SummaryAs a Software Engineer, Linux Kernel / Android, you'll work at the intersection of software and hardware to build and maintain the low-level platform stack that powers Rivet's body-worn and field-deployed devices - including our AR/XR soldier systems, which combine real-time sensor fusion (cameras, IMUs, depth sensors) with a display and compute pipeline running on Android and embedded Linux. You'll focus on the kernel, BSP, AOSP, HALs, drivers, and board bring-up that make that pipeline reliable, secure, and power-efficient enough to run all day on a warfighter's body.
You'll work closely with hardware, electrical, and sensor-fusion/AR software engineers to integrate new hardware, debug issues across the full system stack, and deliver platform software that holds up under the SWaP, thermal, and ruggedization constraints of field-deployed defense hardware. This is a hands-on individual contributor role with ownership over meaningful pieces of the platform.
Responsibilities- Develop and maintain system-level software across Android and Linux, with a focus on the kernel, BSP, AOSP, HALs, and device drivers.
- Customize and integrate AOSP for custom hardware platforms, including framework, system-level, and camera/display HAL components that feed our sensor-fusion and AR pipeline.
- Bring up new hardware and peripherals, working closely with electrical and hardware engineers to debug issues across the hardware/software boundary.
- Configure, build, and maintain Linux kernels and Android system images for power- and thermally-constrained, body-worn embedded devices.
- Develop and maintain board support packages, device configurations, kernel modules, and low-level system components.
- Debug complex issues involving hardware, kernel, drivers, boot processes, power management, memory, and system performance - with power and thermal efficiency treated as first-class constraints given our SWaP requirements.
- Integrate and maintain device drivers and hardware interfaces for custom peripherals, including sensor and edge-compute (NPU/DSP) interfaces used in on-device inference.
- Own secure and reliable platform architecture, including secure boot, system integrity, permissions, and other low-level security mechanisms appropriate for defense-grade hardware.
- Build automated tests and debugging tools for system-level software and hardware integration, including hardware-in-the-loop validation.
- Work with software, electrical, mechanical, and systems engineers to identify and resolve platform issues.
- Participate in code reviews, technical design discussions, and platform bring-up activities.
- Produce pragmatic, reliable, and well-documented software that can be deployed and ruggedized across multiple hardware configurations.
Requirements- 3+ years of experience developing system-level software for Android and/or Linux-based devices.
- Strong experience with Linux kernel development, configuration, debugging, or integration.
- Experience working with Android/AOSP, including platform customization, HALs, system services, device configuration, or framework components.
- Experience developing or integrating device drivers and interfacing with custom hardware and peripherals.
- Experience with board bring-up and debugging issues across the hardware/software boundary.
- Strong C/C++ programming skills and familiarity with low-level debugging and development tools.
- Understanding of Linux boot processes, device trees, kernel configuration, memory management, and system initialization.
- Experience building Android/Linux system images and working with embedded build systems.
- Familiarity with common hardware interfaces and protocols such as USB, MIPI, I2C, UART, GPIO, and PCIe.
- Ability to diagnose complex system-level issues using logs, traces, debuggers, and hardware instrumentation.
- Familiarity with embedded software testing and hardware-in-the-loop or system integration testing.
- Working knowledge of secure boot, system integrity, and other platform security mechanisms - required given the defense-grade nature of our hardware.
- Comfortable working in a highly collaborative environment with engineers across software, electrical, mechanical, and systems disciplines.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance, if required for the role.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience with ARM-based SoCs and embedded computing platforms.
- Experience with bootloaders such as U-Boot or Android Bootloader.
- Experience with Yocto, Buildroot, Bazel, Soong, or other embedded/system build environments.
- Familiarity with OTA updates, secure boot chains, TPMs, verified boot, or platform hardening.
- Experience developing software for resource-constrained, body-worn, or wearable devices with power, thermal, memory, or compute limitations.
- Experience working on safety-critical, high-assurance, defense, aerospace, or other demanding embedded systems.
- Experience with camera, display, or sensor pipelines feeding AR/XR or spatial-computing applications.
- Active security clearance.
Compensation may vary within the posted range based on relevant experience, skills, education, and other job-related factors. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for equity and other forms of compensation. Eligible employees also receive a competitive benefits package, including unlimited PTO.
