About the role DroneShield is seeking a Senior Linux Engineer to design, build, and scale the next generation of our Linux-based devices and operating environments. This role is ideal for an engineer who is passionate about lean, hardened, purpose-built Linux systems that operate reliably for years in mission-critical deployments around the world. You will work within a deeply technical team responsible for architecting, hardening, and maintaining DroneShield’s Linux distributions across multiple hardware platforms. From hardware bring-up through production images and atomic field updates, you will contribute to a secure, reproducible, and observable Linux platform that scales across diverse hardware and demanding operational environments. This is a hands-on engineering role with significant ownership, contributing directly to the architecture, build systems, security posture, and operational robustness of DroneShield’s Linux platforms. Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations Own the lifecycle of next-generation Linux devices: from initial hardware bring-up through production images and in-field update flows Architect and customise a Linux distribution tailored to specific hardware platforms and operational constraints Lead and mentor a high-impact Linux engineering team, setting standards and driving technical excellence Contribute to the full lifecycle of DroneShield Linux platforms, from hardware bring-up to production images and long-term support Architect and customise Linux distributions optimised for specific hardware, performance requirements, and operational constraints Harden the OS end-to-end: secure boot, TPM integration, immutable rootfs, minimal attack surface, signed updates Design and build reliable atomic update mechanisms for both connected and air-gapped environments Develop automated build pipelines, reproducible build systems, and test harnesses to support scalable delivery Build observability into the OS: metrics, structured logs, boot diagnostics, and system-level telemetry Provide Level 3 support for deep OS, kernel, and system-stack issues across development, production, and deployed assets Document OS architecture, interfaces, update workflows, and recovery procedures Partner closely with product, security, embedded, and platform teams to ensure seamless integration across the stack Qualifications, Experience and Skills 7 years building and operating production Linux systems or appliances (bonus: shipped hardware at scale) Deep understanding of Linux internals: kernel configuration, bootloaders, init systems, storage, namespaces, udev Strong grounding in OS-level security: secure boot, TPMs, disk encryption, UKIs, SELinux, seccomp, integrity tooling Proficiency in Bash and one additional scripting or compiled language (Python or Go desirable) Experience with observability, diagnostics, and system performance tooling Solid understanding of networking: routing, DNS, firewalling, VLANs, bonding Familiarity with provisioning systems such as PXE, Kickstart/Preseed, cloud-init, systemd services Experience with container and OCI technologies: podman, buildah, Docker, cgroups, overlayfs Exposure to image-based deployment models (e.g., RHEL Image Mode / bootc) is a significant bonus A product-oriented engineering mindset: reproducible builds, versioned configs, automated tests, and artefact-driven workflows Strong collaboration instincts and ability to work across security, product, embedded, and software teams Note for recruitment agencies: We do not accept unsolicited candidates from external recruiters unless specifically instructed.