Embedded Linux Engineer - Kontur

Avantas AS; Trondheim; Hybrid; NOK 800,000 - 1,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Kontur is expanding its R&D team and seeks an Embedded Linux Engineer to own the Linux platform for our ground-penetrating radar systems. You’ll work on ARM Linux computers with custom add-on cards, writing kernel drivers and user-space interfaces, and maintaining Buildroot.

You’ll help deliver a fast, reliable data server over Ethernet and collaborate with RF, electronics and FPGA engineers. Based at our Trondheim headquarters with hybrid work options and English-friendly environment;

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in computer science, electronics, cybernetics or similar, or equivalent experience.
• Strong C skills and comfortable with large unfamiliar codebases; Python for tooling and testing.
• Hands-on Linux platform experience close to hardware (kernel config, boot, device tree, build systems).
• Able to read datasheets and schematics; some kernel-side exposure (DMA, interrupts, PCIe, SPI, I2C, UART, network).
• Good debugging skills on both hardware and software sides; able to work with hardware engineers on early revisions.

Responsibilities

• Own our embedded Linux platform: Buildroot, kernel config, bootloader, device tree and rootfs.
• Write and maintain kernel drivers for custom add-on cards, including DMA paths and memory management.
• Design user-space interfaces and libraries for hardware (character devices, ioctls, mmap, sysfs).
• Bring up new boards and be the software half of hardware debugging.
• Tune networking stack for streaming high-rate sensor data over Ethernet.
• Integrate data from many sensors with proper timing and synchronization.
• Improve latency, throughput and determinism across the acquisition pipeline.
• Keep the platform maintainable with upgrades, reproducible builds, and automated deployment.

Skills

C

Python

Linux kernel debugging

Kernel drivers

Buildroot/Yocto

Education

Master's degree in computer science / electronics / cybernetics

Tools

Buildroot

Yocto

Job description

About the Role

At Kontur we are expanding our R&D team, and we are looking for an Embedded Linux Engineer to own the Linux platform running our ground-penetrating radar systems. Our instruments are ARM Linux computers with custom add-on cards, including FPGA-based data acquisition hardware. You will work where the operating system meets that hardware, writing the kernel drivers and user-space interfaces that make the cards work, and maintaining the Buildroot distribution they run on. You will also contribute to the user-space data server that delivers data over Ethernet, and help keep it fast and reliable under load. You will work as part of our software engineering team, alongside our RF, electronics and FPGA engineers, and report to the CTO.

Responsibilities

• Own our embedded Linux platform: Buildroot, kernel configuration, bootloader, device tree and root filesystem
• Write and maintain kernel drivers for custom add-on cards, including DMA data paths, interrupt handling and memory management
• Design the user-space interfaces to that hardware (character devices, ioctls, mmap, sysfs) and the libraries built on them
• Bring up new boards, and be the software half of hardware debugging
• Tune the Linux networking stack for streaming high-rate sensor data over Ethernet
• Integrate data from many sensors at system level, including timing and synchronisation
• Improve latency, throughput and determinism across the acquisition pipeline
• Keep the platform maintainable: kernel upgrades, reproducible builds, automated deployment

Experience / Qualifications

• Master’s degree in computer science, electronics, cybernetics or similar, or equivalent experience
• Solid C, and unafraid of a large unfamiliar codebase. Python for tooling and test
• Hands-on Linux platform experience close to the hardware, e.g. kernel configuration, boot, device tree, or a build system such as Buildroot or Yocto
• Comfortable reading datasheets and schematics
• Some exposure to the kernel side of Linux and the subsystems we work with (DMA, interrupts, PCIe, SPI, I2C, UART, network), e.g. a driver you patched or a module you wrote
• Strong debugging skills on both sides of the boundary, e.g. kernel logs, ftrace and perf, JTAG, oscilloscope and logic analyser
• Comfortable working with hardware engineers on early board revisions

Nice to have

• Upstream kernel contributions are not required, but would set you apart
• High-rate data acquisition and digital signal processing
• Experience interacting with FPGAs
• Experience with microcontrollers
• C++ in user space

Practical Details

• Based at our Trondheim headquarters and mainly on‑site, with flexible hours and some working from home
• Norwegian is preferred, but you can learn it on the job if your English is solid

For further information about the position, please contact Janne Sunde Grønning on 97755899, Hanna Yttereng on 95892310 at Avantas, or Jacopo Sala Chief Scientist at Kontur on 46626550 .

All enquiries to Avantas will be treated in the strictest confidence and, if requested, will remain confidential with respect to our client during the initial stage of the recruitment process.