Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
This Linux Kernels Software Lead role stands out in the SaaS ecosystem because it sits below the application layer that most SaaS practitioners see day to day. For SaaS companies running large-scale AI or data-intensive services, kernel-level performance and networking efficiency can be a direct lever on reliability, latency, and cost, making this kind of systems work unusually consequential to product delivery.
From a long-term SaaS career perspective, the remit signals deep exposure to the infrastructure foundations that enable multi-tenant services to operate at scale. Owning kernel components, drivers, and system networking builds expertise that transfers across cloud platforms, high-throughput backends, and performance-critical production environments. The emphasis on integration tooling, diagnostics, and validation also aligns with the operational realities of shipping and maintaining services, not just building prototypes.
The role is best suited to engineers who prefer ambiguous, foundational problems and are comfortable defining interfaces as much as implementing them. It will appeal to those who like working across hardware, kernel, and userspace boundaries, and who value collaboration with vendors and internal platform teams. It also fits professionals ready to take technical ownership rather than operating within a narrowly scoped feature area.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
About the Team
The Scaling team builds and optimizes large-scale infrastructure to enable next-generation AI workloads.
About the Role
We’re looking for a founding/lead Linux kernel developer to join our Scaling team. In this role, you’ll design and develop Linux kernel components, working at the intersection of hardware and software to unlock performance at scale.
Responsibilities
Lead and bootstrap the development of our Linux kernel stack to support high-performance systems.
Design and implement kernel drivers, including for functionality related to DMA, PCIe, NICs, and RDMA.
Drive end-to-end development of system-scale networking, including required kernel and other low-level software.
Collaborate with vendors to integrate their technologies within our systems.
Bring up and debug the kernel on new platforms.
Build userspace software to support integration, testing, diagnostics, and performance validation.
Qualifications
Proven experience leading development within the Linux kernel.
Deep knowledge of subsystems relevant to high-performance systems: PCIe, dma-buf, RDMA, P2P, SR-IOV, IOMMU, etc.
Knowledge of subsystems and frameworks related to scale-out networking: ibverbs, ECN/DCQCN, etc.
Strong programming skills in C, C++, Python, and Linux shell scripting; Rust experience is a strong plus.
Experience working directly with engineering teams to define interfaces and tooling.
Track record of managing vendor deliverables and technical relationships.
Background in embedded systems development (bootloaders, drivers, hardware/software integration).
Ability to thrive in ambiguity and build systems from scratch.
To comply with U.S. export control laws and regulations, candidates for this role may need to meet certain legal status requirements as provided in those laws and regulations.
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.
For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
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