Linux Systems Engineer - Upstream-First Kernel Tooling

QUALCOMM, Inc.; Piemonte; On-site; EUR 67,000 - 101,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualcomm Europe, Inc. Italy Branch Office is seeking a Linux Plumber to join a world‑class engineering team.

You will bridge the gap between the kernel and user space, building robust OS tooling, optimizing the user‑space/kernel boundary, and driving our custom distribution engineering. With a strict mainline‑first philosophy, you will push changes upstream and collaborate closely with Qualcomm's open‑source engineers to ensure our distribution integrates with upstream developments and supports

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in CS/Engineering or related field.
• Strong knowledge of Linux internals and OS architecture.
• Experience with Debian packaging and upstream open‑source workflows.

Responsibilities

• Distro Customization & Release Engineering: own architecture, build, and maintain custom Linux distribution.
• Upstream-First Development: design system components for mainline acceptance.
• Debian Ecosystem Management: maintain package ecosystem, ensure stability and reproducibility.
• OS-Level Tooling: create tools/daemons in C, Go, or Rust for hardware/kernel interfaces.
• Boot & Init Optimization: optimize boot pipeline for speed and security.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: align OS plumbing with silicon capabilities.

Skills

Linux internals

Containerization

Systems programming

Upstream mindset

User-kernel boundary

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Master's degree in CS/Engineering

PhD in CS/Engineering

Tools

Debian packaging tools

dpkg/apt tooling

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

Qualcomm Europe, Inc. Italy Branch Office is seeking a Linux Plumber to join a world‑class engineering team.

You will bridge the gap between the kernel and user space, building robust OS tooling, optimizing the user‑space/kernel boundary, and driving our custom distribution engineering. With a strict mainline‑first philosophy, you will push changes upstream and collaborate closely with Qualcomm's open‑source engineers to ensure our distribution integrates with upstream developments and supports