CPU Software Architecture Senior Engineer
$117,800 - $176,600 USD yearly
Originally posted 5 October 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role drives the CPU software architecture for various products using Qualcomm Custom CPU, focusing on CPU sub-system feature software architecture, enablement, and firmware development.
What you'll do
- Design, develop, create, modify, and validate embedded and cloud edge software, applications, and utility programs.
- Analyze user needs and software requirements to design and customize software for optimal operational efficiency.
- Design and implement software modules for products and systems.
- Participate in the design, coding for large features, unit testing, debugging fixes, and integration efforts.
- Perform code reviews and regression tests as well as triage and fix issues to ensure code quality.
- Write technical documentation for software projects.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Software Engineering experience.
- 2+ years of academic or work experience with C, C++, Java, or Python.
- Good Programming skills using C, C, or ARM assembly.
Nice to have
- Master's Degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science or related field.
- 3 years of Experience in Embedded system development.
- Understanding of ARM CPU architecture fundamentals and ARMv8/v9 ISA.
- Performance Evaluation and Optimization of applications for ARM architecture based SoCs.
- Familiarity of typical Open-Source development tools and frameworks.
- Experience in software or driver development for operating systems like Linux or RTOS (zephyr RTOS).
- Understanding of RISCV architecture fundamentals.
Skills: embedded system development, ARM CPU architecture, Linux, RTOS, driver development, software architecture
This role has been open 3 days — well below the 58-day median for Embedded Firmware Engineering roles.
Embedded Firmware Engineering · Systems Software
|
Open roles in category
725
|
Median days open
58 d
|
Median salary
$168k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Qualcomm | All employers we track in this specialty (725 roles · 80 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 122 | 725 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 720 | 6047 · 146 employers |
| Median days open | 67 d | 58 d (+9 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $168k |
Skills observed across this category: embedded system development, ARM CPU architecture, Linux, RTOS, driver development, software architecture
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm (this employer) · 127 open roles · median 59 d
- Micron Technology · 61 open roles · median 99 d
- AMD · 59 open roles · median 31 d
- NVIDIA · 57 open roles · median 59 d
- Lattice Semiconductor · 41 open roles · median 30 d
- NXP Semiconductors · 29 open roles · median 78 d
How we counted: 725 open Embedded Firmware Engineering (Systems Software) roles from 80 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 9 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.