Staff Engineer - Linux Kernel Server Development

Qualcomm · Hyderabad · 17+ yrs experience · Posted 2026-04-26

Tech stack: Docker, Kubernetes, Linux

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About the role

Qualcomm India Private Limited
Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Systems Engineering
Responsibilities: - We are looking for a highly skilled and experienced Principal Engineer to lead, execute & contribute to the design, development, and upstreaming of Linux kernel features for our next-generation Arm-based Server SoCs.
- This role is ideal for a hands-on technical leader who thrives at the intersection of hardware and software, and is passionate about building robust, scalable, and high-performance Linux platforms for data center and cloud infrastructure.
- You will play a critical role in defining kernel architecture, working on new hardware features, and ensuring compliance with industry standards such as Arm SystemReady SR, BSA, SBSA, and BBR.
- Will be part of architecture and development of Linux kernel features for Armv8/v9-based server SoCs.
- Drive upstream contributions to the mainline Linux kernel, ensuring long-term maintainability and community alignment.
- Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and platform teams to enable new SoC features (e.g., RAS, SMMU, GIC, ACPI).
- Working knowledge about ACPI, coresight, debug infra for large scale server platforms
- Should be hands on with active contributions.
- Community engagement is a plus.
- Develop and maintain kernel drivers, subsystems, and board support packages (BSPs).
- Guide the integration of compliance test suites such as FWTS, BSA-ACS, SBSA-ACS, and SystemReady SR validation tools.
- Lead kernel bring-up on new silicon and virtual platforms
- Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical reviews, design documentation, and architectural decisions
- Represent the company in open-source communities and industry working groups
Qualifications: - Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
- 17+ years of experience in Linux kernel development, with a strong focus on Arm architecture.
- Deep understanding and contributions to kernel subsystems such as memory management, scheduler, device drivers, power management, and interrupt handling.
- Proven experience in upstreaming patches and working with the Linux kernel community.
- Familiarity with server-class SoC features: NUMA, RAS, ACPI, PCIe, CXL, and secure boot.
- Experience with platform enablement and compliance validation (e.g., SystemReady SR, FWTS, ACS).
- Strong debugging skills using tools like ftrace, perf, kgdb, crash, and kernel logs.
- Experience with virtualization (KVM, Xen) and container technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
- Contributions to open-source projects or maintainership of kernel subsystems.
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines for kernel testing and validation.
- Knowledge of firmware interfaces (UEFI, ACPI, Devicetree) and bootloaders (U-Boot, EDK2).
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
- Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
- PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.

Qualifications

- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
- 17+ years of experience in Linux kernel development, with a strong focus on Arm architecture.
- Deep understanding and contributions to kernel subsystems such as memory management, scheduler, device drivers, power management, and interrupt handling.
- Proven experience in upstreaming patches and working with the Linux kernel community.
- Familiarity with server-class SoC features: NUMA, RAS, ACPI, PCIe, CXL, and secure boot.
- Experience with platform enablement and compliance validation (e.g., SystemReady SR, FWTS, ACS).
- Strong debugging skills using tools like ftrace, perf, kgdb, crash, and kernel logs.
- Experience with virtualization (KVM, Xen) and container technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
- Contributions to open-source projects or maintainership of kernel subsystems.
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines for kernel testing and validation.
- Knowledge of firmware interfaces (UEFI, ACPI, Devicetree) and bootloaders (U-Boot, EDK2).
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
- Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
- PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.

Responsibilities

- We are looking for a highly skilled and experienced Principal Engineer to lead, execute & contribute to the design, development, and upstreaming of Linux kernel features for our next-generation Arm-based Server SoCs.
- This role is ideal for a hands-on technical leader who thrives at the intersection of hardware and software, and is passionate about building robust, scalable, and high-performance Linux platforms for data center and cloud infrastructure.
- You will play a critical role in defining kernel architecture, working on new hardware features, and ensuring compliance with industry standards such as Arm SystemReady SR, BSA, SBSA, and BBR.
- Will be part of architecture and development of Linux kernel features for Armv8/v9-based server SoCs.
- Drive upstream contributions to the mainline Linux kernel, ensuring long-term maintainability and community alignment.
- Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and platform teams to enable new SoC features (e.g., RAS, SMMU, GIC, ACPI).
- Working knowledge about ACPI, coresight, debug infra for large scale server platforms
- Should be hands on with active contributions.
- Community engagement is a plus.
- Develop and maintain kernel drivers, subsystems, and board support packages (BSPs).
- Guide the integration of compliance test suites such as FWTS, BSA-ACS, SBSA-ACS, and SystemReady SR validation tools.
- Lead kernel bring-up on new silicon and virtual platforms
- Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical reviews, design documentation, and architectural decisions
- Represent the company in open-source communities and industry working groups

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