Software Engineer - Linux Kernel (C++, C)

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

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical

Vision

Dental

401(k)

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Perks and discounts

Job summary

SpaceXAI designs, builds, and operates the largest AI supercomputers. As a member of the Platform Core team, you will own the lean Linux-based OS and drivers that drive the hardware, collaborating with hardware teams to push the frontier of AI.

You will deploy, operate, and debug the platform in production, resolve anomalies, and develop observability and configuration tools, while keeping the footprint small and robust.

Qualifications

• Hands-on systems programming experience in C or C++.
• Strong operating systems fundamentals (scheduling, memory management, I/O).
• Understanding of computer networking (host OS stack, switches/routers).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the lean, high-reliability Linux-based OS underpinning 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.
• 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.

Skills

Systems programming (C/C++)

OS fundamentals

Networking basics

Communication skills

Tools

ftrace

perf

Wireshark

tcpdump

eBPF

gdb

Job description

SpaceXAI’s mission is to create AI systems that can accurately understand the universe and aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. Our team is small, highly motivated, and focused on engineering excellence. This organization is for individuals who appreciate challenging themselves and thrive on curiosity. We operate with a flat organizational structure. All employees are expected to be hands-on and to contribute directly to the company’s mission. Leadership is given to those who show initiative and consistently deliver excellence. Work ethic and strong prioritization skills are important. All employees are expected to have strong communication skills. They should be able to concisely and accurately share knowledge with their teammates.

At SpaceXAI, 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.
• 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++.
• 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.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• 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 xAI, which also includes

• equity
• comprehensive medical
• vision
• dental coverage
• access to a 401(k) retirement plan
• short & long-term disability insurance
• life insurance
• various other discounts and perks

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