Embedded Time Operating System Software Engineer; QuRT OS, Zephyr

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > DSP Architecture and Design

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.

• 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 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.

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…