Firmware Engineer

International Business Machines Corporation; Waterford; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

IBM Ireland Waterford is seeking a developer to contribute to the Linux kernel for IBM Z/LinuxONE. You will work on low-level software, design features, implement them, and push code upstream while collaborating with a global team.

The role emphasizes open-source participation and strong OS internals knowledge. The position requires onsite presence with a three-day-per-week on-site commitment, solid scripting and CI/CD experience, and a passion for open-source communities.

Qualifications

• Experience in Linux kernel development and contribute to open source
• Understanding of OS internals such as memory management, scheduling and drivers
• Familiarity with Git and scripting languages (Python) and CI/CD tooling like Jenkins

Responsibilities

• Design and specifications for new features in the IBM Linux kernel stack
• Implement the designed features and integrate with existing codebase
• Identify and fix bugs; perform performance analysis and profiling
• Submit code to upstream open source repositories and maintain quality
• Collaborate with team to resolve client problems and deliver robust software
• Assist with test automation and CI/CD processes

Skills

Low-level kernel development

Open source contributions

OS internals

Python scripting

Tools

Git

Jenkins

Job description

Introduction

Are you interested in developing operating systems and contributing to Open Source? Did you just graduate and are eager to become part of an worldwide development community? Is your favorite OS Linux based and you enjoy low-level programming? If so, our team is the right place for you! We are expanding our IBM development team in Waterford. The team is responsible for enhancing the Linux kernel for IBM Z / IBM LinuxOne. This includes device drivers, new processor instructions, virtualization (KVM), confidential containers, and test automation/devops (CI/CD).

Your role and responsibilities

As a key member of our team, you will play a vital role in crafting exceptional software experiences. Your responsibilities will include the design and specifications for new features, implementation of the design, identifying and bug fixing, performance analysis, submitting your code to upstream open source community repositories, and solving client problems. This position requires working onsite 3 days per week.

Required technical and professional expertise

• Strong desire to work on low-level software development within the Linux operating system kernel (e.g. based on C/C++)

• Interested in joining open source development communities

• Understanding of operating systems internals (e.g. memory management & task scheduling, interrupts, device drivers)

• Experience in source code repository systems (e.g. git), scripting languages (e.g. Python) and test Automation (e.g. Jenkins)

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Any previous contributions to Open Source projects Skills in current I/O technologies (e.g. PCI, NVMe, RDMA) would be ideal

• Any skills in IBM Z architecture ("Principles of Operations"), Z assembler and I/O concepts would be a bonus

IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, caste, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.