Senior Systems Engineer, CKS Performance

What Youll Do:

The Systems Engineering team owns the Linux kernel and host software stack underneath one of the largest GPU fleets in the world. When something breaks at the Kubernetes layer a pod stuck in a mystery state a cgroup that wont reclaim memory a scheduler decision that makes no sense the root cause almost always lives below the abstraction in the kernel. Our team is the last line of defense: we go down into memory management scheduling and namespaces to find out whats actually happening fix it and often upstream the fix.

About the role:

As a Senior Software Engineer on the Systems Engineering team you will be the kernel expert who traces complex ambiguous failures in Kubernetes pods and containers back to their root cause in the Linux kernel and fixes them there. Youll live at the boundary between kernel internals (cgroups namespaces the scheduler memory management) and the container/orchestration stack built on top of them (containerd runc the kubelet the CRI). Day-to-day youll debug kernel crashes and panics chase down cgroup and namespace edge cases that only show up at fleet scale and work with hardware platform and product teams to turn the pod is doing something impossible into a root cause and a patch upstreaming it when it belongs in the broader Linux and Kubernetes ecosystems.

Some of what youll work on:

• Debug and fix complex issues that span the kernel/Kubernetes boundary pods stuck or evicted for unclear reasons cgroup memory/CPU accounting that doesnt add up namespace or mount issues that only manifest under real workloads at scale.
• Go deep into cgroups (v1 and v2) namespaces the OOM killer and the CPU scheduler (CFS) to explain and fix behavior that looks like a Kubernetes bug but is actually a kernel one and the reverse.
• Debug kernel crashes panics oopses and hangs using tools like crash gdb and kdump; identify root cause and drive it to a fix.
• Work across the container runtime stack (containerd runc the kubelet the CRI) to understand how kernel behavior surfaces as pod- and container-level symptoms.
• Develop and where applicable upstream Linux kernel patches to the mainline kernel container runtimes or Kubernetes itself.
• Build diagnostics and tooling for kernel- and cgroup-level observability so the next issue like this is faster to find.
• Partner with hardware platform HPC and Fleet teams to ensure kernel and container-runtime readiness for production workloads and provide kernel-level expertise during incident response and root-cause investigations.

Who You Are:

• 5 years of professional experience in Linux kernel engineering systems-level development or a closely adjacent discipline.
• Deep understanding of kernel internals memory management process/thread scheduling cgroups namespaces and the networking or storage stack.
• Hands-on experience with cgroups (v1 and/or v2) and namespaces and how they underpin container isolation and resource limits.
• Experience debugging kernel crashes panics hangs and dumps using tools like crash gdb or kdump.
• Strong C programming skills with the ability to write maintainable upstream-quality code.
• Working knowledge of the container and Kubernetes stack containerd runc the kubelet and the CRI and how kernel behavior shows up at that layer.
• Skilled at cross-domain debugging: identifying whether a root cause lies in the kernel the container runtime or the orchestration layer above it.

Preferred:

• Experience upstreaming patches to the Linux kernel containerd runc or Kubernetes.
• Familiarity with eBPF for kernel-level tracing observability or enforcement.
• Experience with kernel networking (TCP/IP RDMA/RoCE) or storage subsystems at scale.
• Experience debugging GPU/DPU driver or hardware-enablement issues at the kernel level.
• Background in HPC or large-scale distributed systems.
• Contributions to the Linux kernel containerd runc or Kubernetes projects.

The base salary range for this role is $182000 to $242000. The starting salary will be determined based on job-related knowledge skills experience and market location. We strive for both market alignment and internal equity when determining addition to base salary our total rewards package includes a discretionary bonus equity awards and a comprehensive benefits program (all based on eligibility).

What We Offer

The range weve posted represents the typical compensation range for this role. To determine actual compensation we review the market rate for each candidate which can include a variety of factors. These include qualifications experience interview performance and location.

In addition to a competitive salary we offer a variety of benefits to support your needs. The benefits below reflect our US-based offerings for full-time employees; for roles in other locations benefits vary and are shared during the hiring process. These include:

• Medical dental and vision insurance - 100% paid for by CoreWeave
• Company-paid Life Insurance
• Voluntary supplemental life insurance
• Short and long-term disability insurance
• Flexible Spending Account
• Health Savings Account
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Ability to Participate in Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP)
• Mental Wellness Benefits through Spring Health
• Family-Forming support provided by Carrot
• Paid Parental Leave
• Flexible full-service childcare support with Kinside
• 401(k) with a generous employer match
• Flexible PTO
• Catered lunch each day in our office and data center locations
• A casual work environment
• A work culture focused on innovative disruption

California Applicants

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Equal Opportunity & Accommodations

CoreWeave is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive workplace. All qualified applicants and candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion sex disability age sexual orientation gender identity national origin veteran status or genetic information.

As part of this commitment and consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) CoreWeave will ensure that qualified applicants and candidates with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship. If reasonable accommodation is needed please contact: .

Export Control Compliance

This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder) (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158 (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. CoreWeave may for legitimate business reasons decline to pursue any export licensing process.