Qualcomm
Cambridge
During my industrial placement at Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. in Cambridge, I worked within a team developing technology for wireless devices such as headphones and smart glasses. My role focused on verifying the hardware design of a low-power radio subsystem before manufacturing. This involved mixed-signal verification, where I worked alongside both digital and analogue engineers to ensure that different parts of the subsystem functioned correctly together.
My role as a digital verification intern includes analysing design changes, identifying appropriate verification strategies, writing SystemVerilog Assertions (SVA), and executing simulations using a UVM-based verification environment. I use industry-standard Synopsys tools, including VCS and Verdi, to debug issues and validate functionality against design specifications. In addition to technical contributions, I help improve team productivity by sharing practical knowledge of modern development tools, command-line workflows, and AI-assisted engineering practices.
Beyond verification, I contributed to workflow automation by developing an MCP server to enable AI-assisted waveform analysis and investigating improvements to Jenkins-based CI pipelines. I also worked with vector embeddings, retrieval systems, and graph-based representations of SystemVerilog code to improve AI-driven engineering workflows. Through these projects, I developed skills in Linux, scripting, automation, root-cause analysis, technical communication, and collaborative engineering within a global semiconductor development environment.
A significant part of my role involved interpreting and debating specifications. Verification work requires ensuring that designs follow the written specification rather than assumptions based on implementation. As a result, I frequently analysed ambiguous requirements, justified verification decisions using evidence from documentation, and participated in discussions to determine the intended behaviour of the system. This strengthened my analytical thinking, attention to detail, and ability to construct logical arguments.