Staff Software Engineer – ESL & Bluetooth Systems - Cambridge, UK

Company Qualcomm Technologies International Ltd

Job Area Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering

General Summary We are looking for a strong Software Engineer to join our Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) team working on QCC710-based platforms and operate as a technical leader, working across firmware, hardware, Bluetooth stack, and standards teams, with significant autonomy and influence over product and platform direction. In this role, you will own and evolve critical embedded software components for existing products while leading architecture, design, and research for next-generation systems.

A core aspect of this role is driving innovation beyond current Bluetooth specifications, including contributions to standards, experimental protocol extensions, and system-level design that pushes the limits of low-power, massively scalable ESL deployments.

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.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain and enhance production firmware based on QCC710, ensuring robustness, power efficiency, and long‑term maintainability.
• Architect and prototype next‑generation platform concepts, including radio behavior, protocol design, and system scalability.
• Lead Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) innovation, including:

• Identifying gaps or limitations in current Bluetooth specifications.
• Designing experimental extensions or new profiles.
• Contributing proposals and technical input into Bluetooth SIG or equivalent standards bodies.

• Develop bare‑metal embedded software on ARM Cortex‑M class devices (M0/M3).
• Own integration of BT IP, Qualcomm peripherals and SoC‑level features.
• Influence system architecture.
• Collaborate closely with hardware, validation, and system teams to co‑design HW/SW features.
• Support customer engagements and advanced debugging for complex field or lab issues.
• Work on location technologies such as Bluetooth Channel Sounding.

Required Skills & Experience Programming & Embedded Software

• Expert‑level C programming for embedded systems.
• Strong bare‑metal development experience.
• Proficiency with Python for scripting, automation, and tooling.

Architecture & Hardware

• ARM Cortex‑M/ RISC-V platforms.
• SoC‑level integration and low‑power system design.
• Experience integrating complex IP blocks (e.g., radio, DMA, security, peripherals).

Connectivity

• Deep understanding of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
• Hands‑on experience with Bluetooth protocol stacks and profiles.
• Ability to reason about RF behavior, timing, and power at the system level.

Operating Systems & Build

• Zephyr OS experience.
• SCons or comparable embedded build systems.

Debugging & Tools

• Advanced debugging using Trace32 (Lauterbach).
• Experience with Segger J‑Link and low‑level trace/debug workflows.

Desired / Advantageous Skills

• Prior experience with QCC710‑specific platforms.
• Experience with Qualcomm peripherals (e.g., QUPv3), SPI, I2C, UART.
• Knowledge of Root f Trust and embedded security.
• Prior involvement in Bluetooth SIG, standards bodies, or specification authoring.
• Experience designing systems for large‑scale, ultra‑low‑power device fleets.

Impact & Scope

• Technical ownership of key ESL firmware and platform components.
• Direct influence on next‑generation ESL architecture and Bluetooth evolution.
• High autonomy with significant impact on product direction and standards strategy.
• Role operates at Staff level, with expectations of cross‑team influence and technical leadership consistent with internal Staff Engineer definitions.

Preferred Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of embedded software engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated technical leadership.
• Proven experience delivering production‑quality embedded systems.
• 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.

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