Linux Kernel Driver Engineer (Filesystems/vfs)

About the job

Job description:Linux Kernel Driver Engineer (Filesystem / VFS)

Location: Pune, MH or Gandhinagar, GJ

Experience: 5–10 years

Employment Type: Full-time

About the Role

We are looking for a Linux Kernel Engineer to develop and maintain kernel-mode driver (KMD), a DKMS-packaged loadable kernel module that hooks the VFS layer to transparently intercept file operations, manage stub files, and enable seamless cloud tiering of surveillance video — without modifying the VMS or requiring embedded NVR/DVR hardware.

• Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain a Linux kernel module (LKM) built and distributed via DKMS across supported Ubuntu Server kernel versions
• Implement and evolve VFS-layer hooks covering inode, dentry, and superblock operations, and core filesystem entry points (open, read, getattr, etc.)
• Use kprobes/kretprobes (e.g. on vfs_getattr_nosec) to intercept and modify kernel behavior for stub-file size reporting without breaking VMS retention logic
• Own kernel-side synchronization (spinlocks, mutexes, RCU where applicable) across concurrent file access paths
• Debug kernel-level issues using dmesg, ftrace, crash/kdump, and /proc / /sys inspection; verify module identity via srcversion after every change
• Coordinate the kernel/userspace boundary (shared memory, ring buffers) with the Linux Systems Programming team
• Maintain strict versioning discipline (module version, module params) and produce round-numbered RCA design docs for significant fixes

• Mandatory Skills Must-Have

• Linux kernel module (LKM) development in C, packaged and distributed via DKMS
• Deep working knowledge of the VFS layer: inode, dentry, superblock, file_operations
• Experience with kprobes/kretprobes or equivalent dynamic kernel instrumentation techniques
• Filesystem driver / stackable filesystem concepts and standard entry points (open, read, write, getattr, release)
• Kernel debugging proficiency: dmesg, ftrace, crash/kdump, /proc and /sys inspection
• Solid grasp of kernel-space synchronization primitives (spinlocks, mutexes, RCU) and IRQ/atomic-context constraints
• Familiarity with kernel module versioning, signing, and safe load/unload lifecycle management

• Nice-to-Have Skills Good-to-Have

• FUSE internals knowledge, to reason about the kernel/userspace split cleanly
• eBPF programming experience
• Familiarity with mainstream filesystem internals (ext4, overlayfs, btrfs)
• Prior experience on backup, antivirus, or hierarchical-storage-management (HSM) kernel drivers