Staff Software Engineer – Platform Debug - Santa Clara, California, United States of America
$151,900 - $227,900 USD yearly
Originally posted 27 March 2026 by the employer.
Low-level software engineering for dynamic and post-mortem debug visibility on high-performance server platforms.
About the role
This role designs, develops, and debugs low-level software that enables and supports debug visibility on high-performance server platforms across firmware, operating systems, platform software, and host tooling. Work focuses on dynamic debug features such as peek/poke and post-mortem crash capabilities at the hardware/software boundary.
What you'll do
- Design, develop, and maintain software to support debug functionality across multiple system layers. - Troubleshoot and resolve complex software defects across integrated components. - Analyze system behavior by gathering and correlating information across modules, subsystems, and interfaces. - Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and software teams to identify root causes and deliver fixes. - Develop and execute unit and integration tests to verify stability and functional correctness. - Perform code reviews and manage priorities, timelines, and deliverables for small- to medium-sized initiatives.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field with 4+ years of software engineering experience (or Master's degree with 3+ years, or PhD with 2+ years). - 2+ years of experience with programming languages such as C, C++, Java, or Python. - Proficiency in C and assembly language. - Systems programming experience using Python or similar languages. - Understanding of computer architecture, high-performance server designs, and hardware/software interfaces. - Experience with modern build systems and distributed version control workflows.
Nice to have
- Master’s degree in Computer Science or Engineering. - 5+ years of experience building software stacks for high-performance systems. - 5+ years of experience in debug software development across tools, firmware, and applications. - Experience with ARM debug architectures or frameworks. - Experience designing or supporting debug capabilities in complex SoCs and CPU architectures, including JTAG debug, trace, and system crash analysis. - Experience developing and debugging platform software, firmware, boot software, and diagnostic tools.
Skills: platform debug, software defects, system behavior, firmware, C++
This role has been open 200 days — well above the 126-day median for Embedded Firmware Engineering roles.
Embedded Firmware Engineering · Hardware Security
|
Open roles in category
26
|
Median days open
126 d
|
Median salary
—
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Qualcomm | All employers we track in this specialty (26 roles · 10 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 8 | 26 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 735 | 6250 · 144 employers |
| Median days open | 200 d | 126 d (+74 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | — |
Skills observed across this category: platform debug, software defects, system behavior, firmware, C++
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm (this employer) · 8 open roles · median 199 d
- NVIDIA · 3 open roles · median 67 d
- NXP Semiconductors · 3 open roles · median 19 d
- STMicroelectronics · 3 open roles · median 39 d
- Alif Semiconductor · 2 open roles · median 121 d
- Ambiq Micro · 2 open roles · median 94 d
How we counted: 26 open Embedded Firmware Engineering (Hardware Security) roles from 10 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.
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