Embedded Real Time Operating System Staff Software Engineer (QuRT OS, Zephyr)

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General Summary:

General Summary

Qualcomm is seeking a Staff Embedded Software Engineer (6+ years of experience) to join the Core Platform Kernel software team. The Core Platform Kernel team develops and deploys real-time operating system (RTOS) software across multiple subsystems on Qualcomm SoCs, servicing Mobile Handset, XR, Compute, Automotive, Cloud AI, and IoT market segments. The team is responsible for the deployment and evolution of two RTOS platforms at scale: QuRT OS and Zephyr RTOS.

As part of Qualcomm's continued investment in open source software, this role will help drive our Zephyr strategy and serve as a technical leader for Qualcomm's engagement with the Zephyr ecosystem. We are specifically seeking engineers who can contribute to and help maintain upstream Zephyr components while enabling Zephyr deployment across Qualcomm products. This role is well suited for engineers who enjoy deep technical work, influence system architecture, collaborate across organizational boundaries, and have a passion for building software that benefits both Qualcomm products and the broader open-source community.

What You'll Do As a Staff Engineer, you will:

• Design, implement, and maintain RTOS and low-level system software components.
• Own and drive resolution of complex system-level issues involving performance, stability, scalability, and correctness.
• Lead feature development from problem definition through deployment.
• Analyze crash dumps, traces, and logs to perform deep root-cause analysis.
• Collaborate closely with hardware, systems, validation, and software teams to deliver robust solutions.
• Participate actively in design and code reviews, influencing technical direction and engineering standards.
• Drive Qualcomm's engagement with the Zephyr open-source community through technical discussions, code reviews, and upstream collaboration.
• Mentor engineers on upstream development practices, code quality, and community engagement.
• Influence technical roadmaps, architecture decisions, and software quality initiatives across the organization.

You will be expected to take ownership of key technical areas, make sound engineering tradeoffs, and help raise the effectiveness of the broader team through technical leadership and example. QuRT OS QuRT OS is Qualcomm's real-time operating system optimized for the Hexagon DSP, enabling high-performance, low-power workloads including edge AI, modem processing, audio, sensor processing, and other specialized compute workloads. In the QuRT OS space, you will:

• Drive enhancements to expose the full capability of the Hexagon processor architecture.
• Design and implement new RTOS features with attention to correctness, performance, and maintainability.
• Own features end-to-end: requirements, architecture, implementation, testing, documentation, integration, and support.
• Improve CI, automation, and test infrastructure to increase development velocity and software quality.

Zephyr RTOS The Core Platform Kernel team is a major adopter of Zephyr RTOS across Qualcomm SoCs and subsystems. We maintain a scalable Zephyr platform while contributing improvements back to the upstream community. This role is focused on technical leadership, stewardship, and upstream engineering within the Zephyr ecosystem. Successful candidates will possess a strong understanding of RTOS architecture, embedded systems, and open-source development practices. In the Zephyr space, you will:

• Serve as a maintainer or technical owner for key Zephyr subsystems, drivers, platform infrastructure, or architecture components.
• Review, guide, and integrate contributions from both internal and external developers.
• Design and implement new Zephyr capabilities with an emphasis on upstream acceptance and long-term maintainability.
• Lead architecture discussions and influence technical direction within the Zephyr project.
• Drive Qualcomm's upstream contribution strategy and ensure internal development aligns with community best practices.
• Collaborate with maintainers and contributors from other companies across the Zephyr ecosystem.
• Enable Zephyr deployment across Qualcomm platforms through board support packages, architecture enablement, driver development, and system software integration.
• Improve testing, CI infrastructure, release readiness, and software quality across upstream and Qualcomm-maintained components.
• Represent Qualcomm in technical working groups, design reviews, and community discussions.
• Help shape the future evolution of Zephyr through upstream contributions, reviews, and technical leadership.

