Software Engineer, Linux Kernel (Starlink)

SpaceX•Bellevue, WA

20h•$125,000 - $200,000

About The Position

As a member of SpaceX’s Platform Core team, the Software Engineer, Linux Kernel will work on the lowest layers of the software stack for devices supporting AI supercomputers and their network fabric. The role involves building and maintaining a Linux-based operating system and software for the supercomputer network fabric and Starlink laser mesh of satellites, working directly with core hardware, and collaborating with hardware teams and external partners to bring up software on next-generation hardware.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, math, or a science discipline, or at least 2 years of professional software development experience in lieu of a degree; internship experience is applicable.
Hands-on system programming experience in C or C++.

Nice To Haves

Deep knowledge of the Linux kernel and its networking stack, or experience with another production-grade kernel.
Proficiency with debugging tools spanning kernel, network, and userspace, such as ftrace, perf, Wireshark/tcpdump, eBPF, and gdb.
Experience bringing up new hardware from scratch, such as flashing bare-metal software on a microcontroller with JTAG or bootstrapping a Linux kernel and root filesystem on new hardware.
A demonstrated track record of developing and optimizing device or peripheral drivers, ideally for high-speed interfaces or with considerations such as DMA and cache coherency.
Understanding of peripheral hardware interface standards such as Ethernet, PCIe, I2C, and SPI, including the ability to critically review schematics and debug interfaces.
Experience with product security, operating-system or system hardening, and secure boot schemes.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain a lean, high-reliability Linux-based operating system underpinning the supercomputer network fabric and Starlink laser mesh of satellites.
Write or rewrite high-performance device drivers to maximize the capabilities of network and compute hardware.
Manage deployment, operation, and debugging of the platform in production.
Resolve and root-cause anomalies to continually improve system reliability.
Develop and improve observability and configuration-management tools.
Collaborate with hardware teams and external partners to design next-generation supercomputer hardware and bring up the operating system and software stack on it.

Benefits

Potential long-term incentives in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards.
Potential discretionary bonuses.
Ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
Medical, vision, and dental coverage.
401(k) retirement plan.
Short- and long-term disability insurance.
Life insurance.
Paid parental leave.
Various other discounts and perks.
Up to 3 weeks of accrued paid vacation.
10 or more paid holidays per year.
Paid sick time for employees in Washington State, in compliance with state and federal law.
Company shuttles for roundtrip travel from select Seattle locations to the SpaceX Redmond office, Monday to Friday.