Customer Project Engineer – ADAS -Director Engineering

Company:

Qualcomm India Private Limited

Job Area:

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering

General Summary:

The Customer Project Engineer is the primary technical leader and single point of contact for all engineering topics across all programs with a designated OEM customer. In this highly visible role, you will interface directly with the OEM’s engineering executives and Qualcomm’s senior technical and business leadership.

You will:

• Develop a deep understanding of the OEM’s roadmap, vehicle and backend architecture, requirements, and constraints
• Master Qualcomm’s automotive and ADAS product portfolio from a systems and platform perspective
• Lead and coordinate all technical aspects of business acquisition, delivery execution, and post-SOP maintenance
• Represent the “voice of the customer” in internal forums, escalating needs and driving alignment across Qualcomm engineering, product management, program management, and sales

This is a hands-on, senior technical leadership role requiring strong ADAS domain expertise, system thinking, and excellent communication skills.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Technical Leadership

• Act as the chief technical counterpart to the OEM’s engineering leadership for all ADAS and related programs.
• Serve as the main technical point of contact covering SoC, platform software, algorithms, tools, and system integration topics.
• Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with the customer’s engineering executives, architects, and program leads.

Customer Roadmap & System Architecture

• Develop and maintain a detailed understanding of the customer’s:
  • ADAS/AD roadmap and feature roadmap
  • E/E and compute architecture (in-vehicle and backend/cloud)
  • Safety, security, cybersecurity, and regulatory requirements
• Anticipate customer needs and translate them into Qualcomm platform requirements, features, and solutions.

Business Acquisition & RFQ/RFI Support

• Lead the technical workstreams for RFIs/RFQs and advanced engagement discussions with the OEM.
• Define technical solution proposals based on Qualcomm’s product portfolio, including SoCs, software stacks, SDKs, and reference platforms.
• Work closely with sales, product management, and program management to build competitive, feasible, and compelling technical offers.

Program Execution & Delivery

• Provide overarching technical leadership for all active programs with the OEM, across all phases (concept, development, validation, SOP, and maintenance).
• Coordinate and synchronize Qualcomm internal engineering teams (HW, SW, systems, safety, security, tools, test) to meet customer milestones.
• Drive resolution of critical technical issues, ensuring timely escalation and clear communication to both customer and Qualcomm management.
• Support design reviews, technical workshops, joint debugging sessions, and on-site integration activities as needed.

Voice of the Customer & Internal Alignment

• Represent the customer’s priorities, constraints, and pain points in internal reviews, roadmap discussions, and management meetings.
• Provide structured feedback to product management and engineering on gaps, competitive pressure, and future requirements.
• Ensure internal stakeholders understand customer commitments, program risk, and required trade-offs.

Technical Thought Leadership & Mentoring

• Act as a technical role model: hands-on, detail-oriented, and able to deep-dive into complex system issues when required.
• Guide and mentor cross-functional Qualcomm teams working on the customer, helping them prioritize and solve problems effectively.

Contribute to internal best practices for customer engagement and ADAS solution definition.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in senior engineering roles in the ADAS / AD domain at an OEM, Tier-1, semiconductor, or relevant technology supplier.
• Strong background in automotive systems engineering with focus on:
  • ADAS/AD functions and perception / sensor fusion / planning & control
  • Compute platform architecture (SoC, GPU/DSP, accelerators)
  • Embedded SW stacks (OS such as QNX/Linux/Android, middleware, frameworks, toolchains)
• Proven experience as a customer-facing technical leader, such as chief engineer, system architect, technical program lead, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams without direct authority in a complex matrix organization.
• Solid understanding of automotive safety and quality frameworks (e.g., ISO 26262, ASPICE, cybersecurity standards) and their impact on architecture and execution.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills in English (German strongly preferred), capable of engaging both engineering and executive audiences.
• Strong problem-solving skills, data-driven and structured, with ability to remain calm and decisive under pressure.
• Willingness to travel regularly to customer and Qualcomm sites (domestic and international).

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 8+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.

OR
Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 7+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
OR
PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 6+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.

• 4+ years of work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

• Experience working directly with major global OEMs on large-scale ADAS/AD platform programs.
• Deep familiarity with one or more of the following domains:
  • Computer vision / AI / sensor fusion on automotive platforms
  • HW/SW co-design and performance optimization on SoC-based ADAS ECUs
  • Cloud-backend integration for AD/ADAS data and function updates
• Prior experience at Qualcomm, a major semiconductor vendor, or a Tier‑1 integrating high-performance automotive SoCs.
• Master’s degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or related field.

Personal Attributes

• Technically curious and hands-on; able to deep dive into logs, traces, and system behavior when needed.
• Outspoken and confident, yet collaborative and respectful; able to challenge and be challenged by both customer and internal teams.
• Strong ownership mindset, acting as “CEO of the account” from a technical perspective.
• Able to balance strategic, long-term roadmap thinking with tactical, day-to-day execution.

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