Kernel Memory Performance Engineer

Cloudflare; United States; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

United States Digital Space LLC is seeking an expert Linux kernel memory-management engineer to help optimize memory usage at scale. You will work on the kernel memory subsystem, address bottlenecks, and contribute changes upstream.

The role collaborates across kernel, networking, storage, and product teams to implement high-impact MM improvements, with a focus on performance, scalability, and cost efficiency as demand grows.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in the Linux kernel memory-management subsystem.
• Track record of upstream Linux contribution.
• Strong systems programming in C.
• Ability to own a problem and drive outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Diagnose and fix performance and scalability bottlenecks in the Linux kernel memory-management subsystem, informed by real production telemetry.
• Land your work upstream. We expect MM changes to go to mainline first and want you to keep doing the maintainership and review work that earns standing in the community.
• Build and extend low-overhead kernel instrumentation (tracepoints, BPF, perf) so we keep measuring before we change, and prove the impact afterwards.
• Partner with kernel, networking, storage, and product engineers across the company to turn observed system behavior into concrete MM improvements.
• Set technical direction for how the company uses, tunes, and evolves kernel memory management as we push utilization higher.

Skills

Linux kernel memory management

C programming

Upstream Linux contribution

Systems performance analysis

Tools

BPF

Perf tooling

Kernel tracing

Job description

United States Digital Space LLC is seeking an expert Linux kernel memory-management engineer to help optimize memory usage at scale. You will work on the kernel memory subsystem, address bottlenecks, and contribute changes upstream.

The role collaborates across kernel, networking, storage, and product teams to implement high-impact MM improvements, with a focus on performance, scalability, and cost efficiency as demand grows.