Remote Linux Kernel Upstream Engineer (ARM SoC) – Contract

X4 Life Sciences; City Of London; Remote; GBP 96,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

X4 Life Sciences is seeking a Linux Kernel Engineer to drive upstream ARM SoC enablement. You will implement platform drivers, Device Tree support and DMA, tackle upstream submissions and collaborate with maintainers, working remotely across Europe.

The role emphasizes hands-on hardware debugging on real boards, cross-family IRQ routing, and delivering robust kernel code against new silicon. Prior upstream patches and strong C/Linux fundamentals are essential.

Qualifications

• Experience writing drivers from hardware manuals or datasheets.
• Upstream Linux contributions accepted into mainline.
• Hands-on hardware debugging on real boards.
• Ability to support multiple SoC variants without duplicating drivers.
• Contract role with fully remote work in Europe.

Responsibilities

• Develop peripheral drivers from hardware manuals (SPI, I2C, DMA, interrupts).
• Implement Device Tree support and board bring-up.
• Work on high-speed interfaces like PCIe (helpful but not essential).
• Troubleshoot probe/enumeration and IRQ routing issues.
• Collaborate with upstream maintainers and review patches.

Skills

C programming

Linux kernel fundamentals

ARM SoC experience

Upstream patches

Hardware debugging

Tools

Device Tree

Yocto

pytest/LAVA

Job description

X4 Life Sciences is seeking a Linux Kernel Engineer to drive upstream ARM SoC enablement. You will implement platform drivers, Device Tree support and DMA, tackle upstream submissions and collaborate with maintainers, working remotely across Europe.

The role emphasizes hands-on hardware debugging on real boards, cross-family IRQ routing, and delivering robust kernel code against new silicon. Prior upstream patches and strong C/Linux fundamentals are essential.