Linux Boot LEAD

Role & responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

• Test Strategy & Planning:
• Define and own the overall QA strategy for Linux bootloader and OS boot flows, covering U-Boot, UEFI, GRUB, and kernel boot stages.
• Develop comprehensive test plans for secure boot, verified boot, multi-stage bootloaders, initramfs, and handoff to user space.
• Automation Development:
• Design and implement automated test frameworks for validating bootloader and early kernel functionalities.
• Enable automated boot-time measurement, failure detection, and log capture across multiple hardware platforms (x86, ARM, RISC-V).
• Platform Coverage & Validation:
• Lead boot validation across multiple boards/SoCs including consumer electronics, laptops, embedded platforms, and virtual machines.
• Validate key features like fastboot, warm/cold boot, secure boot, fallback recovery, and fail-safe updates.
• Debug and Root Cause Analysis:
• Identify and isolate boot-time failures, crashes, hang-ups, or regressions using logs (earlyprintk, dmesg, serial/UART logs).
• Collaborate with kernel, firmware, and BSP teams to triage and fix boot issues across bootloader and kernel boundaries.
• Regression and Stability Testing:
• Build and manage continuous boot regression suites integrated into CI pipelines.
• Monitor boot-time KPIs (boot time, failure rate, update success) and drive quality improvements.
• Security and Recovery Testing:
• Validate Secure Boot, TrustZone, rollback protection, and platform attestation paths.
• Test boot recovery flows including A/B partition switching, watchdog triggers, and firmware failover mechanisms.
• Cross-Team Collaboration:
• Work closely with software development, hardware bring-up, and system integration teams to validate end-to-end boot paths.
• Documentation & Reporting:
• Deliver test reports, release sign-off reports, and maintain boot QA documentation and test case repositories.

Preferred candidate profile

• Strong knowledge of Linux boot architecture, including U-Boot/UEFI, GRUB, Device Tree, kernel boot parameters, and init systems (init/systemd).
• Hands-on experience with embedded hardware bring-up, bootloader customization, and recovery path validation.
• Expertise in automation scripting (Python, Bash, or Shell) and working with CI/CD tools (Jenkins, GitLab CI).
• Familiarity with serial/UART consoles, dmesg, earlycon, bootchart, and power/boot profiling tools.
• Solid understanding of Secure Boot, TEE/TrustZone, cryptographic signature validation, and key management.
• Experience with tools like LAVA, OpenQA, or custom embedded QA automation frameworks.
• Proficient in reading kernel logs, analyzing boot failures, and correlating with hardware events.
• Understanding of A/B system updates, OTA workflows, and bootloader fallback mechanisms.

Exposure to Yocto, Buildroot, or custom embedded Linux build environments