Senior Engineer – Embedded Systems & Platform Software (Zephyr / FreeRTOS)
Qualcomm•Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
fulltime
Other
5+ years
Company Qualcomm India Private Limited
Job Area Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering
General Summary Role Summary
As a Senior Engineer, you design, develop, and maintain embedded system software and platform components for resource‑constrained processors running real‑time operating systems, with primary focus on Zephyr RTOS and FreeRTOS. You work hands‑on across RTOS integration, low‑level drivers, power management, and system bring‑up, enabling reliable, efficient, and scalable software foundations for application and middleware teams.
Key Responsibilities
Embedded Platform Software Development (Zephyr / FreeRTOS)
Develop and integrate Zephyr- and FreeRTOS-based platform software using modular, maintainable build and delivery models.
Contribute to system‑level design decisions with a focus on performance, memory efficiency, reliability, and power optimization.
Align platform components with Zephyr subsystems (init levels, Kconfig, Devicetree, logging, PM) and FreeRTOS architecture (tasks, queues, timers, ISRs, memory management) to ensure consistent system behavior.
Own RTOS-level integration aspects including scheduling behavior, interrupt latency considerations, timing sources, and platform configuration.
Driver & Hardware Abstraction Development
Implement and maintain low‑level drivers and hardware abstraction layers for SoC/MCU platforms, including:
Power regulators, clocks, and voltage management
Inter‑processor or inter‑subsystem communication mechanisms
Peripheral and bus drivers (e.g., UART, I2C, SPI)
Ensure drivers follow Zephyr driver model + Devicetree bindings and/or FreeRTOS-compatible driver abstractions, integrating cleanly with system startup and runtime services.
Debug complex issues involving interrupts, concurrency, priority inversion, timing jitter, and hardware–software interaction.
Power Management & Low‑Power Operation
Implement and debug sleep, wake‑up, and low‑power state transitions for embedded processors in Zephyr PM and/or FreeRTOS low-power/tickless modes.
Integrate power‑related hardware events (buttons, interrupts, regulators, wake sources) with RTOS power management and platform policies.
Analyze and resolve power consumption issues, unintended wake‑ups, and power‑state bugs affecting system efficiency.
Correlate RTOS activity (threads/tasks/ISRs) with residency and wake sources to identify hotspots and eliminate unnecessary wakeups.
Platform Bring‑Up & Validation
Support platform bring‑up on early hardware, emulation, or simulation environments.
Deliver compile‑ready and validated software builds that unblock application and system integration.
Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and validation teams to diagnose and fix early‑stage platform issues (boot, clocks, pinmux, memory, interrupts, peripheral enumeration).
Create repeatable validation workflows (smoke tests, regression checks, power/perf checks) for Zephyr/FreeRTOS platform stability.
Technical Collaboration & Reviews
Participate in design discussions and code reviews for platform and driver components.
Work with cross‑functional teams to clarify requirements and resolve integration challenges across RTOS, BSP, middleware, and applications.
Provide technical inputs for external or internal stakeholders regarding Zephyr/FreeRTOS support, platform capabilities, and limitations.
Document platform architecture, integration guidelines, and debug playbooks to improve developer productivity.
Scope & Impact
Your work enables core system functionality for embedded products and subsystems built on Zephyr RTOS and FreeRTOS.
You directly influence system stability, power efficiency, and developer productivity through platform architecture, robust drivers, and predictable RTOS behavior.
You operate as a senior individual contributor, owning complex components while collaborating closely with system architects and technical leads.
Minimum Qualifications
OR
Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 1+ year of Software Engineering or related work experience.
OR
PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field.
Preferred Qualifications
Principal Duties And Responsibilities Key Responsibilities
Embedded Platform Software Development
Driver & Hardware Abstraction Development
Power Management & Low‑Power Operation
Platform Bring‑Up & Validation
Technical Collaboration & Reviews
Scope & Impact
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