Qualcomm

Principal Customer Engineering (CE) Lead - Server Processor Platforms

Qualcomm$189K — $283K *
Telecommunications & Hardware
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's or Master's or PhD in Electrical/Electronics Engineering or related field with 6-8+ years of hardware applications engineering or design experience.
  • Strong background in hardware design, applications engineering, or related experience in a customer-facing role.
  • Exceptional communication skills, able to convey complex technical information effectively to diverse audiences.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives and influence internal teams and customers.
  • Knowledge of server platform compliance and interoperability standards is a plus.

Responsibilities

  • Lead hardware support for strategic customers adopting server processor SoCs.
  • Act as primary technical interface for customer hardware teams throughout design and deployment phases.
  • Review customer schematics, PCB layouts, and thermal designs to ensure high performance and reliability.
  • Support validation and debugging of SoC interfaces across high-speed protocols like DDR and PCIe.
  • Collaborate with internal engineering teams to resolve technical challenges from customer feedback.
  • Identify and address gaps in design expectations between customers and internal teams with practical solutions.
  • Prepare technical documentation and training materials for customer enablement.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive benefits offering to support work-life balance.
  • Access to a discretionary annual bonus program.
  • Eligibility for annual RSU grants, enhancing long-term employee investment.
  • Commitment to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
Full Job Description
Job Area:
Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Hardware Applications Engineering

General Summary:

Join a high-impact Customer Engineering team enabling next-generation server processor platforms for one of the world's leading semiconductor innovators. As a Customer Engineering Lead, you will serve as a technical interface between strategic customers-including hyperscalers, OEMs, and ODMs-and internal product teams, helping to launch and sustain industry-leading server SoCs.

This role is ideal for a seasoned technical expert and communicator who thrives in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment. You will drive customer adoption from concept to commercialization and mass production, representing the voice of the customer internally while delivering best-in-class technical support externally. You will be the founding member of a to-be-hired server CE team and will help shape the team's future structure and priorities. While this role will initially be hands-on, it will evolve into a technical leadership position as the team grows. In this role, you'll work closely with internal design, systems, and validation teams, and with external partners across thermal, power, SI/PI, and firmware disciplines. You'll also become deeply familiar with reference platforms and platform implementation guides to ensure customer system designs meet the highest performance and reliability standards.

Minimum Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field and 8+ years of Hardware Applications Engineering or Hardware Design experience or related work experience.
OR
Master's degree in Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field and 7+ years of Hardware Applications Engineering or Hardware Design experience or related work experience.
OR
PhD in Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field and 6+ years of Hardware Applications Engineering or Hardware Design experience or related work experience.

Key Responsibilities
• Lead hardware support for strategic customers adopting server processor SoCs, including hyperscalers, OEMs, and ODMs
• Act as the primary technical interface for customer hardware teams during design, bring-up, validation, and deployment phases
• Perform detailed reviews of customer schematics, PCB layouts, thermal designs, power delivery networks, and signal integrity plans
• Support SoC interface validation and debug across DDR, PCIe Gen6/Gen7, CXL, Ethernet, and other high-speed interfaces
• Collaborate closely with internal engineering, software, validation, and product teams to address technical challenges and customer feedback
• Identify gaps in customer and internal design expectations and propose practical solutions or mitigations
• Familiarize with the reference platforms and platform implementation guides developed by internal teams to effectively support customer development
• Deliver high-quality technical documentation, training, and onboarding material for customer enablement
• Drive continuous improvement of support processes and infrastructure to scale across customer engagements
• Help shape the future of the server CE team and serve as a technical leader as the team grows

Preferred Qualifications
• Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in server platform design, bring-up, or customer-facing technical roles
• Prior experience supporting hyperscalers, OEMs, or ODMs in server hardware deployment
• Deep understanding of high-speed board design principles including: o DDR5, PCIe Gen6/Gen7, CXL, SerDes, and Ethernet o PDN design, SI/PI simulation and debug, EMI/EMC mitigation
• Experience with system bring-up and debug tools: oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, BERTs, etc.
• Familiarity with system firmware (UEFI, BMC, BIOS) interactions during hardware validation
• Exposure to server platform compliance and interoperability standards (e.g., OCP, JEDEC, PCI-SIG)
• Programming or scripting experience (e.g., Python, shell) to aid automation or debug • Excellent communication, organizational, and leadership skills
• Demonstrated ability to influence internal teams and manage customer engagements with high autonomy

Bonus Skills
• Familiarity with SoC integration, including silicon debug or validation experience
• Previous participation in server platform standardization efforts (e.g., OCP NIC 3.0, Open Compute Server specs)
• Experience with AI/ML, HPC, or cloud workload requirements on server platforms

Pay range and Other Compensation & Benefits:
$189,200.00 - $283,800.00

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.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Ventures is the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated. Founded in 2000, Qualcomm Ventures is a corporate venture capital fund with over 150 active portfolio companies and more than 20 exits over a billion dollars, including 99 Taxis, Cruise Automation, Fitbit, Invensense, NQ Mobile, Waze, and more. As a global investor, Qualcomm Ventures helps connect entrepreneurs to the resources, relationships, and deep industry expertise they need to succeed in the mobile technology ecosystem.

Qualcomm Careers

Joining Qualcomm offers more than just a job opportunity; it's a gateway to a career infused with innovation, leadership, and growth. As a pivotal leader in the world of wireless technology, Qualcomm stands at the forefront of digital communication advancements. Our team of professionals is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what's possible, making this an ideal time to become part of our global community.

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At Qualcomm, you will collaborate with some of the brightest minds in the industry, engaging in work that transforms the way the world connects, computes, and communicates. Our diverse team is driven by a shared passion for creating path-breaking wireless technologies that empower mobile ecosystems worldwide.

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Qualcomm is dedicated to the professional growth of its employees, offering unparalleled benefits, diverse career paths, and extensive training programs that encourage professional and personal development. Whether you're looking for leadership roles or specialized technical positions, Qualcomm provides the resources and support to help you drive your career forward.

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Learn more about Qualcomm
Size
45,000 employees
Market Cap
$122.5 billion
Industry
Net Income
$6.7 billion
Founded
1985
5 Year Trend
+14.7%
Revenue
$26.6 billion
NASDAQ

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