Staff Linux Kernel Engineer

Crusoe; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 215,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Equity (RSUs)

Paid time off and holidays

Health, dental & vision insurance

HSA contributions

Parental leave

Life insurance & disability

Tuition reimbursement

Wellness support

Commuter benefits

Cell phone stipend

401(k) with company match

Global travel insurance

Meals allowance

Location-specific perks

Job summary

Crusoe is seeking a senior Linux kernel leader to set technical direction and own the kernel roadmap. You will work on high‑impact projects, mentor engineers, and deliver production‑grade infrastructure at scale for GPU‑accelerated AI and HPC workloads.

The role emphasizes upstream contributions, memory management, scheduling, and virtualization, with a strong focus on low latency and scalability across hypervisors. Join a team building from electrons to tokens for next‑gen AI workloads.

Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of Linux kernel internals including memory management, scheduler, networking, storage subsystems and/or device drivers.
• Strong C programming skills and fluency in kernel development workflow (patch submission, mailing lists, Lore).
• Experience evaluating kernel security vulnerabilities: CVE analysis and backporting fixes.

Responsibilities

• Perform deep-dive root-cause analysis of issues across OS and hardware layers; lead triage and backporting for kernel CVEs.
• Architect and lead critical projects — new kernel features, security patching infrastructure, deployment systems — from design through production and upstream.
• Develop kernel code with an upstream-first mindset, contributing changes to the Linux kernel community and minimizing downstream patches.

Skills

Linux kernel internals

C programming

Kernel development workflow

Security vulnerabilities

Technical direction

Upstream Linux kernel contributions

Virtualization technologies

Tools

KVM

Xen

QEMU

Job description

Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. As the only vertically integrated AI infrastructure company built from the ground up, we own and operate each layer of the stack — from electrons to tokens — to power the world's most ambitious AI workloads. When you join Crusoe, you join a team that is building the future, faster.

We’re in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution of our time. The demand for AI compute is boundless, and power is a bottleneck. We’re solving that — with an energy-first approach that makes AI infrastructure better for the world and faster for the people innovating with AI.

We’re looking for problem-solving, opportunity-finding teammates with a sense of urgency, who believe in the scale of our ambition and thrive on a path not fully paved — people who want to grow their careers alongside a team of experts across energy, manufacturing, data center construction, and cloud services.

If you want to do the most meaningful work of your career, help our customers and partners advance their AI strategies, and be part of a high-performing team that believes in each other, come build with us at Crusoe.

About The Role

You will set the technical direction for Crusoe’s Linux kernel team, owning the roadmap and architecting critical development projects. This role requires a balance of high-level architectural design and hands‑on kernel coding. You will tackle the most complex kernel problems while mentoring and growing the engineers around you to deliver production‑ready infrastructure at scale.

What You’ll Be Working On:

• Perform deep‑dive root‑cause analysis of issues across the OS and hardware layers. You will lead the triage and backporting for kernel CVEs while building automated tooling for vulnerability analysis.
• Architect and lead critical projects — new kernel features, security patching infrastructure, deployment systems — from design through production and upstream.
• Develop kernel code with an upstream‑first mindset — we aim to contribute all changes to the Linux kernel community and keep our downstream patches zero; this is a core part of how the team works, not an afterthought
• Develop and review kernel code: memory management, scheduler, networking, storage, and GPU‑related subsystems
• Design and implement advanced virtualization technologies tailored for GPU‑accelerated AI and HPC workloads. You will optimize the stack for low latency and high scalability across hypervisors and device emulation.
• Find and develop kernel efficiency improvements proactively (e.g., DAMON‑based memory management, hugepage optimization, memory overcommit)
• Mentor and review work from mid‑level and junior engineers

What You’ll Bring to the Team:

• Deep knowledge of Linux kernel internals — memory management, scheduler, networking, storage subsystems and/or device drivers
• Strong C programming skills; fluency in kernel development workflow (patch submission, mailing lists, Lore)
• Experience evaluating kernel security vulnerabilities: CVE analysis, exploitability assessment, backporting fixes
• Demonstrated ability to set technical direction and drive projects end-to-end
• Track record of upstream Linux kernel contributions is a strong plus
• Deep knowledge of Linux kernel internals (memory management, scheduler, I/O) and virtualization technologies (KVM, Xen, or QEMU)
• 10+ years of experience in systems software engineering working on low-level systems or infrastructure teams.

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation and equity packages
• Restricted Stock Units
• Paid time off, paid holidays & leave of absence programs
• Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance
• Employer contributions to HSA account
• Paid parental leave
• Paid life insurance, short‑term and long‑term disability
• Professional development & tuition reimbursement
• Mental health & wellness support
• Commuter benefits (parking & transit)
• Cell phone stipend
• 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary
• Volunteer time offGlobal travel insurance & emergency assistance
• Daily meals allowance
• Additional perks & programs specific to location

Compensation Range

Compensation will be paid in the range of up to $215,000 -$260,000 + Bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant’s knowledge, education, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.