Software Engineer L5 - Linux Kernel Developer

Netflix is one of the world's leading entertainment services, with 283 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.

Open Connect (OC) is a critical group within Netflix that builds and manages a content delivery network (CDN) that delivers all of Netflix’s streaming video. In addition to streaming video, we work on projects within Netflix that leverage physical infrastructure, such as our Cloud Games initiative. According to a 2023 Sandvine report, data delivered by Open Connect accounts for approximately 15% of all downstream traffic volume across the entire internet. All of this traffic is delivered by our edge cache servers.

A small team of talented software engineers develop and maintain the operating system that runs the content caches and the cloud gaming platform. Because of the important role of these servers, it is critical that they be both efficient and secure.

We are looking for a highly motivated Linux Kernel Software Engineer to enhance and maintain the cloud gaming edge appliances. In this role, you will have the opportunity to:

• Maintain kernel release, aligning closely with upstream and backporting necessary fixes.

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to evaluate and enhance the performance and resilience of our cloud gaming platforms; develop the architecture for these improvements; and implement the necessary changes. 

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders and vendors to integrate and optimize new hardware systems.

• Engage and contribute to open source communities including Linux and MESA.

• Improve the testing processes for new features to ensure robustness and reliable performance.

• Facilitate the upstreaming of internal patches to align with broader community standards and practices.

This role offers a chance to make a significant impact on a critical area of business. We provide the freedom to execute, learn and pivot, and the responsibility to be self directed, collaborative and insightful. You can read more about Netflix culture.

Qualifications:

• Linux Kernel development experience including upstream development.

• Expertise in Linux kernel networking, namespaces, and good understanding of the Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) subsystems that is verifiable through upstream discussions and contribution posts. 

• Expertise working with eBPF for telemetry, tooling, and debugging production issues.

• Proven track record of debugging Linux kernel issues and supporting new hardware bring up.

• Good understanding of the Linux kernel community.

You will be successful in this role if you:

• Have the ability to define and self-manage cross-functional projects fueled by ambiguous questions. 

• Are a self-starter, curious and not afraid to ask questions when in doubt

• Are a quick learner and excited about learning new technologies

• Advocate thoughtful collaboration, take pride in your work and enjoy taking full ownership of projects from conception to production

Nice to have:

• Proficiency in developing, debugging and maintaining OpenBMC, UEFI, FreeBSD, u-root.

• Proficiency with peer-to-peer PCIe.

• Expertise in applying sched_ext for real world applications.

• Expertise in developing or applying operating system execution environments, such as containers, virtual machines.

• Expertise in developing or applying hardware offload solutions for real world applications.

• Expertise in developing or applying using TPMs/HSMs, trusted execution environments, and other hardware features

• Proficiency working on highly distributed systems

• Proficiency in Golang, Python

Be sure to review our culture page to learn more about the unique Netflix culture and the opportunity to be part of our team.

Our compensation structure consists solely of an annual salary; we do not have bonuses. You choose each year how much of your compensation you want in salary versus stock options. To determine your personal top-of-market compensation, we rely on market indicators and consider your specific job family, background, skills, and experience to determine your compensation in the market range. The range for this role is $100,000 - $720,000.

Netflix provides comprehensive benefits including Health Plans, Mental Health support, a 401(k) Retirement Plan with employer match, Stock Option Program, Disability Programs, Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts, Family-forming benefits, and Life and Serious Injury Benefits. We also offer paid leave of absence programs.  Full-time hourly employees accrue 35 days annually for paid time off to be used for vacation, holidays, and sick paid time off. Full-time salaried employees are immediately entitled to flexible time off. See more details about our Benefits here.

Inclusion is a Netflix value and we strive to host a meaningful interview experience for all candidates. If you want an accommodation/adjustment for a disability or any other reason during the hiring process, please send a request to your recruiting partner.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and celebrate diversity, recognizing that diversity builds stronger teams. We approach diversity and inclusion seriously and thoughtfully. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.

Job is open for no less than 7 days and will be removed when the position is filled.