Senior Embedded Linux Engineer - Kernel / Device Drivers

Opus Resourcing Ltd; London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 103,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Health insurance

30 days holiday

Job summary

A recruitment firm is seeking a Senior Embedded Linux Engineer for a hybrid role based in London, involving low-level embedded systems development and collaboration with a European engineering team. This position requires strong expertise in embedded Linux, device drivers, and a background in embedded C and C++. Attractive salary range and benefits included.

Qualifications

• Strong expertise in embedded Linux development.
• Experience in developing device drivers and device trees.
• Proficiency in systemd or other init systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead in developing low-level embedded systems including the Linux kernel.
• Contribute to product security, peripheral drivers, and power management.
• Plan and shape requirements for new and existing products.

Skills

Embedded Linux development

Linux kernel development

Device drivers

Embedded C

C++

Debugging and profiling

Tools

Embedded bootloaders (U-Boot, Grub, BarBox)

Yocto Project

Buildroot

Job description

Overview

Senior Embedded Linux Engineer - Kernel / Device Drivers. The role is based in London (hybrid) with some European travel, joining a Pan European embedded software engineering team.

Salary: £80-103k plus pension, health, and 30 days holiday. This is a role within Opus Resourcing Ltd, which acts as an employment agency for permanent roles.

Responsibilities

• Lead in developing low-level embedded systems, including the Linux kernel, custom Embedded Linux distributions, bootloaders, device drivers, and board bring-up.
• Contribute to the overall product through work on security, peripheral drivers, display, and power management as part of a cross-functional team.
• Plan and shape requirements specifications and development for both new and existing products.
• Work on embedded core activities such as new hardware bring-up and maintenance, enabling new features to work.
• Collaborate within a European engineering team and travel as needed (approximately two-thirds of trips per year).

Qualifications

• Strong expertise in embedded Linux development.
• Linux kernel development, kernel functions, and maintenance with recent kernel versions.
• Experience with physical embedded product development / devices / automotive / IoT with connectivity and low power modes.
• Extensive experience with Embedded C and solid understanding of Linux operating systems.
• Proficiency in developing device drivers and device trees.
• Experience with systemd or other init systems.
• Strong skills in embedded bootloaders such as U-Boot, Grub, BarBox, preferably on ARM or NXP.
• Experience in planning and development for both new and existing products.
• Proficiency in C++; Rust or another system programming language is ideal.
• Strong debugging and profiling skills for complex embedded Linux systems.
• Expert knowledge of hardware electronics, circuit diagrams, and experience with Yocto Project or Buildroot, logic analyzers, etc.

Nice-to-have / Additional information

• Experience with security considerations related to hardware, boot, or Linux components.
• Familiarity with BSP (Board Support Package), kernel drivers, connectivity (Bluetooth/Wi‑Fi), and low-power optimization.
• Experience with hardware bring-up for automotive, medical, IoT, tablets, mobile devices, or consumer-oriented embedded devices.

Benefits & Location

The role is based in London with a two-to-three day per week office requirement; some flexibility for highly skilled candidates to work more remotely from within the UK. Great benefits and a strong software engineering culture are described.