Company:Qualcomm Atheros, Inc.
Job Area:Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering
General Summary:Role OverviewWe are seeking an experienced
WLAN Firmware Engineer with deep expertise in
datapath architecture to design, develop, and optimize high-performance Wi-Fi firmware running on embedded processors. The role focuses on
Tx/Rx datapath design,
host-firmware interfaces,
buffer/credit management, and
performance-critical firmware subsystems across next-generation WLAN standards.
You will work closely with
MAC/PHY, host driver, platform, and silicon teams to deliver scalable, low-latency, and power-efficient datapath solutions for consumer, enterprise, XR and IoT Wi-Fi products.
Why Join Us- Work on cutting-edge WLAN silicon and firmware architectures.
- Influence core datapath designs used across multiple product lines.
- Collaborate with industry-leading experts in wireless systems and embedded software.
Key Responsibilities- Implement performance-critical datapath firmware modules in C for embedded RTOS or bare-metal environments.
- Optimize datapath code for throughput, latency, CPU utilization, and power efficiency.
- Drive performance tuning for Wi-Fi 6/6E/7 features including MU-MIMO, OFDMA, TWT, and advanced rate control interactions.
- Analyze firmware traces, logs, and statistics to identify datapath bottlenecks.
- Add robust debug, telemetry, and error-handling hooks for datapath observability.
Cross-Functional Collaboration- Collaborate with host driver teams to align datapath APIs, flow control, and feature offloads.
- Work with MAC/PHY and silicon teams to co-design firmware-hardware interactions.
- Support system integration, customer escalations, and field issue triage related to datapath behavior.
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.
Preferred Qualifications:- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
- 5-8+ years of embedded firmware development experience, with significant focus on WLAN or networking datapath.
- Strong proficiency in C, with deep understanding of low-level memory management and concurrency.
- Hands-on experience with Tx/Rx datapath design, buffer pools, descriptor rings, and DMA-based architectures.
- Solid understanding of IEEE 802.11 protocols and MAC-layer data handling.
- Experience working in resource-constrained, real-time firmware environments.
- Direct experience with Wi-Fi 6 / 6E / 7 (802.11ax / 11be) datapath features.
- Experience designing high-throughput, low-latency firmware datapaths for AP or STA products.
- Strong debugging skills using firmware logs, memory dumps, and trace frameworks.
- Experience mentoring junior engineers or leading architecture reviews.
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 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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Pay range and Other Compensation & Benefits: $151,900.00 - $227,900.00
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.
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