Senior Staff Linux Security Engineer

Crusoe•Sunnyvale, CA

2d•$250,000 - $300,000•Remote

About The Position

The Crusoe Cloud Software Development team is seeking a passionate and experienced Senior Staff Software Engineer specializing in Linux Kernel Security. This critical role is essential in strengthening the security posture of our core Linux kernel and operating system components, which underpin our cutting-edge hardware and software solutions for the AI cloud. A deep understanding of Linux kernel internals, security vulnerabilities, mitigation techniques, and secure development practices is paramount for developing reliable, high-assurance systems. This is a full-time position.

Requirements

Proven deep knowledge of Linux kernel internals (e.g., memory management, process scheduling, system calls, I/O subsystems) with a strong focus on security aspects.
Solid understanding of common kernel vulnerabilities (e.g., privilege escalation, information disclosure, denial of service) and associated exploitation techniques.
Experience with existing Linux kernel security mitigations (e.g., ASLR, DEP/NX, SMEP/SMAP, KASLR, namespaces, cgroups, LSMs like SELinux/AppArmor).
Strong background in secure coding principles and experience conducting security-focused code reviews, particularly in C.
Proficiency with kernel debugging tools (e.g., GDB, crash, kgdb) and security analysis tools (e.g., valgrind, address sanitizers, fuzzers).
Familiarity with hardware-assisted security features (e.g., Intel SGX, AMD SEV, ARM TrustZone) and their relevance to kernel security.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, and a minimum of 5 years of relevant industry experience with at least 3 years focused on low-level operating systems or kernel security.
Must be able to pass a background check.
Embody the Company values.
Experience dealing with CVE Remediation and automation

Nice To Haves

Experience with specific kernel security projects or contributions to open-source kernel security initiatives.
Familiarity with hypervisor security and the interaction between the hypervisor and the guest kernel's security.
Experience with hardware security modules (HSMs) or Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs).
Background in offensive security or penetration testing at the kernel level.

Responsibilities

Implement kernel security enhancements, manage configuration hardening, and triage incoming CVEs to assess severity and exploitability.
Enforce mandatory access controls, secure the boot path, and establish CI guardrails and fuzzing coverage to prevent regressions.
Research vulnerabilities across kernel, driver, and OS components to build proactive mitigations and backport non-trivial upstream fixes to production.
Establish and advocate for secure coding standards and best practices for kernel-level development. Conduct security-focused code reviews to identify and eliminate potential vulnerabilities early in the development lifecycle.
Utilize and develop specialized tools for kernel security auditing, fuzzing, static analysis, and dynamic analysis to uncover hidden vulnerabilities and ensure compliance with security policies.
Provide expert support during security incidents involving kernel or OS-level compromises, assisting with root-cause analysis, containment, and recovery efforts.
Work to ensure that security enhancements do not unduly impact system performance, especially critical for our high-performance AI infrastructure.
Audit, harden, and reduce privilege across Cloud Hypervisor device models and vhost-user datapaths, contributing upstream security fixes and advancing confidential computing primitives (AMD SEV-SNP, Intel TDX).
Collaborate closely with other engineering teams (hardware, hypervisor, OS development, cloud infrastructure, and security operations) to integrate security best practices and ensure a comprehensive security strategy across the stack.
Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers on kernel security best practices, fostering a culture of security awareness and excellence.
Debug and root-cause a variety of complex security-related issues at the kernel level.