and modem technologies to improve overall product reliability and reduce outgoing quality defects.

What does a Engineer earn in California?

Median $211000 from 96 postings across 28 companies.

See salary data

What you'll do

  • Conduct technical evaluations of returned devices using tools like ATE, X-ray, CSAM, and IV curve analysis to determine root causes.
  • Lead the resolution of major customer issues while reducing occurrences of "No Fault Found" and common mishandling cases.
  • Act as a primary liaison between customers, product core teams, and branch quality engineering teams.
  • Track actions, schedules, and owners to maintain targeted RMA analysis cycle times.
  • Drive improvements in internal quality systems to reduce outgoing product quality defects.
  • Provide the "voice of the customer" to internal stakeholders to improve satisfaction metrics.
  • Define priorities for corrective actions and guide their implementation across internal teams.
  • Generate regular status reports for problem-solving teams and management while providing timely updates to customers.

What we're looking for

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Material Science, Computer Science, or a related field.
  • Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering (preferred).
  • 4+ years of Reliability Engineering experience with a Bachelor's degree, 3+ years with a Master's, or 2+ years with a PhD.
  • 10 years of experience with digital SoC products, semiconductor technologies, and system-level debugging (preferred).
  • Experience analyzing and debugging customer issues involving application processors, CPUs, GPUs, DSPs, AI/NPU subsystems, memory, and modem technologies (preferred).
  • Experience in microelectronics, SMT processes, semiconductor fabrication, assembly, and product quality engineering (preferred).
  • Strong experience with quality methodologies, statistical analysis, root-cause investigation, and structured problem-solving techniques (preferred).
  • Proficiency with debug tools such as ATE, X-ray, CSAM, IV curve analysis, and various failure analysis tools (preferred).

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