Senior Linux Kernel Driver Engineer – PCIe AI Accelerators

MatX Inc.; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 600,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

4 weeks PTO

Holidays & remote time

Medical insurance

Commuter reimbursement

Meal program

AI resources

Job summary

MatX Inc. is seeking a System Software Engineer to build the Linux driver stack for AI accelerators and related tooling. You will work across kernel, drivers, and userspace to enable high-performance silicon on modern hardware.

Successful candidates will have extensive low-level systems software experience, strong C skills, and the ability to read hardware specs and implement from them. This role requires work from our Mountain View office.

Qualifications

• BS or higher in Computer Science/EE with 8+ years in low-level systems software.
• Strong Linux kernel development experience with PCIe devices.
• Strong C programming skills in userspace and kernel space.
• Able to read hardware datasheets and program a device from them.
• Deep understanding of computer architecture and OS internals.
• Experienced debugging complex hardware/software interaction issues with limited visibility.
• Self-driven and comfortable with ambiguity — own a component from blank page through bring-up.

Responsibilities

• Architect, design, and implement the Linux kernel driver stack for MatX's AI accelerators (PCIe endpoint devices), including memory management, DMA, interrupt handling, and command submission paths
• Build the low-level userspace libraries that sit directly on top of the driver — ioctl/sysfs interfaces, memory mapping, direct chip access utilities
• Test and validate early chip features on pre-silicon platforms: software simulation, emulation, and FPGA environments — often as the first software to ever touch a new hardware feature
• Write quick prototype code, debug utilities, and bring-up tooling to exercise the chip directly, well before polished production software exists
• Drive first-silicon bring-up side by side with hardware, BMC firmware, and platform engineers, debugging issues that span RTL, firmware, kernel, and userspace
• Profile and optimize the host I/O path: PCIe throughput, DMA efficiency, interrupt latency, and OS overheads
• Deliver unit and regression tests for kernel and library components
• Expose driver-level device state and error information in ways the platform telemetry and management layers can consume
• Influence next-generation chip architecture by feeding software requirements back into silicon design
• Share ownership of adjacent components with teammates — e.g., contributing to the chip initialization and telemetry daemons that build on your driver interfaces

Skills

Linux kernel development

C programming

PCIe devices

Hardware register maps

Performance optimization

System software

Education

BS or higher in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering

Tools

SR-IOV

VFIO

Job description

MatX Inc. is seeking a System Software Engineer to build the Linux driver stack for AI accelerators and related tooling. You will work across kernel, drivers, and userspace to enable high-performance silicon on modern hardware.

Successful candidates will have extensive low-level systems software experience, strong C skills, and the ability to read hardware specs and implement from them. This role requires work from our Mountain View office.