STEM OPT Software Architect Jobs
Software Architect roles qualify for STEM OPT's 24-month extension if your degree falls under an eligible CIP code in computer science, software engineering, or a related STEM field. Your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify and sign your I-983 training plan before your extension begins. That's 36 months total to build your architecture career in the U.S.
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Get Access To All JobsCompany:
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Job Area:
Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering
General Summary:
Qualcomm's software CPU (aka application processor) architecture group develops long-term software roadmaps (for a horizon of three to five years). It is responsible for defining architecture specifications, developing prototypes, and engaging with the software and hardware worldwide partners to influence products development. It is also acting as an operational execution team enabling commercialization of the most up-to-date worldwide CPUs integrated in Snapdragon’s chipsets for markets such as: Handsets, IOT devices, Automotive, Compute/Laptops, XR, etc.
The team is currently looking for an experienced CPU software engineer, who can contribute to design and development of low-level firmware for CPU bootstrapping, power controller etc. The candidate will specifically be engaged in the following domains:
- Design and development of firmware of boot, debug, idle and active CPU power management
- CPU software/hardware design trade-offs
- Coordinating debugging of critical SW issues that are artifacts of any high-performance CPU microarchitecture (prefetching, speculation, memory ordering etc...)
- Definition of short and long-term SW architecture roadmap in accordance with Arm’s architecture ISA evolution
- Represent the CPU SW teams in engagements with Arm/ RISC-V architects and third-party software partners (e.g., Google, MSFT, RISE etc.)
Since the contributions of the CPU software organization affect a large span of products, the function provides an uncommon exposure to multiple technology domains related to system-on-chip development. To fully benefit from the role’s opportunities, the candidate must demonstrate a motivation to influence the products roadmap, as he or she, will directly contribute to Qualcomm’s most innovative products.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
OR
- Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
OR
- PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
- 2+ years of work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 10+ Years of Experience in the embedded domain to design, develop and support software solutions on multi-core CPUs with Strong C/C++ programming skills.
- Very deep expertise in the subject of computer architecture especially in more than one of the following areas – Memory consistency, Coherency, Memory Management, Virtualization, Security/ Sandboxing, Super Scalar Architectures
- Good understanding of system wide bottlenecks that may influence CPU performance/ throughput.
- Very good exposure to ARM or RISC-V architectures.
- Embedded Platforms experience including low-level drivers and firmware, kernel, and user-space components.
- Design and development of software for heterogeneous compute platforms consisting of ARM or RISC-V CPUs and specialized hardware accelerators in an embedded SoC systems.
- Usage of J-TAG or ICE debuggers
- Experience in real-time SW development for embedded products.
- Hands on experience of driver development on any RTOS.
- Detailed understanding of some of SoC hardware blocks - Clocks, PLLs, GPIO, Interrupt Controllers (GIC, PLIC), Peripherals (SPI/I2C/PCIE/CAN/Ethernet/USB/UFS).
- Motivated self-starter with excellent verbal and written communication skills, demonstrated ability to work with engineers/partners/customers across different geographies.
- Demonstrated experience working with senior management in a corporate environment.
- Demonstrated experience in business process streamlining and transformation that includes disciplined approach to digitized services enabling.
- Hands-on technical lead who is not hesitant to dig into the details where needed to get first-hand knowledge of the issues and play an active and personal role in steering team success.
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 disability-accomodations@qualcomm.com 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).
To all Staffing and Recruiting Agencies:
Our Careers Site is only for individuals seeking a job at Qualcomm. Staffing and recruiting agencies and individuals being represented by an agency are not authorized to use this site or to submit profiles, applications or resumes, and any such submissions will be considered unsolicited. Qualcomm does not accept unsolicited resumes or applications from agencies. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Qualcomm employees or any other company location. Qualcomm is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/applications.
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:
$134,800.00 - $202,200.00
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.
Company:
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Job Area:
Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering
General Summary:
Qualcomm's software CPU (aka application processor) architecture group develops long-term software roadmaps (for a horizon of three to five years). It is responsible for defining architecture specifications, developing prototypes, and engaging with the software and hardware worldwide partners to influence products development. It is also acting as an operational execution team enabling commercialization of the most up-to-date worldwide CPUs integrated in Snapdragon’s chipsets for markets such as: Handsets, IOT devices, Automotive, Compute/Laptops, XR, etc.
The team is currently looking for an experienced CPU software engineer, who can contribute to design and development of low-level firmware for CPU bootstrapping, power controller etc. The candidate will specifically be engaged in the following domains:
- Design and development of firmware of boot, debug, idle and active CPU power management
- CPU software/hardware design trade-offs
- Coordinating debugging of critical SW issues that are artifacts of any high-performance CPU microarchitecture (prefetching, speculation, memory ordering etc...)
- Definition of short and long-term SW architecture roadmap in accordance with Arm’s architecture ISA evolution
- Represent the CPU SW teams in engagements with Arm/ RISC-V architects and third-party software partners (e.g., Google, MSFT, RISE etc.)
Since the contributions of the CPU software organization affect a large span of products, the function provides an uncommon exposure to multiple technology domains related to system-on-chip development. To fully benefit from the role’s opportunities, the candidate must demonstrate a motivation to influence the products roadmap, as he or she, will directly contribute to Qualcomm’s most innovative products.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
OR
- Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
OR
- PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
- 2+ years of work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 10+ Years of Experience in the embedded domain to design, develop and support software solutions on multi-core CPUs with Strong C/C++ programming skills.
