Principal System Architect Jobs in San Diego, CA

Company:

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Job Area:

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > ASICS Engineering

General Summary:

We are seeking a senior-level Low Power Chip Architect / System Engineer with deep expertise in mixed-signal IC and system design and a proven record of chip-level technical leadership . This is a high-impact role responsible for defining the architecture, driving transistor-level design, and enabling system-level integration of ultra-low-power integrated circuits (ICs) for Robotics and Industrial IoT (IIoT) applications.

The successful candidate will bridge high-performance Analog Front Ends (AFEs) with digital logic and firmware, leading programs from initial architecture and specification through simulation, verification, tape-out, and early silicon bring-up . This role requires strong cross-functional collaboration, sound architectural judgment, and the ability to operate effectively in ambiguous environments.

** Position requires to be onsite in San Diego, 5 days a week. **

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field and 8+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.

OR
Master's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field and 7+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.
OR
PhD in Science, Engineering, or related field and 6+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.

Responsibilities:

Architecture & Technical Leadership

• Define and support end-to-end system architecture , including partitioning across analog, digital, firmware, and system domains
• Drive architectural trade-offs across power, performance, noise, latency, and silicon area
• Partner with chip leads and system leads from concept definition through silicon bring-up and validation

Mixed-Signal Design & Integration

• Lead feasibility studies and transistor-level design of mixed-signal building blocks including ADCs, DACs, PLLs/DLLs, LDOs, and SerDes
• Architect and integrate ultra-low-power AFEs optimized for battery-operated IIoT and Robotics sensor ASICs
• Drive full-chip execution in collaboration with internal teams and third-party IP vendors and design houses

Modeling, Verification & Silicon Execution

• Develop behavioral and system-level models using MATLAB/Simulink (or equivalent tools) to evaluate noise, linearity, and SNR
• Perform comprehensive pre-silicon verification across PVT corners using industry-standard simulators
• Support post-silicon bring-up, characterization, and reliability qualification , including HTOL and burn-in
• Collaborate with packaging, test, and system teams to ensure successful productization

System & Application Enablement

• Support multi-modal sensor data acquisition, sensor fusion, and edge AI inference workflows
• Contribute to hardware–software integration for efficient system-level deployment

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (or related field) with 8+ years of post-degree industrial IC/system design experience OR
• M.S. in Electrical Engineering (or related field) with 10–12+ years of industrial IC/system design experience
• Strong expertise in low-power analog and mixed-signal (AMS) IC design
• Hands-on experience with Cadence Virtuoso, AMS sims, verilog and related analog design tools
• Proficiency with Spectre, HSPICE , and board-level simulation methodologies
• Solid understanding of PDKs, LVS, DRC, and PEX flows
• Proven experience with ESD and reliability standards (HBM, CDM, TLP)
• Advanced academic background in Electrical Engineering or a closely related field
• Extensive industry experience in mixed-signal IC and system-level design
• Demonstrated experience as a Chip Lead, System Architect, or Technical Lead
• Proven ability to drive end-to-end silicon programs from concept to production
• Strong capability to work independently and provide technical direction with minimal supervision
• Experience with digital design flows , including synthesis and timing analysis
• Familiarity with firmware development and software integration
• Working knowledge of embedded interfaces such as I2C, I3C, SPI, and MIPI
• Proficiency in Python or similar scripting languages
• Experience with deep submicron CMOS technologies and low-power fabrication processes
• Exposure to IC packaging, board-level validation, and system bring-up
• Background in sensor systems, sensor fusion, or edge AI applications

Soft Skills:

• Strong technical leadership and ownership mindset
• Excellent cross-functional communication and collaboration skills
• Ability to mentor and guide engineers across analog, digital, layout, and system domains
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Comfortable making architecture-level decisions under ambiguity
• Effective at managing external vendors, IP providers, and design partners
• Results-driven with a strong focus on execution and quality

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EEO Employer: Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or any other protected classification.

Qualcomm expects its employees to abide by all applicable policies and procedures, including but not limited to security and other requirements regarding protection of Company confidential information and other confidential and/or proprietary information, to the extent those requirements are permissible under applicable law.

Pay range and Other Compensation & Benefits :

$192,000.00 - $288,000.00

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 .