Senior Staff System Performance Engineer

Qualcomm

Confirmed live yesterday High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: San Diego, CA
Salary: $179,000–$268,400 / yr
Posted: 50 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Closes: Jan 19, 2027
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $189k

This role $224k

$136k most similar roles pay here $283k

This role pays more than 73% of similar roles. Most pay $154,525–$224,261 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $224k versus about $189k 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 623 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $148,300–$222,500 across 603 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Senior Staff System Performance Engineer

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As a System Performance Engineer, Senior Staff on the System Performance Team, you will optimize and validate performance for Snapdragon Chipsets across mobile, compute, automotive, IoT, server, and data center AI segments. You will serve as a technical lead to mentor junior engineers while collaborating with cross-functional hardware and software teams to improve power, performance, and thermal behavior. Your daily responsibilities include profiling complex concurrent system use-cases in Android, Linux, and Windows environments, identifying SoC optimization areas, and triaging root causes for complex issues. You will utilize Python, C/C++, and tools for Vulkan, OpenGL, DX12, or CUDA to analyze workloads like AI and LLM. The role requires deep expertise in ARM v8 and v9 specifications, memory hierarchy, system interconnects, and software power management stacks to ensure products meet rigorous performance requirements.

Skills

Python C/C++ Android Linux Windows SoC CUDA Vulkan OpenGL DX12 AI LLM Power Management Performance Analysis Automation Memory Hierarchy SMMU GIC Coresight-PMU

What you'll do

Profile and analyze complex concurrent system use-cases in emulation and software environments across Android, Linux, and Windows.
Define and document performance and power analysis plans for CPU, GPU, and AI/ML workloads.
Identify specific areas for performance optimization within both software and hardware architectures of the SoC.
Lead the triage of complex performance issues to determine root causes and present findings to stakeholders.
Implement optimal power, performance, and thermal solutions in collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams.
Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers across multiple projects.
Create concise reports and recommendations for senior executives to drive business decisions and architecture choices.
Develop automation tools to improve team operational efficiency.

What we're looking for

Master’s degree in Computer Engineering is preferred.
10+ years of practical post-silicon experience in power and performance analysis of complex SoCs is preferred.
3+ years of work experience interacting with senior leadership is preferred.
Strong programming and scripting skills in Python, C, and C++ are required.
Knowledge of ARM SoC concepts, architecture specifications (SMMU, GIC, Coresight-PMU), and ARM v8/v9 specifications is required.
Experience with Vulkan, OpenGL, DX12, or CUDA is preferred.
Understanding of memory hierarchy, system interconnects, and SW power management stacks is required.
Knowledge of state-of-the-art workloads including AI and LLM is preferred.