Senior Embedded Linux Platform Engineer

📋 Job Overview

We are seeking a Senior Embedded Linux Platform Engineer to lead the development and maintenance of the embedded software platform powering our next-generation Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). This role bridges hardware and application software by owning the Linux platform, Board Support Package (BSP), security architecture, and hardware interfaces that enable our cryptographic applications.

🏢 About Futurex

Futurex is a company specializing in Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) and cryptographic solutions.

🎯 The Role

The ideal candidate has deep experience with embedded Linux, Buildroot, kernel and device-tree configuration, low-level hardware interfaces, secure boot, PCIe, and high-speed networking. The engineer will collaborate closely with hardware, FPGA, security, manufacturing, and application teams to deliver a secure, reliable, production-ready appliance.

✅ Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and reproducibly build a Buildroot-based Linux distribution.
• Customize and maintain Linux kernels for selected System-on-Modules (SoMs).
• Configure and maintain device trees and board-specific platform definitions.
• Build and maintain BSPs for custom HSM hardware and successive board revisions.
• Integrate kernel drivers, platform services, bootloaders, and root filesystems.
• Optimize boot performance, system footprint, reliability, and maintainability.
• Support production images, manufacturing configuration, and secure update mechanisms.
• Bring platform hardware into Linux and expose clean, documented interfaces to application software.
• Integrate and validate I²C, SPI, GPIO, UART, USB, PCIe, EEPROM/flash, and other board-level interfaces.
• Enable sensors, fan controllers, LEDs, buttons, watchdogs, voltage monitors, reset controls, TPMs, and secure elements.
• Develop or adapt kernel drivers and user-space services where existing interfaces are insufficient.
• Design, implement, maintain, and validate secure boot and the complete chain of trust.
• Configure and integrate hardware roots of trust, TPMs, secure elements, and measured-boot capabilities where appropriate.
• Recommend secure component choices and platform architectures based on threat, lifecycle, and supply-chain considerations.
• Review hardware and low-level software designs for security weaknesses and attack surface.
• Support tamper detection, encrypted storage, key protection, secure manufacturing, and device provisioning.
• Define and support secure firmware and software update strategies, including rollback protection and recovery.
• Integrate and support 10 GbE connectivity through PCIe-connected network devices and external Ethernet interfaces.
• Configure Ethernet controllers, PHYs, drivers, link behavior, and relevant hardware offload features.
• Tune the Linux networking stack for throughput, latency, reliability, and predictable appliance behavior.
• Diagnose performance bottlenecks across PCIe, DMA, interrupts, drivers, and the network stack.
• Lead bring-up of new SoMs, custom boards, and hardware revisions from first power-on through application readiness.
• Create platform diagnostics, hardware validation utilities, and manufacturing test support.
• Establish automated, repeatable build and integration workflows for embedded platform releases.
• Support production, quality, field engineering, and sustaining activities throughout the product lifecycle.
• Document platform architecture, interfaces, security assumptions, build procedures, and operational constraints.

📌 Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Five or more years of professional experience developing embedded Linux systems.
• Strong C programming and debugging skills in resource-constrained or hardware-adjacent environments.
• Hands-on experience with Buildroot or Yocto, Linux kernel configuration, device trees, and cross-compilation toolchains.
• Practical knowledge of the Linux boot process, bootloaders such as U-Boot, root filesystems, kernel modules, and driver integration.
• Experience collaborating across hardware, systems, security, and application engineering disciplines.
• Proficiency with Git and disciplined software configuration-management practices.

⭐ Desirable Experience

• Experience developing security appliances, HSMs, cryptographic products, or other high-assurance embedded systems.
• Familiarity with FIPS 140-3, Common Criteria, or comparable product-security certification environments.
• ARM64 platform experience and familiarity with SoMs from NXP, AMD, Intel, TI, or similar vendors.
• Linux kernel or PCIe driver development experience.
• Experience reviewing schematics and conducting hands-on hardware debugging.
• Experience with manufacturing diagnostics, secure provisioning, lifecycle controls, and field-update strategies.
• OpenSSL, PKCS #11, secure key storage, or related cryptographic

🎁 Benefits

Competitive

🛂 Visa & Eligibility

Not specified