Staff Software Engineer – Host & Secure Compute Software - Cork, Ireland

General Summary:

Qualcomm Cloud Edge in Cork is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead development of Linux-based system software for next‑generation datacenter and secure compute platforms. This role focuses on host‑side software, drivers, and system integration for Qualcomm’s high‑performance inference accelerators and secure compute solutions.

As a Staff Engineer, you will own complex subsystems end‑to‑end, drive architectural decisions, and provide technical leadership across software, hardware, and platform teams. Your work will span driver development, test infrastructure, performance optimization, security enablement, and product commercialization, with a strong emphasis on robust, production‑ready system software.

Host & System Software Development

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• Design, implement, and optimize Linux user‑space and kernel‑adjacent drivers and libraries in modern C++.
  
• Lead development of host software stacks supporting high‑performance AI inference and secure compute workloads.
  
• Drive API design, multi‑threaded systems, and scalable software architectures.
  
• Own feature development, integration, and bring‑up across hardware and software boundaries.
  

Testing, Quality & CI

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• Architect and develop unit, integration, and system‑level tests for CI environments.
  
• Lead functional and performance validation of host software and drivers.
  
• Establish best practices for testability, automation, and long‑term maintainability.
  

Secure Compute & Virtualization (Differentiating Scope)

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• Integrate host software with Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) including Secure VMs (CVM) and Software‑Isolated VMs (SIVM).
  
• Enable secure PCIe device assignment, SR‑IOV, and container/VM‑based workloads.
  
• Implement and support device attestation, lifecycle management, and secure interface configuration.
  
• Collaborate on PCIe firewall, memory protection, and register isolation features.
  

Performance, Debug & Bring‑Up

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• Debug complex host‑side issues including boot flows, PCIe link behavior, log transfer, and overflow handling.
  
• Optimize host software for AI inference performance and low‑latency workloads.
  
• Use advanced debugging, tracing, and profiling tools on Linux platforms.
  

Technical Leadership & Collaboration

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• Provide technical leadership across mixed hardware/software teams.
  
• Drive design reviews, influence system architecture, and mentor senior engineers.
  
• Work closely with hardware, firmware, hypervisor, security, and cloud teams to deliver end‑to‑end solutions.
  
• Support customer deployments and resolve complex system‑level issues.
  

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• Extensive experience with Linux system software development in modern C/C++.
  
• Strong background in Linux user‑space development, API design, and multi‑threading / synchronization.
  
• Solid understanding of Linux internals, kernel concepts, drivers, and system bring‑up.
  
• Experience with UML, OO design, and large‑scale software architecture.
  
• Strong knowledge of SoC architecture (cores, caches, memory hierarchy, interconnects, I/O).
  
• Experience with source code and configuration management (git required).
  
• Proven ability to work at low‑level implementation detail while maintaining system‑level perspective.
  
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.
  
• Comfortable operating in a high‑caliber, cross‑disciplinary engineering environment.
  

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• Typically 6+ years of relevant industry experience in system or platform software.
  
• Demonstrated ownership of complex subsystems across multiple releases.
  
• Ability to set technical direction, not just execute tasks.
  
• Track record of influencing architecture, quality, and engineering standards.
  

These are not strictly required, but will significantly differentiate candidates:

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• Experience with secure compute, confidential computing, or TEEs.
  
• Familiarity with virtualization and container technologies (KVM, Docker, SR‑IOV).
  
• Knowledge of cryptographic protocols, device security, and attestation mechanisms.
  
• Experience optimizing AI/ML inference workloads on system software stacks.
  
• Proficiency in Python for tooling, testing, or automation.
  
• Experience with C/C++ unit testing frameworks (e.g., gtest).
  
• Exposure to cloud technologies, middleware, and protocols.
  
• Working knowledge of PCIe 3.0+.
  
• Linux system administration experience.
  
• Contributions to open‑source kernel or confidential computing projects.
  

Cork has a proud reputation as Ireland's second largest economic engine and is now one of the Top 20 location choices in Europe with 39,000 people being employed by over 170 overseas companies. There's a growing diversity in the region with people from many nationalities relocating to Cork, relishing the opportunity to work and live in a location that offers an excellent quality of life. A gateway to Europe, Cork airport provides access to almost 50 international destinations including transatlantic air routes.

We are an Equal Opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any protected classification.

Apart from working in an open, relaxed and collaborative space, you will enjoy:

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• Salary, stock and performance related bonus
  
• Maternity/Paternity Leave
  
• Employee stock purchase scheme
  
• Matching pension scheme
  
• Education Assistance
  
• Relocation and immigration support (if needed)
  
• Life, Medical, Income and Travel Insurance
  
• Subsidised memberships for physical and mental well‑being
  
• Bicycle purchase scheme
  
• Employee run clubs, including, running, football, chess, badminton + many more
  

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• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
  
• Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
  
• 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.
  

*References to a particular number of years experience are for indicative purposes only. Applications from candidates with equivalent experience will be considered, provided that the candidate can demonstrate an ability to fulfill the principal duties of the role and possesses the required competencies.

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‑ 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). xcfaprz

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.

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