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# Principal Linux Driver Engineer

- **Company:** Hewlett-Packard Enterprise
- **Location:** San Jose, CA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $165,000.0 - $313,500.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Common Lisp Object Systems, Computer Networks, Computer Engineering, Network Congestion, Software Debugging, Linux, Device Drivers, Memory Management, Ethernet, Network Interface Controllers, Firmware, InfiniBand, Linux Kernel, Open Source Technology, Performance Tuning, Remote Direct Memory Access, Software Deployment, Software Engineering, Subsystems, System Programming, System Software, Systems Integration, TCP/IP, Computer Networking Systems, Computer Network Technologies, Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Hardware Testing, Information Technology, Network Optimization
- **Published:** October 10, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=606048277b6b6916

## About the Role

* Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline.
 * 12+ years of software engineering experience with extensive Linux kernel driver development experience in production environments.
 * Expert-level proficiency in C and low-level systems software development.
 * Extensive experience developing high-performance network drivers or Linux kernel networking subsystems.
 * Deep understanding of Linux kernel internals, including networking, synchronization, scheduling, memory management, interrupts, and performance optimization.
 * Expert knowledge of networking technologies and protocols, including Ethernet, TCP/IP, RDMA, congestion control, network performance analysis, and packet processing.
 * Strong understanding of Layer 1 and Layer 2 networking, including PHYs, SerDes, link training, FEC, flow control, and error detection and recovery mechanisms.
 * Experience debugging complex hardware/software interactions and driving root-cause analysis across multiple engineering disciplines.
 * Experience with silicon bring-up, hardware validation, and production deployment of networking products.
 * Demonstrated technical leadership and ownership of large, complex software projects., * Experience developing software for HPC interconnects, supercomputing systems, or large-scale AI infrastructure.
 * Experience with Slingshot, InfiniBand, RoCE, RDMA, or other high-performance networking technologies.
 * Experience developing software for network adapters, SmartNICs, DPUs, or switch platforms.
 * Understanding of large-scale fabric architectures such as Dragonfly, Clos, and Fat Tree networks.
 * Experience with congestion management, adaptive routing, fabric telemetry, observability, and fleet-scale diagnostics.
 * Knowledge of switch ASIC architecture, forwarding technologies, and high-speed networking infrastructure.
 * Linux kernel networking subsystem or upstream open-source contribution experience.

## Description

This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with a requirement that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office., We are seeking a Principal Linux Driver Engineer to lead the architecture, design, and development of Linux kernel drivers and low-level networking software for the Slingshot high-performance interconnect. This role is responsible for software that enables and optimizes communication across next-generation HPC and AI systems, including network interface controllers (NICs) and fabric switching technologies.

As a senior technical leader, you will work closely with ASIC, hardware, firmware, and system software teams to bring new products from architecture through deployment. You will drive software that delivers the performance, scalability, reliability, and observability required by some of the world's largest supercomputing and AI clusters.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role requiring deep expertise in Linux kernel development, network driver architecture, high-performance networking, and complex hardware/software integration., * Lead the architecture, design, and development of Linux kernel drivers and low-level networking software for Slingshot networking products.

 * Define software interfaces and influence hardware and firmware architecture for future generations of networking technology.
 * Develop and optimize networking software for performance, scalability, reliability, serviceability, and observability.
 * Drive products through all phases of development, including architecture, pre-silicon development, bring-up, validation, integration, and production deployment.
 * Lead investigation and resolution of complex issues spanning hardware, firmware, Linux kernel software, and large-scale system deployments.
 * Develop telemetry, diagnostics, fault detection, and recovery capabilities to improve product quality and operational efficiency.
 * Collaborate across ASIC, hardware, firmware, validation, and system software teams to deliver high-quality networking solutions.
 * Provide technical leadership through architecture reviews, design reviews, mentoring, and engineering best practices.