Senior Lustre Kernel Architect - HPC I/O & Performance

DDN; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

DDN is seeking an experienced Lustre software engineer to contribute to Lustre architecture and lead implementation of new features across core subsystems. You will write high-performance code in the Lustre kernel module and user-space utilities, owning full development lifecycle from design to upstream patch submission.

The role focuses on improving scalability for multi-petabyte Lustre environments, modernizing internals, and collaborating with hardware teams to translate workload needs into

Qualifications

• 7+ years of Lustre software development experience.
• Contributions to Lustre codebase in production or open-source.
• Designed and upstreamed Lustre features into major releases.
• Deep understanding of Lustre internals: MDS/OSS, LDLM, journaling, DNE, DoM, FLD, layout, quota, security.
• Expert C programming and strong Linux kernel development experience.
• Knowledge of distributed systems and high‑performance I/O.
• Experience with Lustre build, development and debugging tooling (lctl, llstat, strace, perf).
• Python and/or Bash skills for tooling and automation.
• Bachelors or Masters in CS/CE related field.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to Lustre architecture and lead feature implementation across core subsystems.
• Write high‑performance code in the Lustre kernel module and user space utilities.
• Own full development lifecycle for major features, from design to upstream patch submission.
• Improve scalability for multi‑petabyte Lustre environments and I/O paths.
• Modernize Lustre internals with kernel API updates and RDMA enhancements.
• Prototype and evaluate NVMe-oF, CXL, and other next‑gen storage approaches.
• Strengthen regression and performance validation using Lustre tools.
• Perform deep code‑level performance analysis with Lustre tracing tools and profilers.
• Collaborate with Principal Engineers and hardware teams; translate workload needs into improvements.
• Mentor other developers and contribute design docs and engineering reviews.

Skills

Lustre

C programming

Linux kernel

Distributed systems

High‑performance I/O

Python

Bash

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in CS

Tools

lctl

llstat

strace

perf

kernel tracers

Job description

DDN is seeking an experienced Lustre software engineer to contribute to Lustre architecture and lead implementation of new features across core subsystems. You will write high-performance code in the Lustre kernel module and user-space utilities, owning full development lifecycle from design to upstream patch submission.

The role focuses on improving scalability for multi-petabyte Lustre environments, modernizing internals, and collaborating with hardware teams to translate workload needs into