Linux Kernel Engineer

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Linux Kernel Engineer based in Canada.

This role offers the opportunity to engineer and optimize Linux kernels across a broad range of hardware, cloud, embedded, and high-performance computing environments.

You will work on both stable and cutting-edge kernel technologies, contributing to reliability, performance, security, and hardware enablement.

The position involves close collaboration with silicon manufacturers, cloud providers, hardware partners, and globally distributed engineering teams.

You will diagnose complex kernel issues, develop and review patches, improve testing and automation, and help ensure production readiness across multiple architectures.

Your work may span areas such as virtualization, confidential computing, networking, storage, containers, real-time systems, and low-level hardware enablement.

This is an excellent opportunity for a technically ambitious engineer who enjoys deep systems programming and contributing to open source software at scale.

You will work in a highly autonomous, international environment where strong engineering practices, curiosity, accountability, and continuous learning are highly valued.

Accountabilities

• Collaborate proactively with globally distributed kernel engineering teams across multiple time zones and technical domains.
• Work closely with silicon manufacturers, cloud providers, hardware partners, and other technology stakeholders to enable and optimize Linux systems.
• Diagnose, debug, and resolve complex Linux kernel issues across diverse hardware platforms and architectures.
• Take ownership of specific Ubuntu Linux kernel variants, ensuring reliability, maintainability, performance, and timely delivery.
• Develop, submit, review, and apply Linux kernel patches while following established upstream development and release processes.
• Improve tooling, automation, benchmarking, stress testing, and validation processes for kernel development and delivery.
• Contribute to projects involving hardware and virtualization enablement, confidential computing, security, networking, storage, containers, real-time systems, and embedded platforms.
• Support kernel security and reliability initiatives involving technologies such as AppArmor, seccomp, namespaces, FIPS compliance, Livepatch, and related security mechanisms.
• Participate in performance engineering and optimization initiatives across cloud, server, desktop, embedded, and high-performance computing environments.

Requirements

• Exceptional academic performance and a strong record of achievement, whether through a traditional academic path or an equivalent demonstrated track record.
• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or another STEM discipline, or compelling evidence of equivalent technical expertise.
• Significant professional programming experience in C, with a strong understanding of low-level software engineering principles.
• Solid experience with Git and modern software development workflows.
• Broad knowledge of the Linux kernel, its architecture, and major kernel subsystems.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with Linux kernel patching, debugging, development, and troubleshooting.
• Understanding of Linux kernel upstream processes, development practices, and release cycles.
• Strong knowledge of device drivers, board support packages, hardware interfaces, and other low-level systems engineering concepts.
• Professional experience working with Linux, preferably Ubuntu or Debian-based environments.
• Strong understanding of hardware-level programming and operating system kernels.
• Excellent written and spoken English, with strong communication and presentation abilities.
• Self-motivated, organized, adaptable, accountable, and comfortable working independently in a distributed environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills and a professional approach when collaborating with engineering teams, partners, and open source communities.
• A results-oriented mindset with a demonstrated ability to meet commitments and deliver against fixed schedules.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally approximately twice per year for engineering events lasting up to two weeks.
• Additional experience with Python, Bash, Ubuntu/Debian/Snap packaging, performance engineering, or security is highly valuable.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation based on location, experience, and performance.
• Performance-driven annual bonus.
• Annual compensation reviews.
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year.
• Recognition and performance rewards.
• Distributed work environment with opportunities for in-person team sprints twice a year.
• Annual holiday leave.
• Maternity and paternity leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Opportunities to travel internationally and meet colleagues in new locations.
• Priority Pass access and travel upgrades for eligible long-haul company events.