System Software Engineer, Linux Kernel and Device Drivers

MatX; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 600,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

4 weeks PTO

Health insurance

401K

Professional Development Budget

Job summary

MatX is building high-performance AI silicon and is seeking a System Software Engineer to own the Linux driver stack for AI accelerators and related pre-silicon validation tools. You will prototype drivers, utilities, and bring-up tooling that enable direct chip access and robust system software integration.

You will work with hardware, BMC firmware, and platform engineers to bring up first silicon, optimize I/O paths, and deliver reliable kernel and userspace components.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in low-level systems software.
• Proven Linux kernel driver development experience, ideally PCIe devices.
• Strong C programming skills; comfortable in userspace and kernel space.
• Able to read hardware datasheets and program a device from them.
• Deep understanding of computer architecture and OS internals (MMIO, DMA, interrupts, IOMMU).
• Experience debugging complex hardware/software interaction issues with limited visibility.
• Self-driven and comfortable with ambiguity, owning components from blank page to bring-up.

Responsibilities

• Architect, design, and implement the Linux kernel driver stack for AI accelerators (PCIe endpoint devices).
• Build low-level userspace libraries on top of the driver (ioctl/sysfs, memory mapping).
• Test and validate early chip features on pre-silicon platforms (simulation, emulation, FPGA).
• Write prototype code, debug utilities, and bring-up tooling for direct chip access.
• Drive bring-up with hardware, BMC firmware, and platform engineers across RTL, firmware, kernel, and userspace.
• Profile and optimize host I/O paths (PCIe, DMA, interrupts).
• Deliver unit and regression tests for kernel and library components.
• Expose driver state and errors to telemetry and management layers.

Skills

Linux kernel development

C programming

Hardware datasheets & registers

Debug complex hardware/software

Self-driven & ambiguous environments

Education

BS or higher in CS/EE

Tools

FPGA prototyping

Emulation

SR-IOV / dma-buf

Job description

What MatX Is Building

MatX’s mission is to make the world’s best AI models run as efficiently as allowed by physics, bringing the world years ahead in AI quality and availability. MatX is seeking System Software Engineer to join our team as we create best-in-class silicon for high-performance and sustainable GenAI. Successful candidates for these roles will be responsible for delivering performant and functionally accurate silicon for MatX products across compute, memory management. High-speed connectivity and other key technologies.

The MatX host system software team owns everything that makes our AI silicon and systems usable: from Linux kernel drivers up through node and cluster management. The team also co-owns the BMC/OpenBMC firmware stack, with dedicated firmware engineers, so host software and out-of-band management are designed together rather than bolted together. We’re looking for self-driven engineers who can take a hardware spec and a register map and just start building — prototype drivers, low-level utilities that talk directly to the chip, daemons, and tooling — with minimal hand-holding. Each engineer on this team has a primary focus area, but ownership of overlapping components is shared, and you should expect (and want) to venture across the stack.

What You’ll Do Here

• 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 (and, where relevant, the BMC) 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

Who You Are

• BS or higher in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience, with 8+ years in low-level systems software
• Strong hands‑on Linux kernel development experience — you’ve written and shipped device drivers, ideally for PCIe devices
• Strong C programming skills; comfortable in userspace and kernel space
• Able to read hardware datasheets and register definitions and program a device from them, without waiting for someone to explain the hardware
• Deep understanding of computer architecture and OS internals: MMIO, DMA, interrupts, IOMMU, memory hierarchy, processes/threads, virtual memory
• Experienced debugging complex hardware/software interaction issues with limited visibility
• Self-driven and comfortable with ambiguity — able to own a component from blank page through bring‑up and validation on a small, fast-moving team

Bonus Points If You Have

• Experience with pre-silicon validation environments (simulation, emulation, FPGA prototyping)
• First-silicon or new‑platform bring‑up experience for accelerators, NICs, or SoCs
• Familiarity with SR‑IOV, dma‑buf, peer-to-peer PCIe, or VFIO
• Kernel performance tuning and profiling experience (perf, ftrace, eBPF)
• Exposure to BMC/host interaction paths (e.g., in‑band vs. out-of‑band device access, sideband interfaces such as I2C/SMBus)
• Rust for systems programming

Compensation

The US base salary for this full‑time position is determined based on a variety of factors including role, experience, location, job‑related skills, and relevant education and training. Career length is only a guideline for compensation.

• Early Career - $160,000 - $275,000 + equity
• Mid Career - $175,000 - $400,000 + equity
• Senior Career - $250,000 - $600,000 + equity

What We Offer

• Time off: 4 weeks PTO (accrued) + 12 company Holidays + up to 3 weeks remote work
• Health: Company‑subsidized Medical (Kaiser or Anthem) for employees & dependents, Guardian Dental and Vision insurances for employee & dependents, and life insurance (employee only), plus HSA and FSA offerings via Lively.
• Financial Wellbeing: Choose from Roth IRA or 401K (or both) retirement plans with up to 5% company contribution to 401K (even if you don’t contribute). Also, 100% company‑paid life insurance (up to $300K) and long‑term disability insurances.
• Professional Development: $1500 Professional Development Budget (per year)
• Team Meals: MatX provides onsite team lunch & dinner Monday - Friday, with your choice of ordering via WeBox, Specialty’s or via our reimbursement system
• Commute on Us: Commute on our company Uber account, or reimburse your train rides. Either way, we pay 100% for your daily commute.
• MatX E[x]tras: $50/mo to use on the perk you value most
• Cell & Internet Reimbursement: $35/mo for cellular and $40/mo for wifi
• Mental Wellbeing: 100% paid mental health benefit via SpringHealth and Guardian EAP.
• Support to Parents: Up to 12 weeks paid parental leave regardless of path to parenthood, 10 weeks pregnancy disability leave, flexible return‑to‑work hours, and Benepass reproductive health & parental benefit.
• AI Resources: Up to $20K/month plus a dedicated internal AI Tooling Team to support your productivity

As part of our dedication to the diversity of our team and our focus on creating an inviting and inclusive work experience, MatX is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital/domestic partner status, military and veteran status, genetic information or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances.

This position requires access to information that is subject to U.S. export controls. This offer of employment is contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to perform job functions in compliance with U.S. export control laws without obtaining a license from U.S. export control authorities.

MatX does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third‑party recruiting agencies in response to job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to our hiring managers or People team and any resumes submitted are deemed to be the property of MatX.