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Kernel Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Apple

Linux Kernel Engineer

Durham, NH

Join our Linux Kernel Engineering team and play a central role in the reliability, performance, and evolution of Apple's platforms. As a Linux Kernel Engineer, you will own the kernel lifecycle end ...

Apple

Linux Kernel Engineer

Durham, NH

Join our Linux Kernel Engineering team and play a central role in the reliability, performance, and evolution of Apple's platforms. As a Linux Kernel Engineer, you will own the kernel lifecycle end ...

Apple

Linux Kernel Engineer

Durham, NH

Join our Linux Kernel Engineering team and play a central role in the reliability, performance, and evolution of Apple's platforms. As a Linux Kernel Engineer, you will own the kernel lifecycle end ...

Apple

Linux Kernel Engineer

Durham, NH

Join our Linux Kernel Engineering team and play a central role in the reliability, performance, and evolution of Apple's platforms. As a Linux Kernel Engineer, you will own the kernel lifecycle end ...

Wipro Limited

GPU Kernel Engineer

Redmond, UT · On-site

$60K - $148K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • PTO

GPU Kernel Engineer City: Redmond State/Province: Washington Posting Start Date: 8/6/26 Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading technology services and consulting company ...

quadric, Inc

AI Kernel Engineer

Burlingame, CA · On-site

$110K - $270K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Role The AI Kernel Engineer in Quadric plays the key role to enable a large number of AI kernels/operators to run efficiently on the Quadric platform. The AI Kernel Engineer at Quadric will [1] ...

Sciforium

GPU Kernel Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$190K - $250K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Retirement

About the role We are seeking a highly skilled GPU Kernel Engineer who is passionate about pushing the limits of performance on modern accelerators. In this role, you will design and optimize custom ...

quadric, Inc

AI Kernel Engineer

Burlingame, CA

$110K - $270K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Role The AI Kernel Engineer in Quadric plays the key role to enable a large number of AI kernels/operators to run efficiently on the Quadric platform. The AI Kernel Engineer at Quadric will [1] ...

quadric, Inc

AI Kernel Engineer

Burlingame, CA · On-site

$110K - $270K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Role The AI Kernel Engineer in Quadric plays the key role to enable a large number of AI kernels/operators to run efficiently on the Quadric platform. The AI Kernel Engineer at Quadric will [1] ...

Flock Safety

Senior Kernel Engineer

$172K - $190K/yr

Deploying high-performance devices requires robust low-level chipset bring-up, custom bootloaders, and resilient kernel architectures. You will engineer low-level Qualcomm Android BSP solutions ...

Anthropic

TPU Kernel Engineer

San Francisco, CA

About the Role As a TPU Kernel Engineer, you'll be responsible for identifying and addressing performance issues across many different ML systems, including research, training, and inference. A ...

Arista Networks

Linux Kernel Software Engineer

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$123K - $191K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

Kernel software engineers are also responsible for the CPU subsystems on all Arista products. You will evaluate new CPUs and work with CPU vendors to integrate their kernel support into EOS. You will ...

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All JobsKernel Engineer Jobs

Kernel Engineer information

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a kernel engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Kernel Engineer, you need deep expertise in C programming, operating system concepts, and low-level hardware interactions, typically supported by a degree in computer science or related fields. Familiarity with version control systems (like Git), debugging tools (such as GDB), and kernel development frameworks is crucial. Problem-solving, attention to detail, and effective communication are standout soft skills in this role. These skills enable the creation of reliable, efficient, and secure kernels that form the backbone of computing systems.

What is the difference between Kernel Engineer vs Device Driver Developer?

AspectKernel EngineerDevice Driver Developer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or higher in Computer Science, Linux/Unix knowledge, programming skills in C/C++Similar credentials, often with specialized knowledge in hardware and driver development
Work EnvironmentSystem-level development, kernel code, Linux/Unix environmentsHardware interaction, driver coding, embedded or OS-specific environments
Industry UsageOperating system development, open-source projects, hardware manufacturersHardware companies, embedded systems, OS vendors
Common Search/ComparisonKernel EngineerDevice Driver Developer

Kernel Engineers focus on developing and maintaining the core kernel of operating systems, ensuring system stability and performance. Device Driver Developers specialize in creating software that allows hardware components to communicate with the OS. While both roles require similar technical skills and often overlap, Kernel Engineers work on the entire kernel infrastructure, whereas Device Driver Developers concentrate on specific hardware interfaces.

