Systems Engineer - Linux Kernel & Virtualization

Systems Engineer - Linux Kernel & Virtualization

Summary

We're a well-funded, stealth startup building a new end-to-end personal computing platform. For this role, the primary responsibility is to build, optimize, and maintain the core virtualization and kernel stack that powers our platform. You will have deep ownership over host and guest kernel interactions, identifying performance bottlenecks, and implementing novel solutions to mitigate hardware virtualization overhead.

Whether it’s tackling pathological memory access overhead by implementing advanced hugepage alignment techniques (e.g., coordinating host/guest hugepage backing to eliminate TLB misses), optimizing CPU scheduling, or improving I/O virtualization, your goal is to push the boundaries of virtualization performance, and contribute those improvements directly back to the broader Linux ecosystem.

Responsibilities

• Virtualization Stack Ownership: Design, implement, and optimize host and guest OS features to maximize throughput and minimize latency in a hardware-accelerated virtualization environment.
• Open Source Stewardship: Heavily engage with the upstream community. Prepare, submit, and shepherd kernel patches through Linux kernel mailing lists, advocating for our architectural improvements to become part of mainline Linux.
• Performance Optimization: Identify and resolve systemic performance bottlenecks across the stack (e.g., implementing efficient hugepage alignment to reduce nested page walks, optimizing THP behaviors, etc.).
• Systems Innovation: Track cutting-edge academic systems research (e.g., Eurosys, OSDI) and translate novel techniques into production-ready software implementations that drive measurable performance gains.

Minimum Requirements

• Kernel Development: Proven track record in Linux kernel development, with deep expertise in the virtualization stack (KVM) or memory management.
• Open Source & Upstreaming: Practical experience navigating Linux kernel mailing lists and a clear history of proposing, debating, and upstreaming meaningful patches.
• Systems Programming: Strong software development skills with deep hands-on proficiency in C, Rust, Make, and associated systems toolchains.
• Low-Level Debugging: Strong ability to profile, benchmark, and debug complex, deeply nested virtualization workloads to pinpoint systemic overhead.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active maintainer or contributor status in core open-source virtualization projects (e.g., Linux KVM, QEMU, rust-vmm, crosvm, libkrun, etc.).
• Deep familiarity with the internal workings of the Linux memory management (mm) subsystem, virtual memory, and paging architecture.
• Prior experience translating academic systems research into upstreamable mainline features.