How You Work (Tools, Automation & Modern Engineering)

Staff Engineers at Qualcomm are expected to be force multipliers, not just individual contributors. In practice, this means:

• Applying modern development tools, including AI-assisted tools, when they meaningfully improve productivity or code quality.
• Leveraging automation, scripting, CI systems, debuggers, profilers, static analysis tools, and simulation environments to improve engineering effectiveness.
• Exercising strong engineering judgment regarding when automation is appropriate and when deeper hands-on investigation is required.
• Continuously identifying opportunities to improve engineering workflows, developer productivity, and software quality.

You are not expected to be an AI expert, but you are expected to be tool-fluent, curious, adaptable, and pragmatic.

Minimum Qualifications:

OR

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field and 3+ years of Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related work experience.

OR

PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field and 2+ years of Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related work experience.

• 2+ years of experience with high-performance microprocessor design.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong hands-on experience with RTOS concepts and low-level system software.
• Professional development experience in C/C++ (assembly language experience is a plus).
• Deep understanding of RTOS fundamentals such as scheduling, interrupts, synchronization, memory management, and multicore systems.
• Experience debugging complex embedded software using logs, traces, crash dumps, and hardware debuggers.
• Demonstrated experience contributing to collaborative software projects using Git and modern code-review workflows.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across teams and technical organizations.
• Experience with Zephyr, QuRT, FreeRTOS, Linux kernel, or other commercial/open-source operating systems.
• Prior experience serving as a maintainer, subsystem owner, or technical lead within an open-source project.
• Significant upstream contribution history within Zephyr or similar open-source communities.
• Experience reviewing and integrating code contributions from multiple developers.
• Familiarity with board support packages (BSPs), device drivers, architecture enablement, or kernel development.
• Experience with multicore SoC architectures and embedded processor subsystems.
• Experience with off-target development and simulation environments such as QEMU or ISS platforms.
• Experience with CI and automation systems such as Jenkins or GitHub Actions. Experience with safety- or security-related software development practices including ASPICE, ISO 26262, or ISO 21434.
• Experience collaborating across company boundaries in community-driven software development environments.

Why This Team

This team builds foundational RTOS software deployed across a broad range of Qualcomm products and markets. We work close to the hardware, solve difficult system-level problems, and influence both platform architecture and engineering practices. Qualcomm is making a long-term investment in Zephyr RTOS as a strategic platform across multiple product lines. This role provides a unique opportunity to shape both Qualcomm's internal RTOS strategy and the future direction of one of the industry's most important open-source embedded operating systems. The team values analytical thinking, technical excellence, collaboration, clear communication, and continuous improvement. Staff Engineers are expected to lead through technical expertise, mentor others, influence architecture decisions, and help deliver high-quality software at scale while remaining deeply hands-on with the code. If you are passionate about RTOS development, open-source software, and helping shape the future of Zephyr, we'd love to hear from you.

Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer. If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation during the application/hiring process, rest assured that Qualcomm is committed to providing an accessible process. You may e-mail [email protected] or call Qualcomm's toll-free number found here. Upon request, Qualcomm will provide reasonable accommodations to support individuals with disabilities to be able participate in the hiring process. Qualcomm is also committed to making our workplace accessible for individuals with disabilities. (Keep in mind that this email address is used to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. We will not respond here to requests for updates on applications or resume inquiries).

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Pay rangeand Other Compensation & Benefits :

The above pay scale reflects the broad, minimum to maximum, pay scale for this job code for the location for which it has been posted. Even more importantly, please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Qualcomm. We also offer a competitive annual discretionary bonus program and opportunity for annual RSU grants (employees on sales-incentive plans are not eligible for our annual bonus). In addition, our highly competitive benefits package is designed to support your success at work, at home, and at play. Your recruiter will be happy to discuss all that Qualcomm has to offer - and you can review more details about our US benefits at this link.

If you would like more information about this role, please contact Qualcomm Careers.