Staff Linux Software Engineer (Multiple Locations)
$141,300 - $211,900 USD yearly
Originally posted 14 October 2026 by the employer.
This role focuses on host-side software, drivers, and system integration for Qualcomm’s high-performance inference accelerators.
About the role
This role involves leading development of Linux-based system software for datacenter inference accelerators, focusing on host-side software, drivers, and system integration.
What you'll do
- Design, implement, and optimize Linux user-space and kernel-adjacent drivers and libraries in modern C++.
- Lead development of host software stacks supporting high-performance AI inference and secure compute workloads.
- Architect and develop unit, integration, and system-level tests for CI environments.
- Debug complex host-side issues including boot flows, PCIe link behavior, log transfer, and overflow handling.
- Optimize host software for AI inference performance and low-latency workloads.
- Provide technical leadership across mixed hardware/software teams.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
- 2+ years of work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python.
- Extensive experience with Linux system software development in modern C/C++.
- Strong background in Linux user-space development, API design, and multi-threading / synchronization.
- Solid understanding of Linux internals, kernel concepts, drivers, and system bring-up.
- Strong knowledge of SoC architecture (cores, caches, memory hierarchy, interconnects, I/O).
- Experience with source code and configuration management (git required).
Nice to have
- Familiarity with virtualization and container technologies (KVM, Docker, SR-IOV).
- Experience optimizing AI/ML inference workloads on system software stacks.
- Proficiency in Python for tooling, testing, or automation.
- Experience with C/C++ unit testing frameworks (e.g., gtest).
- Exposure to cloud technologies, middleware, and protocols.
- Working knowledge of PCIe 3.0.
- Linux system administration experience.
- Linux kernel development experience.
- Contributions to open-source kernel or confidential computing projects.
Skills: Linux system software, kernel-adjacent drivers, host software stacks, AI inference, SoC architecture
This role has been open 0 days — well below the 61-day median for Systems Software Engineering roles.
Systems Software Engineering · Systems Software
|
Open roles in category
689
|
Median days open
61 d
|
Median salary
$217k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Qualcomm | All employers we track in this specialty (689 roles · 72 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 172 | 689 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 715 | 6127 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 78 d | 61 d (+17 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $217k |
Skills observed across this category: Linux system software, kernel-adjacent drivers, host software stacks, AI inference, SoC architecture
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm (this employer) · 166 open roles · median 78 d
- NVIDIA · 137 open roles · median 47 d
- AMD · 64 open roles · median 50 d
- Mobileye · 28 open roles · median 74 d
- Broadcom · 21 open roles · median 51 d
- Arm Holdings · 20 open roles · median 112 d
How we counted: 689 open Systems Software Engineering (Systems Software) roles from 72 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 15 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.