Role overview:

We are seeking an experienced Linux Platform Engineer to contribute to the development, integration, and maintenance of a custom Linux-based operating system powering our embedded products. This role is critical to ensuring robust, secure, and scalable solutions across a variety of connected platforms and hardware configurations. You will be deeply involved in shaping the software stack from the bootloader to user space, with a focus on building and sustaining Linux distributions tailored for production environments.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, integrate, and maintain embedded Linux platforms with an emphasis on long-term sustainability.
• Build and customize Linux-based systems using tools like Yocto Project, ensuring optimal OS performance, security, and feature alignment.
• Design and implement secure boot mechanisms, system hardening, firewall and network configuration, and manage software lifecycle including over-the-air update frameworks.
• Support networking and communication stacks, including TCP/IP, cellular (LTE), Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, as well as advanced routing and proxy scenarios.
• Work with virtualization or containerization technologies for edge deployments.
• Work on lower-level system components including bootloaders, device drivers, and kernel modules, supporting a range of hardware interfaces and protocols.
• Engage in the implementation of AI/ML features at the edge, optimizing OS-level performance and resource usage for these workloads.
• Assist in diagnosing and resolving field issues, providing support to internal and external stakeholders, and ensuring ongoing reliability through automated updates and testing.

Qualifications:

• Proven experience building and maintaining custom Linux distributions and / or managing package infrastructure for embedded systems.
• Strong background in networking (TCP/IP stack, firewall rules, network managers, modem managers, etc.) in Linux environments.
• Proficiency with system-level programming in C/C++ and build systems such as Make and CMake; familiarity with Rust is valued.
• Experience with secure system design including boot integrity, encryption, and software update security.
• Hands-on knowledge of embedded communications, hardware abstraction, and Linux kernel or driver-level work.
• Understanding of container technologies, system virtualization, and deployment in constrained environments.
• Ability to support and collaborate with cross-functional teams including customer-facing engineering.

  
  

Preferred:

• Contributions to Linux distributions and / or relevant open source projects
• Exposure to Over-the-Air (OTA) software update frameworks, filesystems, and firmware lifecycle management.
• Familiarity with graphical pipelines or multimedia handling, and experience optimizing for performance and size.
• Exposure to AI/ML integrations on embedded hardware and tuning for real-time or low-latency use cases.
• Experience scripting in JavaScript for auxiliary tooling and testing automation.

Who we are:

Balena is a highly distributed team that has embraced a remote-first approach since 2013. We are a group of individuals from across the globe working together to achieve our mission: “Enable people to leverage technology to address the real world challenges of our time.”.

Balena wants to do good in the world and here is our why. Our focus is on enabling team members to be the best they can be rather than controlling what everyone does from the top down, and this creates challenges that require just as much creative thinking as our product.

How we work:

• We have been remote-first since 2013 and have just team members in different corners of this world - they need to be supplied, happy, aligned, fulfilled and paid, and they need to be able to work and communicate asynchronously
• We like to think from first principles and are usually resistant to using ready-made solutions unless we deeply understand the rationale,
• We organize ourselves based on the best use of our collective abilities to solve our highest priority problems at any given time, rather than by a strict hierarchy, read more about our Intentional Work Framework
• We practice radical candor and transparency with open, honest, and clear communication
• We’re not afraid to fail as long as we learn from our mistakes
• We’re always looking for common patterns that allow us to reduce complexity
• We embrace short-term pain for long-term gain, building products that will stand the test of time
• We operate legal entities in three countries, but want balena to operate as a global whole where geography doesn’t matter

Does any of this sound interesting to you? Work with us and we will offer you the opportunity to add value by finding and solving problems while constantly learning your craft. We will enable and support your growth, but you should also be open and flexible to figure things out on your own.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and stock options
• Autonomous vacation allowance
• 12 weeks maternity and paternity leave for new parents
• Equipment of your choice and hardware for side projects
• Books of your choice to help you in your work
• Annual company gathering in an international location, Balena Summit 2024
• Working with a talented and globally distributed team
• Flexible schedules by default