FY27 Intern - Machine Learning Compiler & Performance Engineering Intern - Canada (16 months)

Company:

Qualcomm Canada ULC

Job Area:

Interns Group, Interns Group > Interim Engineering Intern - Systems

Qualcomm Overview:

Qualcomm is a company of inventors that unlocked 5G ushering in an age of rapid acceleration in connectivity and new possibilities that will transform industries, create jobs, and enrich lives. But this is just the beginning. It takes inventive minds with diverse skills, backgrounds, and cultures to transform 5Gs potential into world-changing technologies and products.

This is the Invention Age - and this is where you come in.

General Summary:

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm relentlessly innovates transforming businesses, enriching lives and fortifying societies. Our solutions are pivotal in crafting a smarter, interconnected world. Building on our nearly 40-year history of era-defining technology breakthroughs, we deliver leading-edge AI, high performance, lower-power computing, and unrivaled connectivity.

We’re proud to be the partner of choice to many of the world’s largest enterprises. Together with our ecosystem partners, we enable next-generation digital transformation. At Qualcomm, we are engineering human progress.

Join Us in Shaping the Future

At Qualcomm, we're committed to engineering human progress by delivering intelligent computing everywhere. We're passionate about harnessing the power of technology to transform industries and improve lives. Our early career programs offer limitless opportunities for growth, mentorship, and meaningful work.

By joining our team, you'll be part of a community that's pushing the boundaries of what's possible in AI, computing, and connectivity. With a global footprint spanning over 30 countries, you'll have the chance to collaborate with diverse talent and contribute to projects that are shaping the future of technology.

Our early career programs are designed to attract inventive minds, offering a platform to contribute to our long-term innovation pipeline. You'll be part of a community that values collaboration, creativity, and continuous learning. Our programs provide real-world experience, technical skills, and professional development opportunities, empowering you to make a meaningful impact and achieve your career goals.

Join us for our 2027 intern class in Markham, Canada !

Maximize Your Opportunities

Our internship hiring model routes candidates from this application into multiple project specific roles. Your "Profile Visibility" choice will guide how we manage your data across our systems. To be considered for the full breadth of internship opportunities, select the option to use your profile data for "Any Roles Globally".

If you choose to limit your data to "Only The Role I'm Applying For", it will restrict the opportunity for you to be considered across matching internship opportunities.

You can update your profile visibility preferences at any time through the Candidate Home Portal.

Steps:

• Log Into Your Eightfold Candidate Home Account
• Hover Over The "Profile" Dropdown
• Open Settings
• Edit "Profile Visibility"

Role Overview

As an Intern on the Machine Learning Systems Team , you will work at the intersection of machine learning, compiler technology, and AI hardware architecture. You will collaborate closely with software, firmware, performance architecture, and hardware teams to improve the execution of state-of-the-art AI models on Qualcomm's Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

The ML Systems team focuses on two key areas:

• Development and evolution of production and next-generation ML/AI compilers for efficient mapping of AI workloads to Qualcomm hardware.
• Analysis of ML/AI algorithms and workloads to help shape future Qualcomm hardware and software innovations.

The team develops and maintains production compiler technology that ships as part of the Qualcomm AI Runtime SDK and is used to accelerate AI workloads across Qualcomm platforms. In addition, the team builds and utilizes performance modeling and simulation tools to evaluate current and future AI architectures.

This role provides a unique opportunity to develop both software and hardware expertise while working with state-of-the-art AI models, including large language models (LLMs), multimodal models, computer vision networks, and generative AI workloads. Interns will gain exposure to hardware/software co-design and help evaluate tradeoffs between performance, power efficiency, memory utilization, and programmability.

To ensure a fair and consistent evaluation process, candidates are expected to complete all interviews independently. The use of generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Gemini, or similar technologies) during interviews is not permitted unless explicitly authorized by the interviewer.

Responsibilities may include

Analyze and Improve Performance

• Compile and optimize neural networks for execution on Qualcomm AI accelerators
• Analyze model performance and identify opportunities to improve compiler algorithms, runtime efficiency, and hardware utilization
• Prototype algorithms that enable AI workloads to execute with high performance and low power consumption on Qualcomm hardware
• Identify bottlenecks in compute and the memory hierarchy
• Recommend software and hardware enhancements to improve overall system performance and efficiency

Compiler and System Optimization

• Contribute to Qualcomm's ML compiler stack to improve performance, efficiency, scalability, and developer productivity.
• Explore and prototype optimization techniques for emerging AI workloads and state-of-the-art neural network architectures.
• Analyze ML workloads to help guide future hardware and software feature development.

Performance Modeling and Simulation

• Develop performance models and simulation infrastructure using Python, C, and C++.
• Evaluate current and future Qualcomm AI accelerators and predict workload performance before silicon is available.

Minimum Qualifications

• Proficiency in Python or C++
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and debugging skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Detail-oriented with a passion for solving complex technical problems

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong knowledge of Python and/or C/C++
• Familiarity with object-oriented design principles
• Experience with software development tools and workflows, including Git, CI/CD systems, Linux, and SSH
• Experience with Algorithms and Data Structures
• Coursework, Research, or Project Experience in one or more of the following:
• Machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch, ONNX, TensorFlow, or JAX
• Model optimization and deployment
• Large language models (LLMs), generative AI, or multimodal AI
• AI accelerator architecture (NPU, GPU, DSP, or related architecture)
• Computer architecture and memory systems
• Performance modeling, simulation, and profiling
• Operating systems and systems software
• High-performance computing

Education Requirements:

• In study towards a bachelor’s degree in one of the following: Engineering Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Computer Science, or related field
• For 16-month internships: must be available May/June 2027 - August/September 2028
• Expected graduation date of November 2028 or later.

Qualcomm’s Internship Program

Our interns join world-class teams to help define and build what is next for mobility and the world. You’ll be paired with a mentor with visibility to your project and team, receive support from your manager, and have access to the entire Qualcomm employee community to ensure your success.

To round out your internship, we host professional development workshops, social events, cross-functional speaker sessions, and an executive speaker series. In addition to competitive hourly pay and accrued vacation time, you will receive housing stipend to accommodate for the duration of your internship.

Application Process

We will review resumes on an ongoing bas