System Validation Lead, Staff (AI Accelerator Platform) - San Diego, California, United States of America
$145,600 - $218,400 USD yearly
Originally posted 2 October 2026 by the employer.
This role focuses on system-level validation for Qualcomm's AI Accelerator Platform.
About the role
This role focuses on content quality and system-level validation enablement for Qualcomm SoCs. You will drive validation strategy, test planning, content development, and execution for the AI accelerator platform.
What you'll do
- Define, develop, and optimize validation tests for multi-processor systems with a focus on system level concurrency.
- Develop and maintain bare-metal software, including low-level hardware interfaces, register and interrupt programming, and clock and power management.
- Collaborate with hardware and software teams to define and validate system level software use cases.
- Debug and troubleshoot System-On-Chip with limited visibility, using development boards and lab equipment.
- Implement and optimize algorithms for performance, power efficiency, and memory footprint.
- Support pre-silicon validation efforts, working with simulation, emulation, and FPGAs.
- Conduct post-silicon bring-up, validation, system level use cases, and system integration.
What you'll need
- BS or MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
- 8 years of experience in silicon validation or platform bring-up.
- Strong understanding of operating systems concepts, caching, virtual memory, and embedded software fundamentals.
- Experience with bare-metal software development and low-level hardware interfaces.
- Experience programming in C, Assembly language.
- Some exposure to scripting language (Python, Linux shell, etc.).
Nice to have
- Experience with developing and applying machine learning models for system validation.
- Familiarity in reading and understanding RTL code (e.g., Verilog, VHDL) and using the knowledge in the context of silicon validation.
Skills: system validation, AI accelerator platform, bare-metal software, SoC debug, pre-silicon validation, post-silicon bring-up
This role has been open 7 days — well below the 41-day median for Post-Silicon Validation roles.
Post-Silicon Validation · Silicon Validation
|
Open roles in category
401
|
Median days open
41 d
|
Median salary
$174k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Qualcomm | All employers we track in this specialty (401 roles · 63 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 34 | 401 |
| Open roles in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family | 132 | 2209 · 111 employers |
| Median days open | 27 d | 41 d (−14 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $174k |
Skills observed across this category: system validation, AI accelerator platform, bare-metal software, SoC debug, pre-silicon validation, post-silicon bring-up
Who's hiring in this category
- AMD · 56 open roles · median 51 d
- Micron Technology · 41 open roles · median 35 d
- Qualcomm (this employer) · 33 open roles · median 28 d
- Graphcore · 22 open roles · median 113 d
- NVIDIA · 21 open roles · median 28 d
- Microchip Technology · 20 open roles · median 66 d
How we counted: 401 open Post-Silicon Validation (Silicon Validation) roles from 63 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 Silicon Validation & Test family row. Figures refresh nightly.