Remote Operating Systems Engineer Jobs in Santa Clara, CA

Organization: Embedded Operating Systems Research Foundation

Location: [Remote]

Employment type: [Full-time / Part-time]

Compensation: [$30–$100 per hour or $64,000–$120,000 annually]

About the Organization

The Embedded Operating Systems Research Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on open-source research, education, and technology development.

We are building an integrated technology ecosystem spanning operating systems, software, AI/ML, networking, embedded computing, hardware integration, developer infrastructure, and open-source collaboration.

Our projects include:

eBuild: Build and development infrastructure

EoS: Operating-system platform and core components

eBoot: Boot and system-initialization technology

eAI: AI and machine-learning systems

eNI: Networking and connectivity infrastructure

Learn more:

Website: https://www.embeddedos.org/

GitHub: https://github.com/embeddedos-org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/embedded-operating-systems-research-foundation

Position Overview

We are seeking a Software, Systems & AI/ML Engineer to contribute to research and engineering projects across systems software, operating systems, AI/ML, networking, hardware, infrastructure, and open-source technologies.

Embedded systems are one area of the position, but the role is broader. The selected candidate may work across multiple technical domains and collaborate with internal contributors, open-source communities, research organizations, technology companies, hardware manufacturers, and vendors.

The ideal candidate enjoys understanding complex systems, solving technical problems, contributing to existing codebases, and working openly with distributed teams.

Responsibilities :

Design, develop, test, document, and maintain software and system components.

Contribute to operating-system architecture, system services, libraries, tools, and infrastructure.

Analyze existing codebases and identify bugs, technical debt, security concerns, and opportunities for improvement.

Develop AI/ML software, inference components, automation tools, and intelligent system features.

Work with Linux, embedded Linux, RTOS platforms, bootloaders, firmware, device drivers, and hardware interfaces when applicable.

Develop networking, communication, distributed-system, and connectivity components.

Build and maintain development tools, build systems, CI/CD workflows, test automation, and release infrastructure.

Write unit, integration, system, performance, and hardware-validation tests.

Create clear technical documentation, architecture notes, issue reports, and design proposals.

Review code and participate constructively in GitHub issues, discussions, and pull requests.

Collaborate professionally with contributors, researchers, companies, universities, vendors, and open-source communities.

Evaluate new technologies and prepare prototypes or proof-of-concept implementations.

Follow secure-development, code-quality, licensing, and open-source contribution practices.

Technical Areas

Candidates may have experience in one or more of the following areas:

Software and Systems

C, C++, Python, Rust, Go, Dart, Java, or related languages

Linux system programming

Operating-system architecture

Processes, threads, concurrency, memory, filesystems, and inter-process communication

APIs, libraries, command-line tools, and developer utilities

AI and Machine Learning

AI/ML frameworks and inference systems

Edge AI and hardware-accelerated computing

Model integration, evaluation, optimization, and deployment

Intelligent automation and AI-assisted developer tooling

Python-based data and ML ecosystems

Embedded Systems and Hardware

Embedded Linux or RTOS development

Bootloaders, firmware, board-support packages, and device drivers

ARM, RISC-V, x86, microcontrollers, or system-on-chip platforms

Hardware interfaces, debugging tools, and system integration

Cross-compilation and resource-constrained development

Networking and Infrastructure

TCP/IP, network services, protocols, and connectivity

Distributed systems, cloud, edge, or device infrastructure

Containers, virtualization, build systems, and CI/CD

GitHub Actions and automated testing

Security, observability, reliability, and performance

Minimum Qualifications

Demonstrated software-development or systems-engineering experience.

Proficiency in at least one relevant programming language.

Familiarity with Git, GitHub, branches, commits, issues, code reviews, and pull requests.

Ability to understand and work with an existing codebase.

Knowledge of software testing, debugging, documentation, and version control.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Ability to communicate clearly and collaborate respectfully with distributed teams.

Willingness to learn unfamiliar technologies and technical domains.

Equivalent professional, academic, independent, or open-source experience will be considered.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience contributing to an open-source project.

Experience with Linux, operating systems, embedded systems, AI/ML, networking, or developer infrastructure.

Familiarity with software architecture and technical-design documentation.

Experience working with hardware platforms or development boards.

Understanding of open-source licenses and community contribution practices.

Research, publication, teaching, mentoring, or nonprofit technology experience.

Experience collaborating across organizations, vendors, or international teams.

Candidates are not expected to have experience in every listed area.

What We Value

Technical curiosity and continuous learning

Practical, maintainable, and well-tested engineering

Clear documentation and transparent communication

Respectful open-source collaboration

Ownership and accountability

Security, reliability, accessibility, and user value

Mission-driven research and education

Application Process

Please apply through the official job platform and include:

Your résumé

GitHub profile or technical portfolio, if available

Relevant open-source contributions or code samples, if available

A short explanation of your interest in the position

Do not provide confidential, proprietary, or employer-owned source code.

Selected applicants may be invited to complete a short technical screening exercise. Any assessment will:

Be directly relevant to evaluating the position’s basic skills

Be limited to approximately 60–90 minutes

Be used only for candidate evaluation

Permit an existing relevant code sample as an alternative when appropriate

The screening exercise itself is unpaid. Completing an assessment does not create an employment, contractor, internship, or volunteer relationship. Compensation for the position is stated separately in this job description.

Equal Opportunity

The Embedded Operating Systems Research Foundation considers qualified applicants without unlawful discrimination. Reasonable accommodations are available during the application and interview process upon request.