Senior Kernel Engineer

Flock Safety

$172K — $190K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Expertise in C development and Linux kernel internals.
  • Significant experience with Qualcomm chipset bring-up and devicetrees.
  • Strong knowledge of bootloader development, particularly XBL and ABL.
  • Proven ability to develop/debug firmware for Application Digital Signal Processors.
  • A degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or a related field is required.
  • Familiarity with Linux kernel drivers for SPI/I2C/UART, Rust/C++, or Qualcomm proprietary subsystems is advantageous.

Responsibilities

  • Lead Qualcomm Android BSP bring-up and device modifications.
  • Architect custom bootloaders to enhance boot security and efficiency.
  • Develop and debug firmware for Digital Signal Processors to meet system requirements.
  • Collaborate with electrical engineering and validation teams for hardware integration.
  • Analyze kernel logs and performance data to resolve latency and memory issues.

Benefits

  • Opportunity for equity participation through Flock stock options.
  • Collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams, enhancing professional growth.
  • Location-based prioritization encourages regional networking and collaboration.
  • Work in a dynamic environment focused on cutting-edge hardware development.
Full Job Description
The Problem

As Flock expands our next-generation hardware fleet across demanding outdoor environments, ensuring absolute operating system stability is critical to our camera networks. Deploying high-performance devices requires robust low-level chipset bring-up, custom bootloaders, and resilient kernel architectures. You will engineer low-level Qualcomm Android BSP solutions, optimize system performance, and build the foundational operating system powering our edge hardware.

What You'll Own
  • Lead low-level Qualcomm Android BSP bring-up, devicetree modifications, and pSIM framework integrations across next-generation camera platforms.
  • Architect and customize low-level bootloaders, including XBL and ABL implementations, to optimize device boot security and efficiency.
  • Develop and debug firmware for Application Digital Signal Processors, aligning ADSP architecture with system processing requirements.
  • Partner with electrical engineering and validation teams to define low-level hardware integration, build custom debug hooks, and expand automated testing.
  • Analyze system tombstones, kernel logs, and performance traces to eliminate hardware-software latency and memory bottlenecks.


What This Role is Not
  • This isn't a high-level Android application or UI development role, you will focus entirely on low-level kernel space, bootloaders, HALs, and BSP bring-up.
  • This is not a purely theoretical design role, you will directly debug physical devices, run CI builds, and deploy stable operating system builds directly to hardware.
  • This isn't a isolated engineering position, you will collaborate constantly across electrical engineering, validation, and cloud teams to align hardware and software behavior.


What You Bring
  • Mastery of C development and Linux kernel internals, including memory management, power management, IRQ handling, and subsystem architecture.
  • Hands-on experience with Qualcomm chipset bring-up, devicetrees, and Android system architecture spanning HAL and the Linux kernel.
  • Proficiency in bootloader development and customization, including familiarity with XBL and ABL concepts.
  • Experience developing or debugging firmware for Application Digital Signal Processors within embedded hardware environments.
  • A bachelor's, master's, or Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or a related technical field is required.
  • Experience with Linux kernel drivers for SPI/I2C/UART, Rust/C++, or Qualcomm proprietary subsystems is a plus.

Compensation

In this role, you'll receive a starting salary between $172,000 and $190,000 as well as Flock Stock Options. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. Your recruiter will discuss this in depth with you during our first chat.

Some problems get solved faster in the same room, so we prioritize candidates in Atlanta and Boston. Hub-based roles mean real in-person time with your coworkers. Remote roles exist, and when a posting is open to remote work, it says so.

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