Staff Software Engineer (Mobile Android)
Qualcomm Technologies
San Diego, CA · Posted October 6, 2026
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Where San Diego, CA ranks
Where San Diego, CA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #1Cities hosting the most business conferences in the West Coast78 conferences · of 17
- #2Cities hosting the most human resources conferences6 conferences · of 10
- #3Best cities for life sciences and biotech jobs454 openings · of 41
- #3Best cities for aerospace and defense jobs377 openings · of 67
- #3Cities hosting the most legal services conferences7 conferences · of 17
- #3Cities hosting the most staffing & human capital conferences6 conferences · of 8
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing does not state pay. Across 229 open staff software engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $218,000 to $260,000 and the median is $242,000.
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Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
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About the job
Company: Qualcomm Innovation Center, Inc. Job Area: Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering General Summary: As a leading technology innovator, Qualcomm pushes the boundaries of what's possible to enable next-generation experiences and drives digital transformation to help create a smarter, connected future for all. We provide the Core OS and Platform for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and developers to build compelling mobile computing devices (smartphones, tablets etc.) that run the best apps/services for everyone in the world. For this role we are seeking a talented and motivated Software Engineer with expertise in operating systems, frameworks, and platform. The candidate will have opportunities to define and lead feature development and commercialization of new features across the Android Stack, Core Platform and SDKs. 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. Desired Qualifications: 7+ years of experience or proven expertise in using a modern multi-paradigm language like C++, Java or Rust to ship software at scale Strong understanding of data structures and algorithms and Object-Oriented Programming Prior leadership experience involving decision making where outcomes impacted multiple teams Solid understanding of Operating System Concepts, Concurrency, and Interfaces Familiarity with ARM processors, Mobile SoC architecture - subsystems, hypervisor/virtualization, security, memory Excellent Debugging skills and familiarity with performance monitoring techniques and mobile memory management Strong proficiency in using git for S/W development. Familiarity with release engineering, CI/CD environments An ideal candidate would be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full Android stack as we continue to push technology and the core platform forward. Preferred Qualifications: 7+ years/extensive experience working with operating systems like embedded Linux and/or Android is preferred Experience driving change within an organization and leading complex technical projects Any prior experience with Android OS, SDK/NDK and architecture (HALs, Security and Treble) is a huge plus In depth expertise with modern languages like C++14 or newer OR Rust is a plus Exposure to SDK development and API Design is a nice to have Prior Experience or Participation in Open-Source Projects and working with a standards body and or external partners is a plus Principal Duties and Responsibilities Leverages advanced Software engineering knowledge and experience to design, develop and implement embedded/on-device software modules and systems Leads complex technical and/or product efforts involving many engineers Analyzes user needs, software requirements, and time and cost constraints to build and customize software for optimal operational efficiency Participates in and leads design, coding, unit testing, debugging, and integration efforts. Performs complex code reviews, triages and fixes issues to ensure the quality of code Collaborates with individuals outside the software function (e.g., Hardware, Systems, and Test engineers) to ensure solutions work with other components of a specific project Writes detailed technical documentation for complex Software projects Level Of Responsibility Works independently with minimal supervision Provides technical guidance and mentorship to other team members Decision-making is significant in nature and affects work beyond immediate work group Requires verbal and written communication skills to convey information. May require basic negotiation, influence, tact, etc. Has a moderate amount of influence over key organizational decisions (e.g., is consulted by senior leadership to make key decisions) Tasks often require multiple steps which can be performed in various orders; extensive planning, problem-solving, and prioritization must occur to complete the tasks effectively 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). To all Staffing and Recruiting Agencies : Our Careers Site is only for individuals seeking a job at Qualcomm. Staffing and recruiting agencies and individuals being represented by an agency are not authorized to use this site or to submit profiles, applications or resumes, and any such submissions will be considered unsolicited. Qualcomm does not accept unsolicited resumes or applications from agencies. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Qualcomm employees or any other company location. Qualcomm is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/applications. 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 : $141,300.00 - $211,900.00 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 .