Etched · 10 hours ago
Kernel Driver Software Engineer
San Jose, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
$150K/yr - $275K/yrEtched is building the world’s first AI inference system purpose-built for transformers, delivering over 10x higher performance and lower costs. They are seeking a Kernel Driver Software Engineer to design, develop, and maintain kernel-mode drivers, focusing on performance optimization and hardware integration for AI workloads.
AI InfrastructureArtificial Intelligence (AI)ComputerHardwareSemiconductor
Responsibilities
Kernel-Mode Driver Development: Design, develop, and maintain kernel-mode drivers ensuring high reliability, informative debug, and optimal performance
Performance Optimization: Analyze and optimize driver performance for demanding AI workloads, focusing on minimizing latency and maximizing throughput
Hardware Integration and Co-Design: Collaborate closely with hardware engineers throughout the ASIC design process
Virtualization Support: Implement driver support for device virtualization technologies, including SR-IOV, VFIO, and para-virtualization
Memory Management: Implement efficient memory management strategies considering kernel memory mapping, page tables configuration, NUMA awareness for device data caching, and IOMMU configuration
Security: Build kernel drivers fundamentally designed to support and maintain security across host processes, physical memory spaces, and device attestation
Debugging and Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve complex driver-related issues, using common kernel debugging tools and techniques (ftrace, dmesg, etc.) to identify and fix bugs
Synchronization and Concurrency: Design and implement synchronization mechanisms to handle concurrent access to multiple accelerators
System Validation and Testing: Develop and execute comprehensive test plans to validate driver functionality, stability, and performance in manufacturing and in general production environments
Collaboration and Troubleshooting: Collaborate with software and hardware teams to diagnose and resolve complex system-level issues
Qualification
Required
Proficiency in C/C++
Strong understanding of kernel-mode driver development and debugging
Deep understanding of operating system internals (Linux preferred)
Experience with hardware/software interfacing and device drivers
Experience with memory management and synchronization in kernel environments
Strong understanding of PCIe and other hardware interfaces
Experience with device virtualization technologies, including SR-IOV and VFIO
Strong understanding of kernel memory mapping, page table configuration, and IOMMU
Familiarity with hardware-software co-design principles
Proven ability to analyze complex technical problems and provide effective solutions
Excellent communication and collaboration skills
Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git)
Experience with debugging tools (e.g., gdb, kgdb)
Preferred
Experience with GPU driver development
Experience with CUDA, OpenCL, or other GPU programming models
Experience with performance profiling and benchmarking tools (perf, VTune)
Knowledge of hardware virtualization techniques, including para-virtualization
Experience with CI/CD pipelines
Experience with Rust
Experience with ML frameworks like Tensorflow or Pytorch
Experience with data center orchestration technologies (Kubernetes, Docker)
Benefits
Full medical, dental, and vision packages, with generous premium coverage
Housing subsidy of $2,000/month for those living within walking distance of the office
Daily lunch and dinner in our office
Relocation support for those moving to West San Jose
Company
Etched
Building the hardware for superintelligence
Founded in 2022
51-200 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Etched has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (9)
2024 (11)
2023 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$125.36MKey Investors
Primary Venture Partners
2024-06-25Series A· $120M
2023-05-16Seed· $5.36M
Leadership Team
Chris Zhu
Co-Founder
Robert Wachen
Co-Founder and President
Recent News
Soma Capital
2026-01-07
Google Patent
2025-04-02
Google Patent
2024-12-04
Company data provided by crunchbase