Qualcomm Associate Hardware Engineer reviews

I worked at Qualcomm Atheros from 2013 to 2015 There is lots of office politics as they've hired so many extra engineers, project managers and there's matrix system where everybody has two managers- direct and indirect. You work mostly with the direct manager but the indirect manager rates you every six months. Which in my case didn't work well as my direct manager wasn't aware of my full responsibilities. People who play politics and do most bootlicking seen to get promoted. Worked on two wireless connectivity chips. Both got cancelled after tape out and marketing takes irresponsible decisions for product roadmap. Salary is below the market range and the HR was rude to not even negotiate the salary while joining. 80-90% are Indians and Asians on visa. Many Indians are brought every year on business visa for up to six months in a year and exploited. They are paid about $25 in daily allowance for meals where as a local employee get that amount for one meal on travel. There is no work culture due to demographics as well. People just come to work and hang out in groups for coffee etc. No social experience and many are too reserved to talk. No real talented people except design engineers. Test engineers are below par and just having a MS degree doesn't mean you're employable. Don't transfer internally to another group. They will make your life hell. Better find job somewhere else. Senior managers are there just because they've been there for so long and don't seem knowledgeable.

The culture here seems to be "work first, family second" without directly saying it. While no one will force you to work long hours, the culture seems to dictate it. I know people that had to work over holidays and sacrifice family trips. While this isn't uncommon in our industry, it's sad to see it continued here. The social events that Qualcomm holds for their employees are very far and few between (I know some groups have more than others but my group has very few). I've worked for other semiconductor companies where this was the opposite. As a result of the culture, it seems like employees want to get their things done and go directly home. There is very little socializing out side of work or team-building. When I've tried to organize events for my group to meet even for a simple happy hour, it was met with little enthusiasm. I know work isn't meant to be "social hour" but it is nice to have team camaraderie. Life isn't all about the 9-5 (well, more like 8-8 here).