U-Boot Developer

Tata Elxsi; Chennai District, Hyderabad; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,600,000; Full time

Job summary

Tata Elxsi, based in Chennai, India, is seeking a Kernel Boot & Baseport Engineer to bring up the Linux kernel on new ARM-based platforms and ensure boot success with required hardware features.

The role covers kernel development, porting, and packaging, including image trees, DTB bundling, and OTA support, with collaboration across kernel teams to ensure stable boot and performance.

Qualifications

• Strong C programming and data structures.
• Deep understanding of Linux kernel internals and boot process.
• Experience with debugging tools such as ftrace and perf.

Responsibilities

• Bring up the Linux kernel on new ARM-based hardware platforms.
• Enable basic functionalities (CPU, memory, interrupts, timers).
• Debug boot issues such as crashes, hangs, and panics.
• Implement boot image packaging workflows with FIT images and multi-image packaging.
• Collaborate with kernel teams for boot-time dependencies and integration.

Skills

C programming

Linux kernel internals

Boot process

Debugging tools

Tools

ftrace

perf

Job description

Role Summary

The Kernel Boot & Baseport Engineer is responsible for bringing up and enabling the Linux kernel on new hardware platforms (SoCs/boards). The primary goal is to ensure the kernel boots successfully and supports required hardware features.

Key Responsibilities

1. Kernel Platform Support, Bring-up, Boot & Baseport

• Bring up the Linux kernel on new platforms (boot to console/Android UI)
• Enable basic functionalities (CPU, memory, interrupts, timers)
• Debug boot issues such as crashes, hangs, and panics

1.1 Core Responsibilities:

• Bring up Linux on new ARM-based hardware platforms
• Debug early boot issues (pre-kernel and post-kernel)
• Work on:
• Kernel image loading (zImage/Image/uImage)
• Initramfs/rootfs mounting
• Boot arguments and environment setup
• Collaborate with kernel teams for boot-time dependencies and integration

1.2 Image Packaging & Distribution

• Implement and maintain boot image packaging workflows
• FIT images (Flattened Image Tree)
• Boot, DTB bundling, multi-image packaging
• Support flashing, provisioning, and OTA updates
• Work with Yocto/OpenEmbedded for boot components
• Ensure compatibility across distributions (Yocto, Ubuntu, etc.)

2. Kernel Development & Porting

• Port kernel features across versions/platforms
• Modify kernel code for new SoCs/boards
• Maintain and optimize kernel performance and stability
• Work on drivers and BSP components for platform bring-up

3. Debugging & Performance Optimization

• Debug kernel issues using logs, traces, and tools
• Fix boot failures, crashes, and performance bottlenecks
• Optimize power and CPU performance

Required Skills

Core Technical Skills

• Strong C programming and data structures
• Good understanding of:
• Linux kernel internals
• Boot process, SMP, scheduling, memory management
• Experience with debugging tools (ftrace, perf, logs)