After working closely with Intel for many years, Microsoft is increasingly interested in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon ARM processors these days. New PCs running Windows 10 on ARM on a Snapdragon 835 processors are expected to be unveiled before the end of the year, but it seems that Microsoft is already looking at the latest and greatest for Qualcomm.
Indeed, a job posting for a Hardware Test Engineer / Manufacturing Engineer has just been discovered by German website Winfuture.de (via MSPoweruser), and the job requires to be familiar with Qualcomm’s still unannounced Snapdragon 845 processor.
The announce for the full-time job in Redmond was posted by IT consulting firm ABAL Technologies, and it doesn’t mention Microsoft explicitely except in this part: “MSFT is open to support Work Visa to travel to China if needed or work with supplier to get the travel visa.” Moreover, here are the top 3 must-have skills required for the job:
1. Understands WIFI 802.11 standards (AX Variant).
2. Has done LTE Manufacturing test on QUALCOMM (8998, and SDM 845) and/or Intel Chip sets. Q-DAT or QDAP background.
3. Practical RF calibration using Loopback board implementing that are DUT independent used for PCBA tests (Conducted).
The job posting doesn’t reveal what kind of mobile product the candidates will be working on, but it still makes clear that knowledge of how antennas works inside “portable wireless devices” is required. Additionally, “hands-on experience in design, development and launch of high-volume consumer electronic products is a must.”
Again, if Windows 10 on ARM devices are coming soon, Microsoft obviously has to develop its expertise about Qualcomm’s Snapdragon ARM chips. It remains to be seen if Microsoft could release its on Windows 10 on ARM device, and we certainly wouldn’t rule it out since the first Surface device, the Surface RT did use an ARM chip (from NVIDIA, not Qualcomm).
Qualcomm has yet to announce its Snapdragon 845 processor, and this new chip should likely be found in all Android flagship phones of 2018, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S9. Do you think it’s possible we’ll see a new Microsoft device powered by a Snapdragon 845 next year? Let us know below.
