[Remote] Senior Linux Kernel & Driver Engineer – HPC/AI Fabrics
Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Cornelis Networks is building the future of AI and HPC networking with an AI-first approach to silicon and software development. They are seeking a talented Linux Kernel and Driver Developer to architect and optimize their next-generation HPC and AI fabric software stack, focusing on the development and optimization of host driver software and collaborating with silicon architects and the open-source community.
Responsibilities
- Design & Optimize Device Drivers: Develop, maintain, and upstream the open-source `hfi1` kernel driver and related subsystems (such as InfiniBand verbs and RDMA core)
- Hardware-Software Co-Design: Partner closely with silicon architects and hardware developers to define register interfaces, MMIO pathways, command queues, and hardware-software contracts
- Develop Zero-Copy Data Paths: Design and optimize low-latency, high-throughput DMA and RDMA transport engines, minimizing buffer copies and maximizing CPU-bypass capabilities
- Debug Complex Kernel Concurrency: Identify and resolve intricate kernel-space race conditions, deadlocks, and memory issues under heavy multi-threaded, asynchronous networking workloads
- Upstream & Community Engagement: Actively submit patches, participate in code reviews, and represent Cornelis within the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) and open-source networking communities
- Package & Build Automation: Maintain and optimize system build environments, kernel-module packages (DKMS, RPM, Kbuild), and automated integration tests
Skills
- Education: BS, MS, or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience)
- Kernel-Space Mastery: 3+ years of professional experience writing production-grade C code inside the Linux kernel (kernel modules, LKM, memory management, or interrupt handlers)
- High-Speed Networking Protocol Knowledge: Direct experience with RDMA, InfiniBand (IB) Verbs, RoCE, or high-performance user-space bypass frameworks (such as libfabric / OFI or DPDK)
- Hardware Interface Fundamentals: Strong understanding of PCIe architectures, DMA engines, memory mapping (`mmap`), and MMIO
- Advanced Kernel Debugging: Hands-on proficiency with kernel analysis tools including `KASAN`, `kmemleak`, `ftrace`, `tracepoints`, `kprobes`, and core crash dump analysis
- Scripting & Automation: Proficiency in scripting languages (e.g., Python, Bash) for automated testing and performance profiling
- Active track record of contributions to upstream `kernel.org` (specifically under `drivers/infiniband/` or `drivers/net/`)
- Familiarity with kernel storage protocols (e.g., Lustre, NFS, SRP)
- Experience with GPU-direct communication technologies (e.g., GPUDirect RDMA, DMA-buf)
Company Overview