Principal Software Engineer - Virtualization

About The Job We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Software Engineer with Windows Device Driver Developer experience to join our core engineering team in Bangalore, India. This role is pivotal to our virtualization strategy, focusing on the seamless interoperability of Windows Guest Operating Systems within the Kernel based Virtual Machine stack. You will be responsible for building the “bridge” that allows Windows guests to run with near-native performance, stability, and deep integration on Linux-hosted infrastructure.

What You Will Do

• Design, develop, and maintain high-performance Windows kernel-mode drivers (WDM/KMDF) specifically for virtualized environments.
• Optimize the Windows-on-KVM stack by implementing “enlightenments” and specialized drivers (e.g., VirtIO) to reduce hypervisor overhead.
• Debug complex, low-level interactions between the Windows kernel, the virtual hardware abstraction layer, and the KVM/QEMU host.
• Build and maintain internal diagnostic tools to monitor driver health and performance
• Work closely with Linux Kernel/KVM specialists to align host-side features with guest-side driver requirements.
• Identify and resolve race conditions, memory leaks, and BSODs (Blue Screens of Death) occurring in virtualized contexts.

What You Will Bring

• Expert C/C++ Programming: Mastery of systems-level programming where resource management and concurrency are critical.
• Windows Kernel Internals: Deep architectural knowledge of Windows memory management, I/O request packets (IRPs), interrupt handling, and the Windows Driver Model (WDM).
• Debugging: Expert-level proficiency with kernel debugging
• Virtualization Knowledge: Understanding of x86 virtualization extensions (Intel VT-x, AMD-V) and how guest OSs interact with a hypervisor.
• Problem Solving: Proven ability to troubleshoot “silent failures” and performance regressions at the boundary between software and virtual hardware.

The Following Are Considered a Plus

• Familiarity with the Linux Kernel and subsystems (Scheduler, KVM, QEMU).
• Experience using Linux-side debugging tools like gdb, perf, or ftrace to analyze host-guest interactions.
• Contributions to open-source virtualization projects or Windows-Linux interoperability layers is a plus

About Red Hat Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver high-performing Linux, cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Spread across 40+ countries, our associates work flexibly across work environments, from in-office, to office-flex, to fully remote, depending on the requirements of their role. Red Hatters are encouraged to bring their best ideas, no matter their title or tenure. We’re a leader in open source because of our open and inclusive environment. We hire creative, passionate people ready to contribute their ideas, help solve complex problems, and make an impact.

Inclusion at Red Hat Red Hat’s culture is built on the open source principles of transparency, collaboration, and inclusion, where the best ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. When this is realized, it empowers people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences to come together to share ideas, challenge the status quo, and drive innovation. Our aspiration is that everyone experiences this culture with equal opportunity and access, and that all voices are not only heard but also celebrated. We hope you will join our celebration, and we welcome and encourage applicants from all the beautiful dimensions that compose our global village.

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