XR - Principal Software Engineer
$192,600 - $289,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 10 August 2026 by the employer.
This role involves working across system architecture, embedded software, graphics, AI/ML, computer vision, and customer enablement to deliver innovative XR experiences on Snapdragon platforms.
About the role
This role involves leading the architecture, design, and development of XR platform software to drive Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and wearable computing platforms. This role delivers innovative XR experiences on Snapdragon platforms.
What you'll do
- Lead architecture, design, and development of XR platform software including operating systems, middleware, frameworks, and customer-facing solutions.
- Work closely with product management, customers, hardware teams, and software organizations to define platform requirements and technical roadmaps.
- Analyze AR/VR use cases, data flows, and HW/SW partitioning to develop scalable and efficient system architectures.
- Translate product requirements into implementation specifications and software designs.
- Drive architectural trade-offs involving performance, latency, power, thermal efficiency, and overall user experience.
- Lead debugging, performance optimization, design reviews, code reviews, and system validation activities.
What you'll need
- BS/MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
- Experience developing complex software systems and platform software.
- Strong proficiency in modern C (C 11/14/17/20).
- Experience developing software on heterogeneous computing systems including CPUs, GPUs, DSPs, and AI accelerators.
- Strong system-level debugging, profiling, and performance optimization skills.
- Experience with Android and/or Linux-based embedded platforms.
Nice to have
- Experience with AR/VR/MR, smart glasses, wearable devices, or XR platforms.
- Expertise in one or more of the following areas: Computer Vision, AI/ML, Camera Software, Graphics/Rendering, SLAM, Sensor Fusion, or XR Frameworks.
- Experience conducting architecture trade-off analysis involving power, performance, latency, and scalability.
- Experience bringing commercial products from concept through customer deployment.
Skills: XR platform software, operating systems, middleware, Android/Linux-based embedded platforms, heterogeneous computing systems
This role has been open 68 days — slightly above the 59-day median for Systems Software Engineering roles.
Systems Software Engineering · Systems Software
|
Open roles in category
686
|
Median days open
59 d
|
Median salary
$213k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Qualcomm | All employers we track in this specialty (686 roles · 71 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 169 | 686 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 705 | 6114 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 78 d | 59 d (+19 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $213k |
Skills observed across this category: XR platform software, operating systems, middleware, Android/Linux-based embedded platforms, heterogeneous computing systems
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm (this employer) · 169 open roles · median 78 d
- NVIDIA · 134 open roles · median 47 d
- AMD · 63 open roles · median 51 d
- Mobileye · 27 open roles · median 72 d
- Broadcom · 22 open roles · median 53 d
- Arm Holdings · 20 open roles · median 114 d
How we counted: 686 open Systems Software Engineering (Systems Software) roles from 71 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 17 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.