What is a kernel engineer?

A Kernel Engineer is a software engineer who specializes in the development, maintenance, and optimization of operating system kernels, such as Linux or Windows. Their primary responsibilities include designing new kernel features, fixing bugs, improving performance, and ensuring compatibility with hardware. They often work closely with hardware manufacturers and other software developers to build stable and secure system foundations. Kernel Engineers must have a deep understanding of operating system internals, low-level programming (typically in C or C++), and computer architecture. This role is critical for maintaining and advancing the core components that allow computers and devices to function efficiently.

Are kernel engineers in demand?

Kernel engineers are in high demand due to the critical role they play in developing and maintaining operating system kernels, especially in areas like embedded systems, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. Companies seek professionals with expertise in C, C++, and Linux kernel development to improve system performance and security, making this a strong job market for qualified candidates.

What are some typical challenges kernel engineers face when working on operating system updates?

Kernel Engineers often encounter challenges related to maintaining system stability and compatibility when implementing updates or new features. Ensuring that changes do not introduce regressions or security vulnerabilities requires thorough testing and collaboration with QA and other engineering teams. Additionally, Kernel Engineers need to keep up-to-date with hardware advancements and support a wide range of devices, which can add complexity to their work. Effective communication and strong problem-solving skills are essential for navigating these challenges and delivering high-quality code.
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What states have the most Kernel Engineer jobs?

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What job categories do people searching Kernel Engineer jobs look for?

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Kernel Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Kernel Engineer job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 92% Full Time, 2% Part Time, and 6% Contract. Highlights an 86% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 9% Remote job distribution.

Linux Kernel Engineer

Apple

Durham, NH

Full-time

Re-posted 17 hours ago

Apple rating

8.0

Company rating: 8.0 out of 10

Based on 677 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

7th of 30 rated technology retailers

Job description

At Apple, we craft experiences that have transformed entire industries. The diversity of our people and ideas fuels innovation in everything we do. Imagine what you could build here.
Join our Linux Kernel Engineering team and play a central role in the reliability, performance, and evolution of Apple’s platforms. As a Linux Kernel Engineer, you will own the kernel lifecycle end to end, from CI infrastructure and automated validation to driver enablement, debugging, and production-quality releases.
You will partner closely with platform, infrastructure, and SRE teams to ensure every kernel we ship is stable, observable, and ready for real world workloads at scale.
Description
In this role, you will design, build, and operate CI and validation pipelines that compile, test, and release Linux kernels across multiple hardware platforms and Linux distributions.
You will lead triage of kernel regressions, investigate crashes and performance issues, drive fixes to resolution, and qualify new hardware at the kernel layer. You will collaborate with engineers across Apple to port, maintain, and upstream device drivers, shepherd kernel changes into production, and continuously raise the bar on kernel quality, automation, and release discipline. Your work will have direct impact on the stability, performance, and debuggability of systems that power critical Apple services.
If you enjoy deep kernel debugging, building robust CI systems, and owning kernel releases from development through production, we would like to hear from you.
Preferred Qualifications
Proven track record of upstream contributions to the Linux kernel project or similar upstreams.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor of Computer Science or equivalent skills and work experience.
At least 5+ years experience developing or maintaining the Linux kernel or low-level system software (e.g., kernel modules, device drivers, or core OS components).
Proven ability to debug kernel level issues (panics, hangs, performance regressions) using tools such as perf, ftrace, bpftrace, crash, gdb, or similar.
Deep understanding of kernel tuning for stability and performance across many subsystem domains.
Hands-on experience developing CI/CD systems integrating operating system components and managing kernel releases.
Strong programming skills in C, plus proficiency in at least one of Rust, Go, Python, or Bash.
Solid understanding of operating system fundamentals: processes, memory management, filesystems, networking, scheduling, interrupts, and hardware/driver interactions.
Experience working in a RHEL based Linux environment, including RPM packaging and the RHEL kernel back port and release process.
Strong collaboration and communication skills; comfortable working with cross-functional teams (SRE, platform, hardware, security).

What Apple employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom

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About Apple

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Imagine what you could do here! At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. Dynamic, intelligent people and inspiring, innovative technologies are the norm here. The people who work here have reinvented entire industries with all Apple Hardware products. The same real passion for innovation that goes into our products also applies to our practices strengthening our dedication to leave the world better than we found it.

Industry

Computer and electronic product manufacturing

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Cupertino, CA, US

Year founded

1976

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