Embedded Linux Engineer, Foundations

Kind Humanoid

Kind Humanoid

San Carlos, CA, USA

USD 155k-250k / year + Equity

Posted on Apr 23, 2026

Job description

Embedded Linux Engineer, Foundations
San Carlos, CA (on-site)

About the Role

NEO is a humanoid robot that walks into homes, learns from video, and works alongside people. You'll own the Linux foundation that makes this possible.

This is the layer between silicon and intelligence, where the system boots fast, stays stable, debugs cleanly, and updates confidently. You'll ship the production-grade embedded Linux stack end-to-end, from bring-up to fleet: BSP, kernel, drivers, distribution. The operating system is a product, not an afterthought.

In This Role, You Will:

  • Build and maintain a custom embedded Linux distribution (Yocto) for 1X hardware: BSP, rootfs, and toolchain with reproducible builds and release artifacts

  • Own kernel and driver development: device tree, board bring-up, peripheral enablement, performance tuning, upstream/downstream Linux patch strategy

  • Deliver production-quality system software: boot chain, init, services, logging, crash capture, and fast deterministic startup

  • Create tooling for provisioning, flashing, and over-the-air updates across a growing fleet, along with automated tests and hardware bring-up workflows

  • Take platform ownership from prototype to high-volume production, making reliability and optimization tradeoffs as hardware evolves

  • Build and improve CI/CD for embedded images, kernel builds, and validation

You Might Thrive In This Role If You:

  • Have 5+ years shipping embedded Linux systems in production

  • Have written production device drivers for common buses (I2C, SPI, CAN, USB, Ethernet, PCIe) and can read schematics to reason about hardware behavior from software symptoms

  • Have built with Yocto or Buildroot and hold strong opinions about build systems, release engineering, and test automation

  • Debug at the kernel level with confidence and trace software root causes

  • Are comfortable in high-ownership environments where you define the standard rather than inherit it

Benefits & Compensation

  • Salary Range: $155,000 – $250,000 + Equity

  • Health, dental, and vision insurance

  • 401(k) with company match

  • Paid time off and holidays

Equal Opportunity Employer
1X is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, medical condition, genetic information, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

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