Embedded Linux Consultant Engineer (Remote/Anywhere)

Remote; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary based on experience

Office setup budget

Sabbatical/Retention of Services

Co-working policy

Wellness assessments

Conference attendance

Open source time

Fully remote

No on-call rotations

Sustainable pace

Flexible hours

Job summary

Collabora is seeking an Embedded Linux Consultant Engineer (Remote/Anywhere) to provide consulting services in embedded Linux, bootloaders, kernel and distros. You will work with clients to design solutions, contribute to open source projects, and participate in conferences, while operating in a fully distributed environment.

The role emphasizes upstream collaboration, hands-on debugging, and strong English communication skills, with an emphasis on building deep technical relationships across

Qualifications

• Broad Linux experience including uBoot, Linux kernel and BSP
• Open source development methodologies and communities
• ARM-based embedded systems knowledge
• Experience with system image creation tooling (Debos, WIC) and OTA
• Debian system creation knowledge is a plus
• Troubleshooting and developing for embedded Linux systems; CI tooling experience (GitHub, GitLab)

Responsibilities

• Upstream and community participation in open source projects
• Analyze client problems and design open source-based solutions
• Define and scope client projects with delivery teams
• Gain knowledge of customer products and target markets as needed
• Discuss Linux core tech with clients and represent the company at events

Skills

Linux kernel

uBoot

Embedded Linux

Open source collaboration

English communication

Remote collaboration

Tools

Debos

WIC

GitHub

GitLab

Job description

Defining the future of work & living globally

5,814 jobs 6 companies

Embedded Linux Consultant Engineer (Remote/Anywhere)

We are currently looking for a passionate and enthusiastic Embedded Linux Software Developer with Open-Source exposure to join our team. Your main mission will about providing consulting services to our customers in the areas of Embedded Linux (Bootloaders, Linux kernel, Linux Distros) through software development, integration, debug and testing for different types of products and customers.

Location: Fully remote
Travel: Optional conference attendance

What You’ll Actually Do

Upstream & Community Participation: Contribute publicly to open source projects to ensure Collabora's continuing technical leadership

Real-World Impact: Analyse client problems and design solutions leveraging open source technologies and Collabora's technical expertise

Customer Collaboration: Define and scope client projects in collaboration with the delivery team

Breadth When Needed: Gain working knowledge of customers’ products, applications, technical and business strengths and target markets

Be a Technical Advisor: Discussing Linux core system technologies with clients and representing the company at conferences and trade shows to demonstrate and promote our leadership in the open source arena

Deep Technical Work: Understanding client needs and reconciling time constraints, available technologies and resources, and open source best practices

What We’re Looking For

Required:

Broad Linux experience (e.g. uBoot, Linux kernel and BSP, Embedded Linux Distros (e.g. Yocto, Debian)

Knowledge of open source development methodologies and relevant open source communities

Knowledge of ARM processors-based embedded systems

Experience with System image creation tooling (e.g. debos, wic) and OTA technologies are essential

Experience with Debian system creation specifically would be a big plus

Experience in troubleshooting and resolving technical issues in a Linux-based environment

Experience with software development for embedded linux systems

Experience with modern CI tooling (github, gitlab)

Good English language skills (both verbal and written)

Ability to work and communicate in an online fully distributed environment

Nice to Have:

Familiarity with one or more of Collabora's market verticals

Experience with the Rust programming language

Experience with setting up secure/trusted boot chains

Experience with creating A/B boot systems or other atomic upgrade schemes

Experience with base hardware bringup of new ARM devices

What We Offer

We offer a competitive benefits package tailored to each country, plus a core global benefit offering accessible to all Collaborans. Our core benefits include:

Competitive salary based on experience and location

Office setup budget to create your ideal remote workspace

Sabbatical/Retention of Services – after five years of continuous service

Co-working policy – support for working outside your home office

Wellness assessments – biannual wellbeing assessments with a trained mental health specialist

Conference attendance – we cover expenses and encourage speaking opportunities

Open source time – contribute to projects you care about, with company support

Fully remote – work where you’re most productive, with a global team across Europe, the Americas, and Asia

No on-call rotations – this isn’t support work; focus on engineering and innovation

Sustainable pace – we’re here for the long term, with no burnout culture

Flexible hours – manage your own schedule and work when you’re at your best

Growth & Impact

Upstream contributions – your work directly shapes GStreamer and the broader multimedia ecosystem, not just client products

Technical leadership track – path to principal engineer, subsystem expertise, or technical architecture roles

Consulting track – develop deeper client relationships, lead customer engagements, or shape service offerings

Mentorship opportunities – both receiving and providing guidance within a collaborative team

Conference speaking – we support presentation submissions and provide coaching to amplify your impact

Recognition – your contributions are public, building your professional reputation in the open source community

Culture & Values

Upstream first – we believe the best solutions benefit everyone, so we prioritise contributing back to the community

Transparency – open discussion about technical decisions, business constraints, and project challenges

Pragmatism – perfect is the enemy of good; we ship quality code that solves real problems

Respect for expertise – we trust engineers to make technical decisions and own their work

Collaborative – we succeed by working together, internally and with the open source community

Sustainable pace – we’re here for the marathon, not the sprint

Our Interview Process

We respect your time and provide a clear, structured process:

Application Review (within 2 weeks) – we evaluate your code, contributions, and experience

Initial Chat (30 to 60 minutes) – a casual conversation about your background and our work

Technical Interview (1–2 hours)

Technical Deep-Dive – discuss Embedded Linux architecture, debugging challenges, and problem-solving approaches (no whiteboard coding)

Code Review Session – review real patches or contributions together, discussing trade-offs and design decisions

Client Scenario Discussion – tackle a realistic customer situation, balancing technical debt, timelines, and upstream goals (we want to see your thought process)

Chief Operating Officer (60 min) – meet the COO to discuss day‑to‑day work, company culture, and compensation

Offer (within 1 week of final interview)

Total timeline: 3–4 weeks from application to offer

We provide feedback at every stage, and you’ll always know where you stand.

We’re committed to building a diverse team and inclusive environment. We encourage applications from people underrepresented in tech.

We evaluate candidates based on skills, contributions, and potential—not pedigree. If you’re unsure whether you qualify, —imposter syndrome is real, and you might be exactly who we’re looking for.

If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.