We are looking for an experienced Multimedia Systems Architect who is passionate about building efficient, scalable, and intelligent multimedia pipelines. In this role, you will dive deep into system architecture—analyzing end‑to‑end multimedia flows, identifying hardware and software optimization opportunities, and shaping designs that deliver the best latency, memory footprint, and power efficiency for real‑world use cases.

If you enjoy solving complex cross‑layer problems, collaborating across hardware, software, and algorithm teams, and driving architectural decisions that impact multiple products, this role is an excellent fit.

What You’ll Work On

You will design and develop technologies related to multimedia processing—spanning speech, audio, imaging, computer vision, display, sensing, biometrics, and AR/VR. Your work will focus on:

Analyzing customer and product use cases and defining system‑level requirements
Exploring multimedia pipelines to uncover performance bottlenecks
Proposing architectural, algorithmic, and hardware optimizations
Driving decisions on resource distribution to balance performance, power, and memory
Modeling, simulating, and evaluating system behavior to guide cross‑team implementation

Your contributions will directly influence hardware roadmaps, system designs, and product experience across multiple generations.

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field
10+ years of experience in Systems Engineering or related technical fields
2+ years of experience in multimedia domains such as speech, audio, imaging, computer vision, display, sensing, biometrics, or AR/VR

What You’ll Lead

As a technical leader, you will:

Act as the subject‑matter expert for large‑scale systems‑level multimedia design
Identify design patterns, debug complexities across software and hardware, and guide teams toward robust solutions
Drive design reviews and ensure system performance aligns with product constraints and customer needs
Define technical vision and align cross‑functional teams around requirements and architectural direction
Own test strategies for system performance, collaborating with teams on measurement, validation, and analytics
Evaluate new algorithms and determine optimal hardware/software partitioning across the SOC
Guide ML‑related system integration: data engineering, model evaluation, topology selection
Participate in high‑level planning, roadmap discussions, and technology strategy

Level of Responsibility

This is a high‑impact, high‑ownership role where you will:

Work independently while providing technical mentorship to other engineers
Lead decisions that influence product success, development costs, and schedules
Engage with diverse audiences—from engineering teams to senior leadership—through clear and compelling communication
Shape long‑term engineering practices, methodologies, and architectural frameworks
Solve abstract, cross‑functional problems in ambiguous environments and drive them to resolution
Contribute to organizational strategy, innovation, and technical IP (including patents)

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 8+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
OR
Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 7+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
OR
PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 6+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.

*Works in the lab, can use hazardous chemicals (e.g., glue, machinery).

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 disability-accomodations@qualcomm.com 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).

To all Staffing and Recruiting Agencies: Our Careers Site is only for individuals seeking a job at Qualcomm. Staffing and recruiting agencies and individuals being represented by an agency are not authorized to use this site or to submit profiles, applications or resumes, and any such submissions will be considered unsolicited. Qualcomm does not accept unsolicited resumes or applications from agencies. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Qualcomm employees or any other company location. Qualcomm is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/applications.

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.

Qualcomm expects its employees to abide by all applicable policies and procedures, including but not limited to security and other requirements regarding protection of Company confidential information and other confidential and/or proprietary information, to the extent those requirements are permissible under applicable law.

Pay range and Other Compensation & Benefits:

$211,900.00 - $317,900.00

The 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.

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