Senior Kernel Developer

International Business Machines Corporation; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,500,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

IBM is seeking a Lead Linux Kernel Engineer in Bengaluru to drive architecture and development of core kernel components, including memory management, schedulers, and virtualization for IBM Power systems.

You will collaborate with open-source communities, lead upstreaming of new features, mentor engineers, and shape kernel technology strategy across the Linux on Power ecosystem.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 12–18 years of experience in Linux internals, OS, and kernel development.
• Strong programming in C, C++, Python, and shell scripting.
• Experience with upstream Linux kernel communities and patch review.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, development, and optimization of Linux kernel components (Memory Management, CPU Scheduler, RAS, I/O, Virtualization, Bootloader).
• Collaborate with open-source communities, upstream new features, mentor engineers, and influence kernel direction across Linux on Power.

Skills

Kernel development

Kernel debugging

Performance analysis

Upstream contributions

Mentoring

Collaboration

C/C++

Python

Shell scripting

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

Git

Checkpatch

kgdb

ftrace

perf

SystemTap

GDB

eBPF

Job description

Your Role and Responsibilities:

As a lead Linux Kernel Engineer, you will drive the architecture, design, development, and optimization of key Linux kernel components including Memory Management, CPU Scheduler, RAS, I/O, Virtualization (KVM), and Bootloader technologies. You will provide technical leadership for enterprise Linux initiatives on IBM Power systems, ensuring industry-leading performance, scalability, reliability, and maintainability for strategic workloads.

You will collaborate closely with open-source communities, lead the upstreaming of new features and enhancements, mentor engineers, and influence the technical direction of kernel technologies across the Linux on Power ecosystem.

Required Education:

Bachelor's Degree

Required Technical and Professional Expertise:

• 12years -18years of experience in Linux internals, operating systems, and Linux kernel development. Strong experience in kernel programming, kernel debugging, performance analysis, and root cause identification.
• Hands-on expertise in Linux kernel subsystems such as Memory Management, Filesystems, Virtualization (KVM), Device Drivers, Interrupt Handling, IOMMU/VFIO, Networking, or related areas.
• Working knowledge of computer system architecture, including CPU, memory, I/O subsystems, and virtualization technologies.
• Strong operating systems fundamentals with deep understanding of process management, scheduling, synchronization, memory management, and storage stacks.
• Strong programming skills in C, C++, Python, and shell scripting with experience developing and debugging low-level system software.
• Experience working with open-source software, contributing to upstream Linux kernel communities, reviewing patches, and maintaining kernel code.
• Hands-on experience with kernel tracing and debugging tools such as GDB, crash, ftrace, perf, eBPF, SystemTap, or kgdb.
• Experience in kernel performance tuning, problem determination, and resolution of complex system-level issues.
• Proven problem-solving, design, collaboration, and communication skills with the ability to drive technical discussions across teams.

Preferred Technical and Professional Experience:

• Experience with Linux upstream community and LKML participation Ability to develop, submit, and maintain kernel patches Strong code review skills ensuring quality and standards compliance Proficiency with tools like git and checkpatch Effective collaboration with maintainers and community to drive upstream contribution

Years of Experience:

12 - 18