Principal software engineer

NXP Semiconductors; Dadri; On-site; INR 5,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

NXP Semiconductors seeks a Principal Software Engineer in Noida with deep systems expertise and a security-first mindset. You will lead architecture across Linux kernel, boot loader, and user-space middleware to build secure, reliable platforms powering next-generation products/ platforms.

You will set technical direction, mentor senior engineers, and partner with cross-functional teams to deliver high-impact outcomes.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in systems/embedded/platform engineering and technical leadership.
• Expert in C/C++ for systems-level development; Rust is a plus.
• Deep Linux kernel knowledge across drivers, MM, scheduler, filesystem, and security modules (LSMs).
• Hands-on boot loader development (U‑Boot, GRUB) and secure boot flows.
• Strong cryptography and security protocol experience (TLS, IPsec, PKI, HSM/TPM).
• Experience building user-space middleware (IPC, systemd, observability).
• Familiar with embedded build systems and distributions (Yocto/OpenEmbedded, Buildroot).
• Proven track record of architecture documentation and production-quality releases.
• Proficient with debugging tools (kgdb, crash, perf, ftrace, gdb, BPF).

Responsibilities

• Design and implement security features in boot loader and secure boot flows.
• Enhance Linux kernel features including drivers, filesystems, and security modules.
• Develop user-space middleware (IPC frameworks, OpenSSL, DPDK) leveraging Userspace drivers.
• Implement and integrate security protocols (TLS 1.3, IPsec) and hardware-backed key management.
• Lead threat modeling, secure design reviews, and code audits per best practices.
• Drive performance and reliability through profiling, tracing, and memory safety.
• Define platform CI/CD including SBOMs and reproducible builds.
• Mentor engineers and shape technical roadmaps; decide build/buy/OSS leverage.
• Collaborate with Design/IP/DevOps/Product/QA to meet goals.

Skills

C/C++

Linux kernel

Rust (memory-safety)

eBPF

U-Boot / secure boot

Security protocols

Systemd / IPC middleware

Yocto / OpenEmbedded

Buildroot

RFCs / architecture docs

Tools

OpenSSL

DPDK

GRUB

Yocto/OpenEmbedded

Buildroot

GDB / kgdb

ftrace / perf

Job description

Experience: 10+ years

Location: Noida

Employment Type: Full‑time

Team: Platform / Systems / Security Engineering

Role Summary

We’re looking for a Principal Software Engineer who combines deep systems expertise with security‑first design. You will lead architecture and development across Linux kernel, boot loader, and user‑space middleware, building secure, reliable, and performant platforms that power our next‑generation [products/platforms]. You’ll set technical direction, elevate engineering standards, mentor senior engineers, and partner with cross‑functional stakeholders to deliver high‑impact outcomes.

What You’ll Do

• Design and implement security features in boot loader complementing secure boot, measured boot, and chain of trust.
• Design and implement security features in Linux kernel features (e.g., device drivers, filesystems, networking stack, security modules).
• Build and optimize user‑space middleware (e.g., IPC frameworks, OpenSSL, DPDK) leveraging Userspace drivers.
• Implement and integrate security protocols (e.g., TLS 1.3, DTLS, IPsec, SSH) and hardware‑backed key management.
• Drive threat modeling, secure design reviews, and code audits, ensuring compliance with best practices (e.g., ASLR, stack canaries, SELinux/AppArmor policies).
• Lead performance and reliability engineering including profiling, tracing (ftrace, eBPF, perf), memory safety, and resource efficiency.
• Define platform CI/CD for low‑level software (artifact signing, SBOMs, reproducible builds, Yocto/Buildroot/DEB/RPM pipelines).
• Mentor and grow engineers, guide technical roadmaps, and make pragmatic build/buy/OSS leverage decisions.
• Collaborate with Design team, IP team, DevOps, product, and QA to meet functional, performance, and certification goals.

Qualifications (Required)

• 10+ years of professional experience in systems/embedded/platform engineering, including technical leadership at team or org scale.
• Expert in C/C++ for systems‑level development; nice to have proficiency in Rust for memory‑safe components.
• Demonstrated depth in Linux kernel internals (at least two areas): drivers, MM, scheduler, net, filesystems, security modules (LSMs), eBPF.
• Hands‑on boot loader development and customization (U‑Boot, GRUB, secure boot flows, measured boot, boot‑time diagnostics).
• Strong knowledge of security protocols and cryptography (TLS/IPsec, X.509/PKI, key exchange, HSM/TPM, secure storage, attestation).
• Experience building user‑space middleware (IPC, service management with systemd, observability/logging, configuration frameworks).
• Proficiency with Linux build systems and distributions for embedded/platform (Yocto/OpenEmbedded, Buildroot) or enterprise (Deb/RPM).
• Proven ownership of architecture/design documents, RFCs, and shipping production‑quality platform software.
• Debugging mastery using kernel/user tools (kgdb, crash, perf, ftrace, strace, gdb, BPF tools) on real hardware/virtualized targets.

Nice to Have

• Trusted execution & firmware: ARM TrustZone, OP‑TEE, Intel SGX/TDX, AMD SEV, TF‑A, UEFI, ACPI/Device Tree.
• Virtualization & containers: KVM/QEMU, Kata Containers, cgroups, namespaces; container security (seccomp, SELinux/AppArmor).
• Networking & storage: DPDK, SR‑IOV, NVMe, RDMA, io_uring; high‑throughput low‑latency pipeline design.
• Safety/security certifications: FIPS 140‑3 validation, Common Criteria, ISO 27001/21434, AUTOSAR, IEC 62443.
• Secure software supply chain: artifact signing, SBOM (SPDX/CycloneDX), SLSA levels, reproducible builds.
• Scripting/automation: Python, Bash; Bazel/CMake/Meson; advanced CI (GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins, Buildkite).
• Observability: eBPF tracing, LTTng, SystemTap, ETW analogs; production telemetry & fleet operations.
• HW familiarity: SoC bring‑up, board support packages (BSP), JTAG, oscilloscopes, power/thermal profiling.