Position: Senior SSD System Test Engineer – Linux Environment

Virtium LLC; Rancho Santa Margarita (CA); On-site; USD 108,000 - 132,000; Full time

Job summary

Virtium LLC in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA seeks a hands-on Senior SSD System Test Engineer for Linux environments to join our storage validation and system integration team. You will lead system-level validation for enterprise NVMe SSDs, debug kernel and driver issues, and drive automation across hardware, firmware, and software layers.

The role focuses on enterprise SSD validation, failure analysis, and root-cause debugging, reporting to the Senior Director of Engineering.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years of experience in SSD system validation or Linux storage testing.
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or related field.
• Strong experience with Linux-based SSD validation and system-level testing.
• Solid understanding of NVMe architecture and command sets.
• Strong understanding of PCIe protocol and link behavior.
• Experience with Linux storage stack, block layer, and kernel fundamentals.
• Scripting or programming skills in Python or Bash.
• Familiarity with test automation and CI environments.

Responsibilities

• Develop, execute, and maintain system-level test plans for enterprise NVMe SSD products in Linux environments.
• Perform system validation and qualification testing for PCIe/NVMe SSDs across Linux servers and clients.
• Debug SSD issues involving Linux kernel, device drivers, PCIe, NVMe, and storage subsystems.
• Analyze and resolve system crashes, kernel panics, I/O failures, performance degradation, timeouts, and data integrity problems.
• Drive root-cause analysis and support issue closure for SSD-related problems in Linux environments.
• Collaborate with firmware, hardware, kernel, and platform teams to isolate and resolve cross-layer issues.
• Develop and enhance automated test frameworks and scripts for regression, stress, endurance, and reliability testing.
• Use Linux debugging/trace tools like dmesg, ftrace, blktrace, perf, iostat, nvme-cli, smartctl, and kernel logs.
• Validate SSD functionality including power management, thermal behavior, endurance, error recovery, hot-plug, PCIe link stability.
• Perform interoperability testing across Linux distributions, kernels, servers, and storage platforms.
• Create detailed test reports, bug tracking documents, and validation summaries.

Skills

NVMe SSD validation

Storage subsystem analysis

SSD firmware interaction

System stress testing

Python

Bash

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering / Electrical Engineering / Computer Science

Tools

fio

vdbench

iozone

Job description

Join our team and unleash your creative genius! At Virtium, we make the impossible possible.

We need more brilliant minds with fresh ideas to help take this skyrocketing success to the next level. If you are someone who thrives in a fast-moving, creative environment, can adapt when needed, enjoys contributing to a great, creative, customer-first team and, enjoys having fun doing it, send us your resume!

Reports to: Senior Director of Engineering

Position Summary

We are seeking a hands-on Senior SSD System Test Engineer for Linux environments to join our storage validation and system integration team. The ideal candidate brings strong experience in Linux, SSD, and NVMe, along with hands-on SSD validation, low-level debugging, and issue resolution in Linux-based environments. This role is focused on enterprise SSD system test, failure analysis, root-cause debugging, and automation across hardware, firmware, and software layers. This is not a general software QA role.

This position reports to the Sr. Director of Engineering and is a full-time onsite role, Monday through Friday, based in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. Travel is not required, and a relocation package is not available at this time.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, execute, and maintain system-level test plans for enterprise NVMe SSD products in Linux environments.
• Perform system validation and qualification testing for PCIe/NVMe SSDs across Linux-based server and client platforms.
• Debug SSD issues involving Linux kernel, device drivers, PCIe stack, NVMe protocol, and storage subsystems.
• Analyze and resolve system crashes, kernel panics, I/O failures, performance degradation, timeout issues, and data integrity problems.
• Drive deeper root-cause analysis and support issue closure for customer and internal SSD-related problems in Linux environments.
• Work closely with firmware, hardware, kernel, and platform teams to isolate, root-cause, and resolve complex cross-layer issues.
• Develop and enhance automated test frameworks and scripts for regression, stress, endurance, and reliability testing.
• Use Linux debugging and tracing tools such as dmesg, ftrace, blktrace, perf, iostat, nvme-cli, smartctl, and kernel logs.
• Validate SSD functionality including power management, thermal behavior, endurance, error recovery, hot-plug, and PCIe link stability.
• Perform interoperability testing across Linux distributions, kernels, servers, and storage platforms.
• Create detailed test reports, bug tracking documentation, and validation summaries.

Required Qualifications

• 5–10 years of experience in SSD system validation, enterprise SSD testing, or Linux storage testing.
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a related engineering field.
• Strong experience with Linux-based SSD validation and system-level testing.
• Strong understanding of NVMe architecture and command sets.
• Strong understanding of PCIe protocol and link behavior.
• Strong understanding of Linux storage stack, block layer, and Linux kernel fundamentals.
• Experience with Linux tools and utilities for storage, tracing, and performance analysis.
• Experience analyzing kernel logs, crash dumps, and low-level hardware/software interactions.
• Strong scripting or programming skills in Python, Bash, or similar languages.
• Familiarity with test automation and continuous integration environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with enterprise SSD validation and qualification.
• Deep familiarity with enterprise SSD behavior, system qualification, and customer-driven debug scenarios.
• Familiarity with kernel driver development or kernel debugging.
• Experience with storage performance tools such as fio, vdbench, or iozone.
• Understanding of power management states, PCIe error handling, and firmware validation.
• Knowledge of SATA/SAS storage protocols is a plus.
• Experience with server platforms from Intel, AMD, or ARM architectures.

Technical Skills

• NVMe SSD validation
• Storage subsystem analysis
• SSD firmware interaction
• System stress and reliability testing

Additional Information

• Location: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA onsite full-time Monday to Friday
• Compensation Range: starting salary $120,000+, based on experience, etc.