Rack Systems Architect
$220,200 - $330,400 USD yearly
Originally posted 27 April 2026 by the employer.
About the role
The Rack Systems Architect defines and delivers rack-scale compute systems spanning compute, networking, power, and cooling for data center platforms. The role translates platform capabilities based on the Snapdragon SoC into scalable, deployment-ready reference platforms and production architectures.
What you'll do
- Define and own rack-scale architecture, including compute topology, networking fabric, power distribution, and rack integration. - Develop OCP-aligned Rack Level Designs (RLDs), including ORv3-based architectures. - Lead rack-level power architecture (48V/54V), including redundancy, efficiency, and scalability. - Define rack-level networking and interconnect architectures spanning Ethernet, PCIe, and emerging fabrics. - Partner with thermal teams on liquid cooling and air cooling architectures, evaluating system-level trade-offs. - Drive mechanical layout, cabling, serviceability, manufacturability, and evaluate technologies like CXL and rack-scale disaggregation.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field with 8+ years of systems engineering or data center hardware architecture experience (or Master's with 7+ years, or PhD with 6+ years). - Experience with rack-scale or system-level architecture, rack integration, and high-speed architectures including PCIe, Ethernet, SerDes, and DDR. - Technical expertise balancing power (48V/54V), thermal, and networking trade-offs at system scale. - Cross-functional leadership experience across hardware, software, and systems teams. - Proven track record authoring architecture specifications, design documents, and trade-off analyses.
Nice to have
- Master’s degree in a relevant field and 15 years of experience in platform and rack-scale architecture. - Deep knowledge of OCP standards and ORv3 rack architectures with experience delivering rack-scale systems in production data center environments. - Experience with liquid cooling technologies including DLC, RDHx, and immersion. - Exposure to CXL, composable infrastructure, or rack-scale disaggregation. - Experience working with OEMs/ODMs and hyperscale ecosystems.
Skills: rack systems architect, data center platforms, OCP-aligned RLDs, ORv3-based architectures, rack-level power architecture, platform capabilities
This role has been open 180 days — well above the 112-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · Serdes Highspeed
|
Open roles in category
92
|
Median days open
112 d
|
Median salary
$200k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Qualcomm | All employers we track in this specialty (92 roles · 35 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 9 | 92 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 739 | 6277 · 144 employers |
| Median days open | 199 d | 112 d (+87 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $200k |
Skills observed across this category: rack systems architect, data center platforms, OCP-aligned RLDs, ORv3-based architectures, rack-level power architecture, platform capabilities
Who's hiring in this category
- NVIDIA · 14 open roles · median 53 d
- Qualcomm (this employer) · 9 open roles · median 199 d
- AMD · 5 open roles · median 131 d
- Astera Labs · 4 open roles · median 38 d
- Intel Corporation · 4 open roles · median 14 d
- Keysight Technologies · 4 open roles · median 152 d
How we counted: 92 open Hardware Systems Engineering (Serdes Highspeed) roles from 35 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 25 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.