Senior Staff Linux Kernel Engineer

Crusoe

$250K — $300K *
Information Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years in systems software engineering, including 3 years in a leadership role.
  • Expert knowledge of Linux kernel internals and virtualization technologies (KVM, Xen, or QEMU).
  • Strong C programming skills and familiarity with kernel development workflow.
  • Proficiency in modern systems programming languages (Go, Rust, or Python).
  • Experience with CI/CD and deployment automation.

Responsibilities

  • Set the technical direction for the Linux kernel team and own the project roadmap.
  • Design and implement virtualization technologies for GPU-accelerated workloads.
  • Develop and maintain upstream kernel code and device drivers.
  • Optimize memory management, scheduling, and I/O subsystems integral to high-throughput applications.
  • Lead root-cause analysis of OS and hardware issues and manage kernel CVEs.

Benefits

  • Competitive compensation and equity packages
  • Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance
  • Professional development & tuition reimbursement
  • Mental health & wellness support
  • Paid parental leave
  • 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary
  • Daily meals allowance
  • Volunteer time off
Full Job Description
About the Role:

You will set the technical direction for Crusoe's Linux kernel team, owning the roadmap and architecting critical development projects. This role requires a balance of high-level architectural design and hands-on kernel coding. You will tackle the most complex kernel problems while mentoring and growing the engineers around you to deliver production-ready infrastructure at scale.

What You'll Be Working On:
  • Virtualization Architecture: Design and implement advanced virtualization technologies tailored for GPU-accelerated AI and HPC workloads. You will optimize the stack for low latency and high scalability across hypervisors and device emulation.
  • Linux Kernel & Driver Development: Develop and maintain upstream-first kernel code and device drivers. You will optimize memory management, scheduling, and I/O subsystems proactively to support hardware accelerators and high-throughput compute use cases.
  • Debugging & Security: Perform deep-dive root-cause analysis of issues across the OS and hardware layers. You will lead the triage and backporting for kernel CVEs while building automated tooling for vulnerability analysis.
  • Leadership: Lead and grow a high-performing systems team. You will drive engineering excellence through technical mentorship, comprehensive code reviews, and alignment with product and hardware teams.


What You'll Bring to the Team:
  • 10+ years of experience in systems software engineering with at least 3 years in a technical leadership role managing low-level systems or infrastructure teams.
  • Expert-level knowledge of Linux kernel internals (memory management, scheduler, I/O) and virtualization technologies (KVM, Xen, or QEMU).
  • Strong C programming skills and fluency with the kernel development workflow, including patch submission and debugging security vulnerabilities.
  • Proficiency in modern systems programming (Go, Rust, or Python) and familiarity with CI/CD and deployment automation tooling.

Bonus Points
  • Familiarity with accelerators (GPUs, TPUs) and related technologies like CUDA or ROCm.
  • Experience with high-performance networking (e.g., InfiniBand, RoCE) and tuning virtualization stacks for HPC workloads.


Benefits:
  • Competitive compensation and equity packages
  • Restricted Stock Units
  • Paid time off, paid holidays & leave of absence programs
  • Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance
  • Employer contributions to HSA account
  • Paid parental leave
  • Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
  • Professional development & tuition reimbursement
  • Mental health & wellness support
  • Commuter benefits (parking & transit)
  • Cell phone stipend
  • 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary
  • Volunteer time off
  • Global travel insurance & emergency assistance
  • Daily meals allowance
  • Additional perks & programs specific to location


Compensation Range

Compensation will be paid in the range of up to $250,000 -$300,000 + Bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant's knowledge, education, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

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