AI/Machine Learning Researcher, Staff (AI Research)

Company Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Job Area Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Machine Learning Researcher

General Summary Qualcomm AI Research is looking for world-class researchers in artificial intelligence to join our team. Members of our global team form a multi-disciplinary core research group within Qualcomm which spans software, hardware, and systems, and we contribute technology deployed worldwide by partnering with our business teams across mobile, compute, automotive, cloud, and IOT. We also perform and publish state-of-the-art research on a wide range of topics in artificial intelligence, ranging from general theory to techniques that enable deployment on resource-constrained devices. We are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of AI across Generative AI, LLM and Multi-Modal Foundation Models, Reasoning, Reinforcement Learning, Agentic AI, and Autonomy, with a strong emphasis on efficient on-device intelligence. Please see our AI focus page at https://qualcomm.com/ai for more details.

Position Summary Ideal candidates will have a strong publication record in top-tier AI/ML conferences and deep expertise in generative AI, including Multi-Modal Foundation Models, Efficient Architectures, LLM Reasoning, Reinforcement Learning, Agentic AI, and Autonomy. You will lead and contribute to high-impact research initiatives, collaborate with global teams, and help transition cutting-edge models into real-world applications. Senior-level candidates are expected to demonstrate research leadership, mentor junior researchers and interns, and drive innovation aligned with Qualcomm’s strategic priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct cutting-edge research in efficient generative AI: LLMs and Multi-Modal Foundation Models, LLM Reasoning, Reinforcement Learning, Agentic AI and others.
• Provide technical leadership in research and applied projects and guide research directions to best support company objectives.
• Mentor interns, junior researchers and engineers, fostering collaboration, growth and excellence in a dynamic R&D environment.
• Lead efforts in transitioning research into production-ready solutions, enabling real-world applications and commercial impact.
• Develop creative solutions with consideration of practical challenges on devices
• Implementation and evaluation of possible solutions in both simulation and on-device environments
• Contribute to Qualcomm’s strategic initiatives in efficient AI and embedded intelligence.
• Publish in top-tier conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCV, ACL, EMNLP).

Required Qualifications

• Proven research excellence demonstrated by publications in top-tier AI/ML conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCV, ACL, EMNLP).
• Deep expertise in Generative AI, LLMs, Multi-Modal Foundation models, LLM Reasoning, Reinforcement Learning, and Agentic AI.
• Hands-on experience with model development pipelines, including training, fine-tuning, evaluation, and optimization.

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD with 4+ years in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related fields or MS with 8+ years of AI research, or related work experience.
• Experience in LLM efficiency research such as efficient attention, inference acceleration, or KV cache compression
• Experience in on-device AI deployment on mobile or edge devices
• Familiar with model optimization techniques such as quantization and distillation.

Why Join Us

• Be part of a globally recognized AI research organization.
• Work on impactful projects with real-world deployment.
• Collaborate with top researchers across Qualcomm’s global network.
• Thrive in an inclusive, innovation-driven environment.
• Enjoy competitive compensation and career development opportunities.

Minimum Qualifications

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

OR

PhD in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field and 2+ years of Hardware Engineering, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related work experience.

• 6+ months of experience developing and/or optimizing machine learning models, systems, platforms, or methods.

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 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).

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EEO Employer: Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or any other protected classification. 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.

Pay Range And Other Compensation & Benefits $179,000.00 - $268,600.00

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.