Software Engineer, Linux Kernel

X.ai; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 440,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical, vision, dental coverage

401(k) plan

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Job summary

SpaceXSI in Palo Alto is seeking a Software Engineer, Linux Kernel, to design, build, and operate the lean Linux-based OS powering our AI supercomputer network fabric. You will work on drivers, OS components, and the core stack to push the hardware to its limits.

Join a team collaborating with hardware partners to bring up new platforms, tune performance, and ensure reliability with observability tools. Strong C/C++ skills and kernel networking expertise are essential.

Qualifications

• Hands-on systems programming in C/C++.
• Strong OS fundamentals and networking knowledge.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Deep knowledge of the Linux kernel networking stack.
• Experience with kernel/network debugging tools.
• Experience bringing up new hardware and bootstrapping Linux.
• Developing and optimizing device drivers, including DMA and cache coherency.
• Understanding Ethernet, PCIe, I2C, SPI and related interfaces.
• Knowledge of security, OS hardening, and secure boot.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the lean Linux-based OS underpinning our supercomputer network fabric.
• Write (or rewrite) high-performance device drivers to maximize hardware capability.
• Manage deployment, operation, and debugging with observability and configuration tools.
• Collaborate with hardware teams to design the next generation of supercomputer hardware and boot the OS on it.

Skills

C/C++ programming

Kernel development

Networking fundamentals

Debugging tools

Tools

ftrace

perf

Wireshark

tcpdump

eBPF

gdb

Job description

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today, SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary and expanding consciousness to the stars.

SpaceXSI is building Super Intelligence to help humanity understand the universe. Our teams are building the full Super Intelligence stack: from our Colossus supercomputers, to Grok models, to our suite of applications, including Grok Bot, Grok Build, Grok Imagine, Grok Voice, and X. We're creating a powerful flywheel where more compute trains better models, better models power more useful products, and what we learn from people using those products shapes what we build next.

SOFTWARE ENGINEER, LINUX KERNEL

At SpaceXSI, we design, build, and operate the largest AI supercomputers in the world, from the ground up. As a member of the Platform Core team, you will be responsible for the lowest layers of the software stack on the devices setting the pace for how fast we can push the frontier of AI. Our team’s software interfaces directly with the core hardware of the supercomputer and its network fabric. Our mission is to expose the full capability of that hardware — limited only by physics — to the rest of the stack, all while retaining the smallest, most robust footprint possible.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Build and maintain the lean, high-reliability Linux-based operating system that underpins our supercomputer network fabric
• Write (or rewrite) high-performance device drivers to extract the maximum physical capability from our network and compute hardware
• Manage deployment, operation, and debugging of our platform in production, including: rigorous resolution and root-causing of anomalies to ensure the system is constantly improving in reliability and developing and constantly improving our tools for observability and configuration management
• Collaborate with our hardware teams and external partners to design the next generation of supercomputer hardware – and then bring up our OS and software stack on it

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Hands-on systems programming experience in C or C++

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Strong operating systems fundamentals (scheduling, memory management, I/O) — you must be able to articulate in extreme detail how a computer works, from the hardware all the way up to high-level applications
• Understanding of computer networking, both in the host (OS stack) as well as common network devices like switches and routers
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Deep knowledge of the Linux kernel and its networking stack — transferable experience with another production-grade kernel is okay, too!
• Proficiency with debugging tools spanning kernel, network, and userspace (e.g., ftrace, perf, Wireshark/tcpdump, eBPF, gdb, and more)
• Experience bringing up new hardware from scratch — you have flashed bare-metal software on a microcontroller with JTAG, or bootstrapped a Linux kernel and rootfs on new hardware
• Demonstrated track record of developing and optimizing device/peripheral drivers — ideally for high-speed interfaces, or with advanced considerations like DMA and cache coherency
• Understanding of major peripheral hardware interface standards (Ethernet, PCIe, I2C, SPI, etc.) — you can critically review a schematic, and debug these interfaces if needed
• Experience with product security, OS/system hardening, and secure boot schemes

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

$180,000 - $440,000 USD

Base salary is just one part of our total rewards package at SpaceXSI, which also includes equity, comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and various other discounts and perks.

SpaceXSI is an equal opportunity employer. For details on data processing, view our Recruitment Privacy Notice.