Principal Engineer - Core Platform Storage

Job description

## **Company:** Qualcomm India Private Limited ## **Job Area:** Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering **General Summary:** ### We are seeking a **Senior Staff Engineer** to provide technical leadership in the **Core Platform Storage** domain. This role involves driving architecture, design, development, and enablement of storage software across multiple Qualcomm chipsets and operating systems. The ideal candidate will combine deep hands‑on expertise with system‑level thinking, cross‑functional leadership, and the ability to influence platform‑wide storage direction. ### ### Key Responsibilities ### Technical Leadership & Architecture - ### Drive **storage software architecture** and design across next‑generation Qualcomm multiprocessor chipsets. - ### Work closely with **Product Management and Program Management** to define new feature requirements, scope deliverables, and drive key performance metrics. - ### Lead innovation in **storage architectures** across UFS3/4/5, eMMC, NVMe, NAND, SPI‑NOR, SD/SDIO, and related technologies. - ### Provide technical guidance on **performance, scalability, reliability, and power optimization** across storage subsystems. - ### Influence system‑level design decisions spanning **hardware, firmware, and software**. ### Software Design & Development - ### Design, develop, and support **device drivers and storage frameworks** across multiple operating systems including **Linux, Windows, and RTOS**. - ### Own and contribute to **Linux kernel storage subsystems**, including block I/O path, schedulers, memory management interactions, and DMA. - ### Design and develop **file systems, flash management layers, and storage utilities** for embedded and external storage devices. - ### Develop and maintain **complex data structures and flash algorithms** to optimize storage performance and endurance. - ### Drive **Linux upstream and open‑source contributions** (Linux, UEFI, Zephyr), ensuring long‑term maintainability and standards compliance. ### Debug, Support & Quality - ### Lead **failure triage, root‑cause analysis, and system‑level debugging** across platforms. - ### Leverage kernel debugging tools such as **debugfs, ftrace, blktrace**, and other instrumentation frameworks. - ### Ensure high software quality across the full **software development life cycle**, from requirements and design through commercialization and post‑launch support. ### Cross‑Functional Collaboration - ### Collaborate closely with **hardware designers, validation teams, customer engineering, and dependent software teams**. - ### Act as a technical point of contact for **internal and external stakeholders** on storage‑related features and issues. - ### Support customer enablement and issue resolution for complex storage use cases. ### Team & Project Leadership - ### Provide **technical leadership and mentorship** to a team of engineers. - ### Support people management activities (for ~5–6 engineers); prior experience leading larger teams is a strong plus. - ### Drive **project planning, task breakdown, estimation, prioritization, and execution tracking**. - ### Ensure delivery predictability, quality, and risk mitigation across projects. ### ### Required Qualifications - ### Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in **ECE, EEE, CSE**, or a related field. - ### **12–14 years** of experience in **embedded systems and device driver development**. - ### Strong hands‑on experience with **storage technologies**, including: - ### UFS, eMMC, SD/SDIO - ### NAND, SPI‑NOR - ### NVMe, SDXpress - ### Deep expertise in **embedded C programming**, including: - ### Data structures and algorithms - ### System‑level programming (file handling, multithreading, synchronization) - ### Strong experience with **OS kernel and device driver development** (Linux / Windows / RTOS). - ### Solid understanding of: - ### Storage software stacks and block I/O path - ### Page cache, buffer cache, virtual memory - ### MMU and DMA concepts - ### Hands‑on experience with **Linux Block Subsystem** and I/O schedulers - ### Excellent communication, collaboration, and leadership skills. ### ### Preferred Qualifications - ### Experience contributing to or working closely with **Linux upstream**, **UEFI**, or **Zephyr** communities. - ### Experience with **real‑time and embedded operating systems**, including Zephyr RTOS. - ### Exposure to **multi‑SoC platform enablement** and customer‑facing storage issues. - ### Prior people leadership or mentoring experience at Staff/Senior Staff level. ### ### Senior Staff Level Expectations - ### Recognized technical expert in **storage software and architecture**. - ### Drives **platform‑level impact** across multiple products and teams. - ### Operates effectively in **high‑ambiguity problem spaces** with minimal direction. - ### Influences technical direction beyond immediate team boundaries. ### Acts as a **technical multiplier** through mentorship and architectural leadership **Minimum Qualifications:** • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 6+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience. OR Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 5+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience. OR PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience. • 3+ years of work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc. **Applicants**: 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](mailto:disability-accomodations@qualcomm.com) or call Qualcomm's toll-free n