Embedded Systems Security Engineer: Hardware Trust

Dorleco; Foster City (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Dorleco in Foster City, CA is seeking an Embedded Systems Security Engineer to harden our next‑generation embedded Linux platform. You will bridge hardware security, kernel hardening, and secure user‑space containment across the full software stack.

You will design cryptographic defenses, automate security pipelines in CI/CD, and collaborate with manufacturing to provision devices securely at scale while ensuring OTA resilience and trust throughout production.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline (or equivalent practical experience).
• Core Experience: 6+ years of professional experience in Embedded Linux development, board bring-up, and BSP customization.
• Security Focus: 3+ years of dedicated, hands-on experience deploying device-level security features into physical production hardware.
• Low-Level Systems: Expert knowledge of bootloader configurations (e.g., U-Boot Verified Boot, Barebox) and customizing the Linux kernel storage/security subsystem (dm-crypt, dm-verity).
• Hardware Security Architecture: Deep understanding of modern processor security architectures, specifically ARM TrustZone (ARMv7-A / ARMv8-A, Exception Levels EL1–EL3).
• Sandboxing & Access Controls: Proven track record implementing SELinux/AppArmor policies and utilizing standard Linux containment tools (cgroups, namespaces).
• Build Automation: Proficiency with embedded Linux build automated frameworks like the Yocto Project (BitBake recipe design) or Buildroot.
• Programming: Advanced proficiency in C and strong scripting skills in Python or Bash.

Responsibilities

• Platform Hardening & Architecture: Design and implement the Hardware Root of Trust and Secure Boot architecture from the first-stage bootloader through the Linux kernel.
• Storage & Integrity Management: Implement dm-verity for cryptographically verified read-only root filesystems and secure data encryption at rest.
• Trusted Execution Environments: Develop, integrate, and maintain a TEE (e.g., OP-TEE) and author Secure/Trusted Applications (TAs).
• Application Sandboxing: Enforce strict user-space isolation and sandboxing strategies using SELinux, AppArmor, cgroups, namespaces, and seccomp filters to protect core systems from untrusted applications.
• DevSecOps Automation: Build automated cryptographic signing pipelines within CI/CD infrastructure (e.g., GitLab CI, GitHub Actions) to securely sign bootloaders, kernels, and OTA payloads using HSMs or secure key vaults.
• Production Provisioning Support: Collaborate with manufacturing teams to write robust scripts and tools for burning permanent hardware configuration fuses (eFuses / OTP memory) securely, designing end-of-line (EOL) test software to validate security features before shipping.
• System Resilience: Architect multi-slot boot recovery layouts (e.g., A/B partitioning) to guarantee fail-safe resilience against failed OTA updates or corrupted boots.

Skills

Embedded Linux development

Board bring-up

BSP customization

U-Boot/Verified Boot

Linux kernel storage/security

SELinux/AppArmor

CI/CD automation

C programming

Python scripting

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Yocto Project

Buildroot

OP-TEE

dm-verity

dm-crypt

GitLab CI

GitHub Actions

HSMs / secure key vaults

Job description

Dorleco in Foster City, CA is seeking an Embedded Systems Security Engineer to harden our next‑generation embedded Linux platform. You will bridge hardware security, kernel hardening, and secure user‑space containment across the full software stack.

You will design cryptographic defenses, automate security pipelines in CI/CD, and collaborate with manufacturing to provision devices securely at scale while ensuring OTA resilience and trust throughout production.