Linux Kernel Engineer - Upstream / ARM SoC Enablement (Contract, Fully Remote)
I'm looking for an experienced Linux kernel engineer to work on new ARM SoC enablement with a major global semiconductor company. This is on a long term, high pay, fully remote working basis.
What the work looks like
This is new-silicon work, not maintenance of an existing BSP. You'd take peripherals from the hardware reference manual through Device Tree and driver development, then on to hardware validation and upstream submission.
The core areas are:
- Peripheral and controller drivers written from the hardware manual: SPI, I C, DMA and interrupt routing
- High-speed interfaces such as PCIe (helpful, but not essential)
- Device Tree development
- Board bring-up and low-level hardware debugging
You'll also touch ASoC, pinctrl, Ethernet/PHY and thermal drivers. You don't need to know all of these in depth.
The kind of problem you'll be solving
A peripheral won't probe, enumerate or raise interrupts, and you have to work out why. Is it the hardware configuration, the clocks or resets, the interrupt routing, the Device Tree, the status register handling, or the driver? There's also the challenge of supporting several SoC variants that share IP but differ in registers, interrupts and quirks, without ending up with duplicated drivers.
What I'm looking for
- Strong C and Linux kernel fundamentals, with ARM/SoC experience
- Experience writing drivers from a hardware manual or datasheet (platform drivers, probe/remove, clocks, resets, interrupts, DMA), not only Device Tree changes or small fixes
- Upstream Linux contributions: patches accepted into mainline, working with maintainers, responding to review, and handling patch series
- Hands-on hardware debugging on real boards
- A bonus: Yocto, CIP kernels, or automated hardware testing (pytest/LAVA)
If you've worked on vendor kernels or BSPs and have upstream patches behind you, I'd like to hear from you. You don't need PCIe experience, or a long list of subsystems on your CV.
Fully remote (work from anywhere in Europe)
Contract role, highly competitive rate
Real silicon, real hardware
Genuine upstream Linux work
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Linux Kernel Upstream Engineer in City of London employer: X4 Group
Join a forward-thinking engineering team that values innovation and flexibility, offering a majority remote working environment with the opportunity to engage in high-performance projects. With a strong focus on employee growth, you will benefit from a comprehensive benefits package and long-term career progression while collaborating with skilled professionals in Hampshire. This role not only promises technical challenges but also fosters a supportive work culture that encourages creativity and teamwork.
