Principal Engineer/Director-Engineering, Linux Kernel Development

Qualcomm; India; On-site; INR 5,500,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualcomm India Private Limited is seeking a highly experienced Principal Engineer to lead design, development and upstreaming of Linux kernel features for Arm-based Server SoCs. This hands-on technical leader will work across hardware and software teams to deliver robust Linux platforms for data center and cloud infrastructure.

The role focuses on upstreaming patches, kernel driver development, and architecture decisions, with mentoring responsibilities and active participation in open-source

Qualifications

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 17+ years of experience in Linux kernel development with strong Arm focus.
• Deep understanding of memory management, scheduler, drivers, power mgmt, and interrupts.
• Proven experience upstreaming patches and working with the Linux kernel community.
• Familiarity with server-class SoC features: NUMA, RAS, ACPI, PCIe, CXL, and secure boot.
• Experience with platform enablement and compliance validation (SystemReady SR, FWTS, ACS).
• Strong debugging skills using tools like ftrace, perf, kgdb, crash, and kernel logs.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop Linux kernel features for Armv8/v9 server SoCs.
• Drive upstream contributions to mainline Linux kernel for long-term maintainability.
• Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and platform teams to enable new SoC features.
• Develop and maintain kernel drivers, subsystems, and BSPs.
• Guide integration of compliance tests (FWTS, BSA-ACS, SBSA-ACS, SystemReady SR).
• Lead kernel bring-up on new silicon and virtual platforms.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to reviews, docs, and architecture decisions.

Skills

Linux kernel development

Arm architecture

Upstreaming patches

Kernel debugging

C/C++

Education

Bachelor's/Master's in CS/EE or related

PhD in Engineering/CS (optional)

Tools

ftrace

perf

kgdb

crash

kernel logs

Job description

Company

Qualcomm India Private Limited

Job Area

Engineering Group, Engineering Group > Software Engineering

General Summary

We are looking for a highly skilled and experienced Principal Engineer to lead the design, development, and upstreaming of Linux kernel features for our next-generation Arm-based Server SoCs. This role is ideal for a hands-on technical leader who thrives at the intersection of hardware and software, and is passionate about building robust, scalable, and high-performance Linux platforms for data center and cloud infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Will be part of architecture and development of Linux kernel features for Armv8/v9-based server SoCs.
• Drive upstream contributions to the mainline Linux kernel, ensuring long-term maintainability and community alignment.
• Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and platform teams to enable new SoC features (e.g., RAS, SMMU, GIC, ACPI).
• Develop and maintain kernel drivers, subsystems, and board support packages (BSPs).
• Guide the integration of compliance test suites such as FWTS, BSA-ACS, SBSA-ACS, and SystemReady SR validation tools.
• Lead kernel bring-up on new silicon and virtual platforms
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical reviews, design documentation, and architectural decisions
• Represent the company in open-source communities and industry working groups

Required Qualifications

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 17+ years of experience in Linux kernel development, with a strong focus on Arm architecture.
• Deep understanding of kernel subsystems such as memory management, scheduler, device drivers, power management, and interrupt handling.
• Proven experience in upstreaming patches and working with the Linux kernel community.
• Familiarity with server-class SoC features: NUMA, RAS, ACPI, PCIe, CXL, and secure boot.
• Experience with platform enablement and compliance validation (e.g., SystemReady SR, FWTS, ACS).
• Strong debugging skills using tools like ftrace, perf, kgdb, crash, and kernel logs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with virtualization (KVM, Xen) and container technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Contributions to open-source projects or maintainership of kernel subsystems.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines for kernel testing and validation.
• Knowledge of firmware interfaces (UEFI, ACPI, Devicetree) and bootloaders (U-Boot, EDK2).

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 8+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• OR
• Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 7+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• OR
• PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 6+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• 4+ years of work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

Applicants

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