Senior Embedded Linux Engineer

Senior Embedded Engineer (RTOS) A successful UK startup company is looking for their next Senior Embedded Engineer! They are an ambitious, venture-backed UK startup pioneering a breakthrough AI accelerator for data centers which uses 3D optical compute. After being founded in 2022, they have already secured over £15 million in investment and are currently scalding rapidly to deploy the fastest optical compute currently available globally. The role: Ensure the software at the lowest level of the stack runs reliably through building the firmware, drivers, and RTOS-based control software that bring our AI accelerator to life — from initial power-on through to stable, performant operation in production systems. Day to Day: Develop and maintain device drivers for the AI accelerator, targeting Linux kernel and bare-metal environments Write and debug firmware for control and management processors alongside the main accelerator die Lead BSP bring-up for new hardware revisions: clock tree configuration, interrupt routing, peripheral initialisation Implement RTOS-based control tasks using FreeRTOS or equivalent, ensuring deterministic scheduling and safe resource management Work with hardware engineers to validate bring-up through JTAG debugging, oscilloscope analysis, and logic capture Establish coding standards, review practices, and testing methodology for the embedded team Requirements: 5+ years of embedded software experience with C/C++ in production hardware products Proven experience writing Linux device drivers (character, platform, or PCIe drivers) Hands-on BSP bring-up experience on custom hardware — from schematic review to first OS boot Solid understanding of RTOS concepts: task scheduling, inter-task communication, memory protection Proficiency with hardware debug tools: JTAG/SWD debuggers, oscilloscopes, logic analysers Interview process: The process is four stages. An initial conversation with the HR team to understand what you want from the role and what we want from it. Two technical sessions with various members of our engineering team. Finally, an HR-team session covering scope, terms, and any final questions. They aim to move fast on candidates we are excited about; expect roughly three to four weeks end to end. How to apply: If this role sound like something you have may be interested in, please apply or email with an updated CV and a time that’s best to talk. Look forward to hearing from you, Ella Atkinson!