HELLBENDER Inc.

Linux Kernel Engineer (Device Driver Developer)

620 William Pitt Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15238

Sponsorship not specifiedDetected 7 days ago

PythonLinuxElectrical EngineeringCommunication

About the role

The primary focus of this role is "hardware enablement"-taking raw silicon and datasheets and transforming them into functional, stable components within the Linux kernel.
The ideal candidate is a low-level expert who is comfortable navigating complex hardware registers, interpreting timing diagrams, and writing efficient, high-performance C code that operates within the constraints of kernel space.
You will be responsible for the entire lifecycle of a driver, from initial bring-up to integration into our custom Linux distributions using Yocto or Buildroot.

Driver Development: Design, implement, and maintain Linux device drivers (e.g., I2C, SPI, PCIe, USB, or custom SoC peripherals) within the Linux kernel space.
Hardware Bring-up: Lead the initial software bring-up of new hardware components, ensuring that all peripheral interfaces are communicating correctly with the CPU.
Datasheet Analysis: Perform deep-dive analysis of hardware datasheets, register maps, and electrical specifications to implement correct register-level logic and timing sequences.
Embedded Linux Integration: Integrate newly developed drivers into custom Linux distributions using build systems such as Yocto Project or Buildroot, including the management of Device Tree (DTS) modifications.
Hardware Interfacing: Work closely with hardware engineers to validate electrical signals against software behavior using logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, or protocol analyzers.
Design, implement, and maintain Linux device drivers (e.g., I2C, SPI, PCIe, USB, or custom SoC peripherals) within the Linux kernel space.
Perform deep-dive analysis of hardware datasheets, register maps, and electrical specifications to implement correct register-level logic and timing sequences.
Integrate newly developed drivers into custom Linux distributions using build systems such as Yocto Project or Buildroot, including the management of Device Tree (DTS) modifications.

Low-Level C Mastery: Expert-level proficiency in C, specifically regarding kernel-space constraints (no standard libraries, manual memory management, interrupt context awareness).
Hardware Protocol Expertise: Strong experience working with low-level communication protocols (e.g., I2C, SPI, UART, PCIe, USB, or Ethernet).
Embedded Build Systems: Hands-on experience with Yocto Project (BitBake, recipes, layers) or Buildroot for creating custom Linux images.
Device Tree Knowledge: Proficiency in writing and maintaining Device Tree Source (DTS) and Device Tree Overlay (DTBO) files.
Expert-level proficiency in C, specifically regarding kernel-space constraints (no standard libraries, manual memory management, interrupt context awareness).
Hands-on experience with Yocto Project (BitBake, recipes, layers) or Buildroot for creating custom Linux images.
Proficiency in writing and maintaining Device Tree Source (DTS) and Device Tree Overlay (DTBO) files.
Experience with specific processor architectures (e.g., ARM, RISC-V, or x86).
Proficiency in Python for automating hardware testing and data parsing.
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.

Hardware Debugging Tools: Experience using hardware debugging tools such as Logic Analyzers, Oscilloscopes, or JTAG debuggers.
Architecture Specifics: Experience with specific processor architectures (e.g., ARM, RISC-V, or x86).
Linux Kernel Subsystem Expertise: Previous experience contributing to the upstream Linux kernel or working on specific subsystems (e.g., Industrial I/O (IIO), Network, or Input subsystems).
Scripting: Proficiency in Python for automating hardware testing and data parsing.
Camera drivers: experience with imaging sensors is also a plus for this job.
experience with imaging sensors is also a plus for this job.

Experience using hardware debugging tools such as Logic Analyzers, Oscilloscopes, or JTAG debuggers.

Hellbender Inc. is a Pennsylvania Benefit Corporation who partners with innovators to mature their Artificial Intelligence enabled computing sensors and produce their solutions onshore at prototype to high volumes.
Hellbender is intentionally forming an inclusive work environment and is committed to uplifting the historically marginalized identities including veterans, women, trans and underrepresented races in our community and industry.
We are seeking a highly specialized Linux Kernel Engineer to lead the development and integration of device drivers for our next-generation hardware platforms.

This listing is sourced directly from HELLBENDER Inc.'s careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.