Machine Learning / Computer Vision Engineer

Company: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Job Area: Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Video Systems, HW Architecture General Summary: Qualcomm’s Computer Vision Systems team is building the intelligence behind the world’s most advanced Snapdragon‑powered devices, from next‑generation mobile phones to autonomous vehicles, robotics, IOT and immersive AR/VR platforms. The group’s work spans computer vision and video algorithm development, mapping these algorithms to neural‑processing accelerator architectures, and driving efficient on‑device implementation. We are seeking a computer vision algorithm R&D engineer to help drive the future of AI-accelerated perception for advanced robotics use cases, including autonomous navigation, pick-and-place operations, 3D reconstruction and VLA/VLM models. Target platforms range from autonomous mobile robots to humanoids. You will be part of a multidisciplinary team responsible for developing new algorithms adapted and optimized for heterogenous, resource constrained SoC platforms serving mobile, automotive, XR, IOT, and robotics customers. This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of cutting‑edge computer vision algorithms, AI models, and efficient hardware/software implementation applied to real‑world problems. You will have the opportunity to propose new IP, contribute to industry conferences, influence system‑level architecture, and be part of a world-class team that drives solutions from research through deployment. Principal Duties and Responsibilities • Leverage advanced computer vision engineering expertise to research, design, and implement critical computer vision algorithms, including depth estimation (monocular and stereo), sparse and dense optical flow, 3D reconstruction, visual odometry and SLAM. • Develop optimized model architectures and training strategies for deployment of deep learning at the edge, incorporating the latest advances from literature such as transformers, attention, VLA/VLM, and world models. • Implement proof-of-concept pipelines demonstrating end-to-end customer use cases that incorporate Qualcomm technology. • Profile and optimize algorithm and model performance across memory, compute, power, and bandwidth constraints on mobile and embedded platforms. • Collaborate closely with cross‑functional teams (hardware, software, systems, and product) to ensure new algorithms meet customer requirements. Develop meaningful supervised and non-reference quality metrics to assess model performance for different use cases. • Own the training and development of new release models for important customer segments. • Contribute effectively in a fast‑paced, highly collaborative environment with globally distributed, cross‑functional teams. Minimum Qualifications: • Bachelor's degree in Computer or Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Software Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related work experience. OR Master's degree in Computer or Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field and 1+ year of Software Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related work experience. OR PhD in Computer or Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field. Preferred Qualifications: • Strong background in computer vision and video processing algorithms. 3+ years of experience developing and implementing computer vision and video algorithms within system‑level products. • Hands‑on experience with modern deep learning architectures such as transformer architectures and VLA/VLM models. • Understanding of multi-view camera geometry such as intrinsic/extrinsic calibration, lens distortion, and epipolar geometry is a plus. • Some familiarity with robotics concepts such as path planning, navigation, SLAM, object tracking, and multimodal sensor fusion is desirable. • Strong coding skills in Python (C/C++ is a plus) for production‑quality development, optimization, and on‑device deployment, with experience using ML/CV frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, ONNX, and OpenCV. • Comfortable using the latest AI coding assistants and productivity tools to aid development and perform critical analysis (Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT, etc.). Understands the tradeoffs of using AI and values code quality. • Strong ability to work across algorithm, software, and hardware boundaries. • Experience deploying AI algorithms on the edge (ExecuTorch, Jetpack, QNN, etc.), model quantization, and understanding of associated tradeoffs and resource limitations (power, memory bandwidth, etc.) • 3+ years of experience working in a large, matrixed organization. • Publication, patent, or external technical contribution experience is a plus. Level of Responsibility • Self starter, works independently with minimal supervision. • Decision‑making impacts work beyond the immediate work group. • Requires strong verbal and written communication skills. Comfortable in a research and development environment, proposing and defending new ideas, and presenting results to internal groups. Candidates should be able to clearly convey the strengths of a proposed solution and how it compares to competing industry solutions. • Owns the development and release process for a major algorithm feature, working with stakeholders to ensure requirements are met. • Tasks require multi‑step planning, prioritization, and problem‑solving, with flexibility in execution order to achieve objectives efficiently. 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 hi