Staff Software Engineer - Linux
$134,800 - $202,200 USD yearly
Originally posted 31 March 2026 by the employer.
About the role
As a Staff Software Engineer on the Linux Platform team, you will drive upstream-oriented Linux platform enablement across compute, server, embedded, and IoT platforms. You will architect, build, and optimize Linux distribution support and CI/CD automation spanning kernel, boot, and userspace.
What you'll do
- Architect, build, and optimize Linux distribution support and infrastructure for Debian/Ubuntu and RHEL/Fedora. - Lead upstream-oriented Linux platform enablement, including image generation, packaging, and integration. - Implement CI/CD automation and tooling to bridge silicon and firmware enablement with open-source distribution standards. - Debug complex system-level software issues spanning kernel, boot, and userspace environments. - Collaborate across hardware, firmware, and software engineering teams to define performance requirements and system interfaces.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field with 4+ years of software engineering experience (or Master's degree with 3+ years, or PhD with 2+ years). - 2+ years of work experience with programming languages such as C, C++, Java, or Python. - Advanced Linux experience debugging complex issues across kernel, boot, and userspace. - Proficiency in Bash and Python for automation and tooling, alongside a working knowledge of C/C++. - Strong background in computer science and system-level software engineering.
Nice to have
- Hands-on experience with major Linux distributions (RHEL/Fedora, Ubuntu/Debian), including image creation, packaging, update mechanisms, and integration workflows. - Experience with Git, GitHub Actions, and Jenkins for CI/CD system design and maintenance. - Practical knowledge of Linux packaging ecosystems (RPM and/or Debian), including policy, dependency management, and reproducibility. - Understanding of Linux platform enablement and boot flows including UEFI, edk2, ACPI, GRUB, and kconfig. - Experience contributing to upstream Linux kernel or userspace projects. - Experience with virtualization and container technologies including QEMU, KVM, Docker, or Kubernetes.
Skills: Linux, platform enablement, kernel, Bash, Python, CI/CD
This role has been open 200 days — slightly above the 199-day median for Embedded Firmware Engineering roles.
Embedded Firmware Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
27
|
Median days open
199 d
|
Median salary
$163k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Qualcomm | All employers we track in this specialty (27 roles · 12 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 13 | 27 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 735 | 6250 · 144 employers |
| Median days open | 200 d | 199 d (+1 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $163k |
Skills observed across this category: Linux, platform enablement, kernel, Bash, Python, CI/CD
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm (this employer) · 13 open roles · median 199 d
- NVIDIA · 3 open roles · median 223 d
- Infineon Technologies · 2 open roles · median 155 d
- Ambarella · 1 open role · median 221 d
- AMD · 1 open role · median 20 d
- Arm Holdings · 1 open role · median 170 d
How we counted: 27 open Embedded Firmware Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 12 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 25 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.
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