Title
Kernel Engineer
Quick Summary
GraniteOS Labs is hiring a Kernel Engineer to design, optimize, and maintain core operating system components with a focus on performance, reliability, and secure-by-default behavior. The role spans Linux subsystems, scheduler and memory management improvements, device driver development, and production-grade diagnostics. Early-career engineers with strong systems projects are welcome to apply alongside experienced specialists; mentorship and structured learning paths are embedded in the team’s operating model.
Project Category or Industry
Operating systems, systems software, and infrastructure engineering for cloud and edge platforms.
Type
Full-time employment.
Experience Level
Open to entry and mid-level applicants with demonstrable systems programming experience; senior candidates are also encouraged to apply. The team provides onboarding plans tailored to fresh graduates.
Duration
Permanent, ongoing role.
Location
Remote-first across the Americas and Europe with a preference for 4 hours of overlap with 14:00–18:00 UTC. Optional hybrid access to collaboration hubs in Austin, Berlin, and Dublin.
Salary
USD 135,000–195,000 base depending on location and experience, plus equity participation, annual bonus eligibility, and comprehensive benefits. Local currency equivalents apply for non-US hires.
Payment Mode
Payroll via direct deposit; equity administered through our global employer-of-record partner where applicable.
Hiring Company Name
GraniteOS Labs
Required Skills or Tools
Candidates should be comfortable working in C for the Linux kernel, reading and writing kernel patches, and using tools such as perf, ftrace, eBPF, and bpftrace for analysis. Familiarity with Rust for kernel-adjacent modules is beneficial. Strong debugging skills with gdb/kgdb, solid understanding of concurrency and memory models, and practical Git workflows are expected.
Project Description
This role advances the GraniteOS runtime that powers high-density compute and edge appliances. The engineer will evolve the CPU scheduler for mixed workloads, improve NUMA-aware memory behavior, harden security features including LSM hooks, and extend driver support for modern NICs and NVMe controllers. The objective is measurable gains in throughput and tail latency while maintaining strict stability standards for enterprise deployments.
Core Responsibilities and Expected Deliverables
The engineer will analyze performance regressions and propose kernel-level changes, implement patches to subsystems such as scheduling, block, and networking, and upstream non-sensitive work where appropriate. Deliverables include well-reviewed kernel patches, reproducible benchmarks with clear methodology, incident postmortems, and internal documentation that enables repeatable builds and fast rollback. Participation in code review, RFC discussions, and release readiness checks is expected each sprint.
Required Experience and Preferred Qualifications
Applicants should show evidence of systems depth through academic research, open-source contributions, or prior production work. Experience with one or more of: deadline/CFS tuning, io_uring, TCP offload features, XDP, cgroups v2, or BPF-based observability is advantageous. Preferred qualifications include prior contributions to linux-next or stable backports, and familiarity with secure coding practices and threat modeling at the kernel boundary.
Tools or Platforms to Be Used
Linux kernel toolchains (clang/LLVM and GCC), perf/ftrace/ktap/eBPF toolchains, gdb/kgdb, crash, KUnit, syzkaller for fuzzing, Git and Gerrit for review, and CI pipelines using GitLab CI with Bazel or CMake for kernel-adjacent components. Containerized experiment harnesses use Docker and Podman; benchmarking runs use Phoronix Test Suite and custom harnesses.
Language Requirement
English is required for daily work and documentation. Additional European languages are welcome but not mandatory.
Communication Style
Engineering communication is maintained via Slack for async updates, Zoom for design reviews and pairing sessions, and email for decisions requiring formal archival. Design proposals are tracked as markdown RFCs in the internal repo.
Time Commitment or Working Window
Approximately 40 hours per week with core collaboration between 14:00 and 18:00 UTC. Outside of incidents or release freezes, the schedule is flexible and outcome-oriented.
Payment Terms
Salaried with semi-monthly payroll. Annual bonus tied to product and individual goals. Relocation stipends are available for voluntary transitions to a hub city.
Evaluation Criteria
Candidates will be assessed on clarity of systems reasoning, quality of past kernel or kernel-adjacent contributions, debugging methodology, benchmark design rigor, and ability to write maintainable code under review. Practical exercises include a short patch review, a performance triage walkthrough, and a collaborative design discussion.
Other Requirements
All team members sign a standard NDA and follow secure development policies. For certain customers, export compliance checks may apply. Time tracking is limited to high-level project accounting; no intrusive monitoring is used. Occasional on-call participation is shared across the team with compensating time off.
About the Client or Company
GraniteOS Labs is a privately held systems software company building a lean, enterprise-grade Linux distribution optimized for cloud and edge performance. The company partners with semiconductor vendors and hyperscale customers to deliver predictable latency, robust isolation, and observability built in by default. Headquartered in Austin with teams in Berlin and Dublin, GraniteOS Labs ships quarterly releases and contributes upstream where possible.
More information is available at https://graniteoslabs.com. Candidates may reach the hiring team at careers@graniteoslabs.com for confidential consideration.