Operating System and Virtualization Engineer

BlogTry nowContact salesSoftwareRemote$250,000 USDOperating System and Virtualization EngineerApply nowDo you love operating systems implementation, digging into the gritty interface where software meets machine? We are seeking a software engineer to work on our illumos-based host operating system, Helios and our Rust-based VMM, Propolis. These technologies sit at the center of the Oxide technology stack, interfacing directly with a wide range of hardware, embedded software, and third-party firmware to support the Oxide control plane and its virtual machine instances. The host OS is holistically designed to begin execution with the processor’s first instruction; it uniquely subsumes and replaces functionality that UEFI and ACPI firmware provide in other architectures. The Rust-based VMM is a de novo implementation based on the bhyve hypervisor.As an engineer working on host system software and virtualization, you will:Work with a helpful and experienced team to design, build, and bring up host system software, in-kernel virtualization, and the user-space VMM on current and future Oxide computersRead and write code in C (for the operating system writ large), in Rust (for Propolis and for some in-kernel components), and/or microprocessor assembly. All the code you write will be open source.Grow and apply your understanding of microprocessors, through deep familiarity with available documentation, interacting directly with real hardware, and producing your own documents where the vendor’s fall shortContribute to the security and resiliency of the system by designing for failure from the ground upParticipate in a rigorous code review process and help your colleagues maintain our software in a production-ready state at all timesApply a customer-centric view to the development of new end-to-end features and functions and help realize them across the stackContribute to the design of new Oxide hardware and software components elsewhere in the stackYou Will Thrive In This Role If YouAre familiar with operating systems or virtualization concepts and comfortable in C, Rust, or other low-level systems languagesSeek the versatility of working from core OS architecture to hardware interface to networking to virtual device development.Enjoy the freedom of blazing your own architectural trails and solving problems from first principlesHave previously worked in the guts of operating systems or virtualization technologies such as illumos, KVM, Hyper-V, or related systemsAre up to the challenge of interfacing with hardware that has missing or inaccurate documentationAppreciate the hard-won thrill of debugging a knotty problem to root causeBelieve in fully documenting your ideas for both current colleagues and your own future selfEnjoy reading excellent documentation produced by othersMake the tools you wish you hadCommunicate effectively with engineers across a range of disciplines to exchange knowledge and expertiseBefore Applying For This Role, You ShouldBrowse our public Requests for Discussion to get a flavor for how we workListen to Hiring Processes with Gergely Orosz to familiarize yourself with the Oxide hiring process.Prowl around the code in Propolis or HeliosListen to some of our episodes of Oxide and Friends. A few recommendations:Helios on the genesis of our illumos derivative as discussed in RFD 26Holistic Boot on our approach to BIOS-free bootingUnshrouding Turin (or Benvenuto a Torino) on the work we’re doing for AMD’s Turin microprocessorHolistic Engineering on our integrated hardware/software approachVirtualizing Time on the thorniness of getting time to work in a hypervisorLife at OxideWe are very explicit about our values, and they can be seen in daily life at Oxide, for example:Our rigor means we enjoy and take pride in the craft of engineering.Our urgency means that we are not above the judicious short-cut.Our versatility is reflected in our greatest strength: the breadth of our team.Our transparency can be seen in our consensus-driven RFD process.Our responsibility means that we both lead and follow: we have our own domains, but we also help others on their parts.Our curiosity shows in our insatiable desire to learn – and our empathy in our love of teaching others.Our humor is a big part of our daily lives: we are inveterate wise-crackers whose video meetings spill into simultaneous text chat.Working at OxideRemote firstMost of our team are based outside of the Bay Area. We do ask that your workday overlaps with Pacific Time for at least four hours.Flexible working hoursOur families and lives outside of our jobs are very important to us; our schedules are flexible to reflect and support that.Premium healthcareWe offer the best medical PPO, dental, and vision plans we can find and cover 100% of premiums for employees and dependents.Learn moreCompensationEveryone at Oxide makes $250,000 USD, regardless of location. (Some sales positions have a lower base salary and contain a commission component.)Learn moreApply nowAuthentication requiredIt is required that you authenticate with an email in order to apply. You may also read through the materials that we ask every applicant to complete. By clicking log in you agree to the use of cookies that we use to authenticate your session.Log inView materialsApplying ForOperating System and Virtualization EngineerResumeShould be a pdf fileUploadMaterialsPlease make a copy of this document and follow the instructions. When completed, please export this document as a pdf and attach it hereUploadOptionally include relevant linksLearn more about ourapplication processThe cloudyou ownProductComputeStorageNetworkingSpecsCompanyHomePrinciplesCareersEventsPressPrivacy PolicySolutionsPublic SectorVMwareHybrid CloudTechFinanceAISovereign CloudHPCCI/CDEcosystemResourcesOn the MetalOxide & FriendsBlogFAQ FridayGitHub logo Linkedin logo