AI​/Machine Learning Researcher, Sr. Staff Engineer Level; AI Research San Diego

Position: AI / Machine Learning Researcher, Sr. Staff Engineer Level (AI Research San Diego)

Company:Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Job Area:Engineering Group, Engineering Group >

Machine Learning Researcher

General

Summary

About Qualcomm AI Research

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 for more details.

Position Summary

Ideal candidates will have demonstrated experience at the intersection of AI research and commercialization. Strong candidates will have a 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.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead efforts in transitioning research into production-ready solutions, enabling real-world applications and commercial impact.
• Conduct cutting-edge research in efficient generative AI: LLMs and Multi-Modal Foundation Models, LLM Reasoning, Reinforcement Learning, Agentic AI and others.
• 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).

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 6+ 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 4+ 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.

Required Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related fields with 4+ years of AI research, or related work experience, or MS with 6+ years of experience.
• 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

• 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,…