System Engineer (Operating System) - System Technologies and Engineering

ByteDance; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

ByteDance in Singapore seeks a senior systems software engineer to own Linux kernel features for production compute platforms, bridging the hardware/software boundary and delivering reliability, performance, and security improvements.

You will diagnose complex production issues, review low-level code, and collaborate with silicon, firmware, validation, and platform teams while contributing patches upstream when appropriate.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Deep understanding of operating-system fundamentals, including concurrency, memory management, scheduling, interrupts, synchronization, and device I/O.
• 3+ years of professional experience developing systems software in C, with working knowledge of C++ and scripting languages used for automation and diagnostics.
• Hands-on Linux kernel development or debugging experience in one or more areas such as device drivers, platform enablement, virtualization, networking, security, power management, or core kernel infrastructure.
• Demonstrated ownership of production-quality software, including testing, code review, incident diagnosis, and sustained maintenance.
• Clear written and verbal communication across hardware and software disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Backport, design, implement, optimize, and maintain Linux kernel components and associated user-space interfaces for production compute platforms.
• Own complex features through requirements, design review, coding, integration, validation, rollout, and post-deployment support.
• Debug kernel crashes, hangs, race conditions, memory corruption, boot failures, performance regressions, and hardware/software interaction defects from the production environment in real cases.
• Analyze traces, logs, crash dumps, performance counters, and workload behavior to identify root causes and verify corrective action.
• Improve observability and diagnostic tooling for field issues, and develop automated unit, integration, stress, fault-injection, and regression tests;
• Partner with silicon, firmware, security, validation, platform, and production teams to enable new hardware and resolve cross-layer defects.
• Contribute patches and technical discussions upstream when upstream adoption is the appropriate long-term path; maintain downstream changes responsibly when it is not.
• Review designs and code, document operational constraints, and share practical kernel-debugging knowledge with the team and partner team.

Skills

Operating-system fundamentals

C programming

C++

Scripting languages

Linux kernel development

Production-quality ownership

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

Tools

ftrace

perf

eBPF

kdump

Job description

About the Team

We are a systems software team building the foundational software for large-scale GPU computing cluster. We work at the hardware/software boundary across the Linux kernel, accelerators, storage, firmware, and platform validation. We value rigorous engineering, clear interfaces, measurable performance and reliability, and upstream collaboration where appropriate. The team partners closely with hardware, architecture, product, validation, and production engineering groups to move new capabilities from design through dependable deployment.

About the Role

You will own substantial Linux kernel features and production issues from design through validation and deployment. This is a senior individual-contributor role for an engineer who writes and reviews low-level code, diagnoses failures across hardware and software boundaries, and delivers measurable improvements in reliability, performance, security, and maintainability. You will influence designs and help other engineers succeed, while remaining directly accountable for implementation and results.

Responsibilities

• Backport, design, implement, optimize, and maintain Linux kernel components and associated user-space interfaces for production compute platforms.
• Own complex features through requirements, design review, coding, integration, validation, rollout, and post-deployment support.
• Debug kernel crashes, hangs, race conditions, memory corruption, boot failures, performance regressions, and hardware/software interaction defects from the production environment in real cases.
• Analyze traces, logs, crash dumps, performance counters, and workload behavior to identify root causes and verify corrective action.
• Improve observability and diagnostic tooling for field issues, and develop automated unit, integration, stress, fault-injection, and regression tests;
• Partner with silicon, firmware, security, validation, platform, and production teams to enable new hardware and resolve cross-layer defects.
• Contribute patches and technical discussions upstream when upstream adoption is the appropriate long-term path; maintain downstream changes responsibly when it is not.
• Review designs and code, document operational constraints, and share practical kernel-debugging knowledge with the team and partner team.

Qualifications

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Deep understanding of operating-system fundamentals, including concurrency, memory management, scheduling, interrupts, synchronization, and device I/O.
• 3+ years of professional experience developing systems software in C, with working knowledge of C++ and scripting languages used for automation and diagnostics.
• Hands-on Linux kernel development or debugging experience in one or more areas such as device drivers, platform enablement, virtualization, networking, security, power management, or core kernel infrastructure.
• Demonstrated ownership of production-quality software, including testing, code review, incident diagnosis, and sustained maintenance.
• Clear written and verbal communication across hardware and software disciplines.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience contributing to the upstream Linux kernel or another substantial open-source systems project.
• Familiarity with kernel tracing and debugging tools such as ftrace, perf, eBPF, crash, kdump, lockdep, KASAN, or equivalent facilities.
• Experience enabling new silicon or server platforms, including firmware interfaces, PCIe devices, interrupt routing, IOMMU, or power and thermal behavior.
• Evidence of improving a production system’s availability, latency, throughput, security, or recovery time through hands-on engineering.

About Us

Founded in 2012, ByteDance's mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. With a suite of more than a dozen products, including TikTok, Lemon8, CapCut and Pico as well as platforms specific to the China market, including Toutiao, Douyin, and Xigua, ByteDance has made it easier and more fun for people to connect with, consume, and create content.

Why Join ByteDance

Inspiring creativity is at the core of ByteDance's mission. Our innovative products are built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and enrich life - a mission we work towards every day.

As ByteDancers, we strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. By constantly iterating and fostering an 'Always Day 1' mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our Company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.

Diversity & Inclusion

ByteDance is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At ByteDance, our mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.