Senior Linux Kernel Driver Engineer - Performance-Critical

Fractile; Tottenham; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity

Private medical

Pension

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Life/CI insurance

Job summary

Fractile, a UK-based AI hardware startup, is seeking an experienced kernel software engineer to join the pre-silicon team. You will own the Linux kernel driver for our AI accelerator and work closely with hardware, firmware, and ML engineers to push performance.

You will design robust kernel paths (PCIe, DMA, memory, interrupts) and shape the userspace interface, delivering measurable throughput gains while keeping quality and security at the forefront.

Qualifications

• Shipped and maintained Linux kernel drivers in production.
• Experience with PCIe-attached devices and custom hardware interfaces.
• Strong C and/or Rust with secure kernel coding practices.
• You handle kernel/system problems end-to-end and measure impact.
• CS/Engineering/Math/Physics degree with 3+ years industry experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain the Linux kernel driver for Fractile’s AI accelerator.
• Build the performance-critical kernel-space paths: PCIe, DMA, memory, interrupts, recovery.
• Define and evolve the userspace interface the runtime depends on, with stability and performance.
• Work in a tight co-design loop with hardware, firmware, runtime and ML engineers: validate assumptions and close gaps.
• Improve tooling/workflows so we move fast without breaking things.

Skills

Linux kernel development

C & Rust programming

Performance optimization

End-to-end ownership

3+ years experience

Education

Computer Science, Electronic Engineering, Maths, Physics, or related degree

Tools

PCIe interfaces

DMA

Memory management

Pre-silicon simulation

Job description

Fractile, a UK-based AI hardware startup, is seeking an experienced kernel software engineer to join the pre-silicon team. You will own the Linux kernel driver for our AI accelerator and work closely with hardware, firmware, and ML engineers to push performance.

You will design robust kernel paths (PCIe, DMA, memory, interrupts) and shape the userspace interface, delivering measurable throughput gains while keeping quality and security at the forefront.