Internship Linux Kernel Developer Jobs in Santa Clara, CA

Workplace: On-Site, 5 days 
Location: Foster City, CA

We are looking for an Embedded Linux Security Engineer to implement security solution to harden our next-generation embedded Linux platform. In this role, you will bridge the gap between low-level hardware security, kernel hardening, and secure user-space application containment. You will not only design cryptographic defense mechanisms but will also automate security pipelines in CI/CD and partner directly with manufacturing teams to ensure devices are provisioned securely and reliably at scale without production risks.

Responsibilities 
    Platform Hardening & Architecture: Design and implement the Hardware Root of Trust and Secure Boot architecture from the first-stage bootloader through the Linux kernel.
    Storage & Integrity Management: Implement dm-verity for cryptographically verified read-only root filesystems and secure data encryption at rest.
    Trusted Execution Environments: Develop, integrate, and maintain a TEE (e.g., OP-TEE) and author Secure/Trusted Applications (TAs).
    Application Sandboxing: Enforce strict user-space isolation and sandboxing strategies using SELinux, AppArmor, cgroups, namespaces, and seccomp filters to protect core systems from untrusted applications.
    DevSecOps Automation: Build automated cryptographic signing pipelines within CI/CD infrastructure (e.g., GitLab CI, GitHub Actions) to securely sign bootloaders, kernels, and OTA payloads using HSMs or secure key vaults.
    Production Provisioning Support: Collaborate with manufacturing teams to write robust scripts and tools for burning permanent hardware configuration fuses (eFuses / OTP memory) securely, designing end-of-line (EOL) test software to validate security features before shipping.
    System Resilience: Architect multi-slot boot recovery layouts (e.g., A/B partitioning) to guarantee fail-safe resilience against failed OTA updates or corrupted boots.

Required Qualifications 
    Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline (or equivalent practical experience).
    Core Experience: 6+ years of professional experience in Embedded Linux development, board bring-up, and Board Support Package (BSP) customization.
    Security Focus: 3+ years of dedicated, hands-on experience deploying device-level security features into physical production hardware.
    Low-Level Systems: Expert knowledge of bootloader configurations (e.g., U-Boot Verified Boot, Barebox) and customizing the Linux kernel storage/security subsystem (dm-crypt, dm-verity).
    Hardware Security Architecture: Deep understanding of modern processor security architectures, specifically ARM TrustZone (ARMv7-A / ARMv8-A, Exception Levels EL1-EL3).
    Sandboxing & Access Controls: Proven track record implementing SELinux/AppArmor policies and utilizing standard Linux containment tools (cgroups, namespaces).
    Build Automation: Proficiency with embedded Linux build automated frameworks like the Yocto Project (BitBake recipe design) or Buildroot.
    Programming: Advanced proficiency in C and strong scripting skills in Python or Bash.

Preferred Qualifications 
    Cryptography Expertise: Strong foundational knowledge of symmetric/asymmetric cryptography, hashing algorithms (SHA-256/384), public key infrastructure (PKI), and handling physical Hardware Security Modules (HSMs).
    Manufacturing Scale: Prior experience working with Contract Manufacturers (CMs) or internal factory lines to deploy secure key-injection and fuse-burning protocols.
    Advanced Sandboxing: Experience with embedded container runtimes (e.g., LXC, crun) or lightweight sandboxing frameworks tailored for resource-constrained architectures.
    Anti-Rollback Protection: Experience designing secure versioning and hardware-enforced anti-rollback strategies for OTA updates.

Salary Range
    $120,000 - 150,000
    The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, location, the candidate's combination of job-related knowledge, qualifications, skills, education, training, and experience