Company Overview
Virtium is a trusted leader in the design and manufacturing of high reliability
industrial modular hardware solutions that enable embedded computing system
manufacturers to get to market more quickly with lower development risk, and to
benefit from a streamlined supply chain. Virtium's products include computer
systems-on-module (SOMs), AI SOMs with on-board AI accelerator hardware,
industrial-grade SSDs, industrial-grade DDR memory modules and wireless
connectivity modules. With over 25 years of experience, Virtium has earned a
reputation for delivering high-quality products that meet the demanding
requirements of global customers in industries such as networking,
telecommunications, aerospace and defense, industrial OEMs, and embedded
markets. Virtium’s commitment to innovation, long-term product availability, and
customer support has made it a preferred partner for companies requiring mission
critical Edge AI system solutions.
Position Summary
We are seeking a hands-on Senior SSD System Test Engineer for Linux
environments to join our storage validation and system integration team. The ideal
candidate brings strong experience in Linux, SSD, and NVMe, along with hands-on
SSD validation, low-level debugging, and issue resolution in Linux-based
environments. This role is focused on enterprise SSD system test, failure analysis,
root-cause debugging, and automation across hardware, firmware, and software
layers. This is not a general software QA role.
This position reports to the Sr. Director of Engineering and is a full-time onsite role,
Monday through Friday, based in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. Travel is not
required, and a relocation package is not available at this time.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop, execute, and maintain system-level test plans for enterprise NVMe SSD
products in Linux environments.
- Perform system validation and qualification testing for PCIe/NVMe SSDs across
Linux-based server and client platforms.
- Debug SSD issues involving Linux kernel, device drivers, PCIe stack, NVMe
protocol, and storage subsystems.
- Analyze and resolve system crashes, kernel panics, I/O failures, performance
degradation, timeout issues, and data integrity problems.
- Drive deeper root-cause analysis and support issue closure for customer and
internal SSD-related problems in Linux environments.
- Work closely with firmware, hardware, kernel, and platform teams to isolate,
root-cause, and resolve complex cross-layer issues.
- Develop and enhance automated test frameworks and scripts for regression,
stress, endurance, and reliability testing.
- Use Linux debugging and tracing tools such as dmesg, ftrace, blktrace, perf,
iostat, nvme-cli, smartctl, and kernel logs.
- Validate SSD functionality including power management, thermal behavior,
endurance, error recovery, hot-plug, and PCIe link stability.
- Perform interoperability testing across Linux distributions, kernels, servers, and
storage platforms.
- Create detailed test reports, bug tracking documentation, and validation
summaries.
Additional Information:
- Location: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA onsite full-time Monday to Friday
- Department: Engineering
- Compensation Range: starting salary $120,000+, based on experience, etc.
- Reports to: Sr. Director of Engineering
Required Qualifications
- 5–10 years of experience in SSD system validation, enterprise SSD testing, or
Linux storage testing.
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer engineering, electrical
engineering, computer science, or a related engineering field.
- Hands-on experience debugging SSD issues in Linux environments.
- Strong experience with Linux-based SSD validation and system-level testing.
- Strong understanding of NVMe architecture and command sets.
- Strong understanding of PCIe protocol and link behavior.
- Strong understanding of Linux storage stack, block layer, and Linux kernel
fundamentals.
- Experience with Linux tools and utilities for storage, tracing, and performance
analysis.
- Experience analyzing kernel logs, crash dumps, and low-level
hardware/software interactions.
- Strong scripting or programming skills in Python, Bash, or similar languages.
- Familiarity with test automation and continuous integration environments.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with enterprise SSD validation and qualification.
- Deep familiarity with enterprise SSD behavior, system qualification, and
customer-driven debug scenarios.
- Familiarity with kernel driver development or kernel debugging.
- Experience with storage performance tools such as fio, vdbench, or iozone.
- Understanding of power management states, PCIe error handling, and firmware
validation.
- Knowledge of SATA/SAS storage protocols is a plus.
- Experience with server platforms from Intel, AMD, or ARM architectures.
Technical Skills
- NVMe SSD validation
- PCIe Gen4/Gen5 testing
- Linux kernel debugging
- Storage subsystem analysis
- SSD firmware interaction
- System stress and reliability testing
- Automation framework development