Senior Systems Engineer — Rust / Embedded

About the role

This role is the lead engineering presence for the OSphreX privacy-first mobile OS research initiative. The work is what most engineers call “bring-up” — getting Linux to boot to a useful state on a specific mobile device (current target: Xiaomi 12 / Nothing Phone 2), then building up from there: display, Wi-Fi, audio, modem, charging, camera.

This is not a fast-shipping product role. It is a careful, slow, deliberate role — the kind of work where a single week of debugging a thermal throttling bug is normal, and where a complete year produces a Wayland-booting demo rather than a feature roadmap full of ticks.

What you’d be doing

• Writing Rust + C against mainline Linux kernel + Wayland compositor (wlroots or Smithay).
• Mainline device-tree work for SM8450 (Snapdragon 8 Gen 1) hardware.
• Building the OSphreX userspace shell in Rust + GTK4 / libadwaita.
• Publishing every architectural decision openly, including the ones we change our mind about.

What we’re looking for

• Comfort with Rust and C — neither alone is enough; this work straddles both.
• Experience with mainline Linux kernel or device-tree work (mainline mobile preferred, but desktop / SBC mainline experience translates).
• Patience with the cadence of low-level work. This role is not for someone who needs to ship a feature a week.
• A working understanding of Wayland (compositor vs. client, the protocols), or willingness to learn it on the job.
• Bonus: prior involvement in postmarketOS, Mobian, Droidian, or any of the survivor mobile-Linux projects.

How to apply

This role is not actively recruiting yet. The Foundation is small (one full-time engineer today) and we’ll only formalise this listing as funding allows. If the description resonates with you, the best thing right now is to reach us via the contact page — we’d rather know who you are when the role does open.