- Very deep expertise in the subject of computer architecture especially in more than one of the following areas – Memory consistency, Coherency, Memory Management, Virtualization, Security/ Sandboxing, Super Scalar Architectures
- Good understanding of system wide bottlenecks that may influence CPU performance/ throughput.
- Very good exposure to ARM or RISC-V architectures.
- Embedded Platforms experience including low-level drivers and firmware, kernel, and user-space components.
- Design and development of software for heterogeneous compute platforms consisting of ARM or RISC-V CPUs and specialized hardware accelerators in an embedded SoC systems.
- Usage of J-TAG or ICE debuggers
- Experience in real-time SW development for embedded products.
- Hands on experience of driver development on any RTOS.
- Detailed understanding of some of SoC hardware blocks - Clocks, PLLs, GPIO, Interrupt Controllers (GIC, PLIC), Peripherals (SPI/I2C/PCIE/CAN/Ethernet/USB/UFS).
- Motivated self-starter with excellent verbal and written communication skills, demonstrated ability to work with engineers/partners/customers across different geographies.
- Demonstrated experience working with senior management in a corporate environment.
- Demonstrated experience in business process streamlining and transformation that includes disciplined approach to digitized services enabling.
- Hands-on technical lead who is not hesitant to dig into the details where needed to get first-hand knowledge of the issues and play an active and personal role in steering team success.
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 disability-accomodations@qualcomm.com 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).
To all Staffing and Recruiting Agencies:
Our Careers Site is only for individuals seeking a job at Qualcomm. Staffing and recruiting agencies and individuals being represented by an agency are not authorized to use this site or to submit profiles, applications or resumes, and any such submissions will be considered unsolicited. Qualcomm does not accept unsolicited resumes or applications from agencies. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Qualcomm employees or any other company location. Qualcomm is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/applications.
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:
$134,800.00 - $202,200.00
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.
See all 248+ STEM OPT Software Architect Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new STEM OPT Software Architect Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding STEM OPT Authorization in Software Architect
Verify your CIP code before applying
Check that your degree's Classification of Instructional Programs code appears on the DHS STEM OPT designated degree list. Software engineering, computer science, and information systems degrees typically qualify, but interdisciplinary programs sometimes don't. Confirm with your DSO before targeting roles.
Filter for E-Verify employers in your search
Any employer that hires you on STEM OPT must be enrolled in E-Verify. Ask recruiters directly during the screening call, or search the E-Verify employer search tool to confirm enrollment before investing time in the interview process.
Negotiate your I-983 training plan early
Software Architect roles require a detailed I-983 showing how your day-to-day work relates to your STEM degree. Draft the learning objectives section before your offer letter is finalized so your employer's HR team isn't scrambling after you sign.
Target companies with active H-1B filing history
Employers who've sponsored H-1B visa petitions for software roles have already built the compliance infrastructure to support STEM OPT. Use Migrate Mate to surface companies with DOL Labor Condition Application filing history for software architect-level positions.
Apply before your OPT end date to trigger cap-gap
If your employer files an H-1B petition before your OPT expires, cap-gap protection extends your work authorization through September 30. For Software Architect roles, coordinate with your employer to submit the USCIS registration during the March lottery window.
Benchmark your offer against prevailing wage tiers
Your I-983 must reflect a bona fide employment relationship, and low offers can draw scrutiny. Use the OFLC Wage Search to look up the prevailing wage for Software Architect under SOC code 15-1243 in your metro area before evaluating any offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my degree qualify for the STEM OPT extension if I'm applying for Software Architect jobs?
Your degree qualifies if its CIP code appears on the DHS STEM designated degree list. Degrees in computer science, software engineering, information technology, and related fields typically qualify. Your DSO can confirm your specific CIP code. The qualification is tied to your degree program, not the job title itself, so a qualifying STEM degree supports your extension even in a senior architecture role.
How do I confirm a Software Architect employer is enrolled in E-Verify?
You can search the official E-Verify employer search tool by company name to confirm enrollment before you accept an offer. Ask your recruiter directly as well, since E-Verify enrollment is a legal requirement for any employer hiring a STEM OPT student. If the employer isn't enrolled, they can't legally hire you on the STEM OPT extension, and USCIS can terminate your authorization.
What goes into the I-983 training plan for a Software Architect role?
Your I-983 must describe how your day-to-day Software Architect responsibilities connect to your STEM degree, including specific learning objectives and supervision structure. For architecture roles, this typically covers system design methodologies, technical leadership, and engineering principles tied to your field of study. Both you and your employer's authorized representative must sign it, and your DSO must approve it before USCIS processes your extension.
What happens to my STEM OPT if my employer loses E-Verify enrollment during my extension?
USCIS requires your employer to maintain E-Verify enrollment for the full duration of your STEM OPT extension. If your employer loses enrollment, you must stop working and either find a new E-Verify enrolled employer or risk falling out of status. USCIS can terminate your STEM OPT authorization if the employer is no longer compliant, so monitor your employer's status and notify your DSO immediately if enrollment lapses.
Where can I find Software Architect jobs where the employer already understands STEM OPT requirements?
Migrate Mate lists Software Architect positions filtered for employers with verified E-Verify enrollment and active DOL LCA filing history, so you're not spending time on companies that haven't sponsored STEM workers before. Employers with existing STEM OPT or H-1B infrastructure are less likely to stall on I-983 preparation or E-Verify compliance, which matters when your authorization window is fixed.