GPU Consultant Engineer

About Collabora: Collabora is a world-class global open-source software consultancy and a major driving force behind the Linux operating system’s core graphics infrastructure. We partner with the world’s leading technology vendors and hardware manufacturers to turn abstract system specifications into high-signal, mainline-compatible solutions. From embedding open-source drivers into complex consumer electronics to future-proofing multi-tenant enterprise kernels, Collabora’s distributed engineering squads build the canonical graphics tooling relied upon by millions of users across the global technology ecosystem.

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly analytical, systems-level GPU Consultant Engineer to lead the design, modernization, and optimization of open-source graphics drivers running on real physical hardware. Operating within our Global Engineering division, this is a fully remote, upstream-first role where you will develop directly inside the Vulkan driver stack, contributing code to the mainline Mesa repository and the Linux Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) subsystem. This track demands a low-level programmer who enjoys reading GPU specifications, parsing kernel internals, reverse-engineering undocumented hardware anomalies, and advising enterprise clients on technical software trade-offs.

Key Responsibilities

• Upstream-First Development: Architect, implement, and ship high-performance graphics driver configurations, submitting patches directly to upstream Mesa and Linux DRM repositories.
• Low-Level Systems Debugging: Triage and eliminate intricate rendering corruptions, memory leaks, and hardware hangs utilizing diagnostic toolsets such as RenderDoc and Vulkan validation layers.
• Kernel-Userspace Orchestration: Interface closely with subsystem graphics maintainers to manage buffer structures, DMA buffer sharing mechanisms, GPU job submission paths, and synchronization barriers.
• Open Source Community Collaboration: Participate actively in peer code reviews on GitLab, collaborate with upstream maintainers, and represent Collabora at marquee open-source graphics conferences like XDC and FOSDEM.
• Client Account Advisory: Translate client requirements into upstream-compatible solutions, providing transparent technical assessments and guiding hardware vendors on the strategic value of open-source quality metrics.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Strong production-level command over systems programming languages, with absolute comfort navigating complex pointer arithmetic and memory layouts in C and C++.
• Solid conceptual understanding of the core Vulkan specification, specifically encompassing command buffers, render passes, memory allocations, synchronization fences, and graphics pipeline states.
• Basic fluency navigating the Linux Kernel codebase combined with an understanding of DRM infrastructure components (including GEM, dma-buf/prime, and sync objects).
• Awareness of standard Mesa architectures, structural driver drivers compilation tracks, and the interfaces mapping userspace layers to kernel modules.
• Proven capacity to independently analyze dense hardware specifications and parse unfamiliar, large-scale software codebases cleanly.
• Excellent communication and consulting mechanics, with the capacity to translate intricate architectural dependencies clearly to cross-functional product squads.
• Location Context: 100% remote-first workspace flexibility open to qualified graphics engineers globally (**Worldwide Remote**).

Preferred Strategic Indicators (Nice to Have)

• An established open-source contribution tracking history, featuring existing mainline patch records inside the Mesa repository or the Linux Kernel.
• Familiarity with Git mailing list patch delivery mechanics and asynchronous code review rituals.
• Targeted engineering experience optimizing codebases for a specific GPU family architecture (such as ARM, AMD, or Intel).
• Exposure to systems programming using **Rust** or automation scripting leveraging **Python**.
• Familiarity with Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) operations or client implementations within the Wayland compositor framework.

What We Offer

• The exceptional technical canvas to author open-source drivers that directly shape the graphics capabilities of the mainline Linux desktop ecosystem.
• Highly competitive global salary package calibrated fairly based on your low-level hardware debugging experience and location coordinates.
• Dedicated office hardware allowances alongside flexible co-working policy tracking budgets to support remote execution.
• Biannual health and well-being assessments managed confidentially alongside trained specialists.
• Full financial support and covered travel expenses for international conference attendance and speaking engagements.
• Sabbatical retention frameworks granting long-term leave credits after five years of continuous service.
• An environment with no on-call support rotations, built on a highly sustainable pace, flexible scheduling, and asynchronous teamwork.