Remote Linux Embedded Systems Software Engineer

Salary: £124,800 - 124,800 per year

Requirements

• We need strong C/C++ systems programming experience.
• We need proven Linux/Debian daemon or service development experience.
• We need practical experience with systemd.
• We need Linux audio experience with PipeWire, PulseAudio, or ALSA.
• We need USB device communication experience, including USB HID, hidraw, libusb, composite devices, and hot-plug handling.
• We need real-time or near-real-time audio/data streaming experience.
• We need familiarity with Opus or similar low-latency codecs.
• We need the ability to debug across application, OS, audio, and USB boundaries.
• We need experience analysing and porting Windows code to Linux.
• Desirable: embedded Linux BLE / DA14531 or similar experience.
• Desirable: experience with custom USB HID protocols.
• Desirable: kiosk or unattended system experience.
• Desirable: experience with Windows-to-Linux ports.
• Desirable: audio latency and codec pipeline debugging experience.

Responsibilities

• We will set up the Debian build and test environment and create a production-ready systemd service that starts at boot and recovers from failures.
• We will analyse the existing Windows listener, extract portable C/C++ logic, and replace Windows-specific APIs with Linux equivalents.
• We will capture system audio from the default output using PipeWire or PulseAudio, handle device hot-swap and idle or silent states, and keep CPU usage low.
• We will encode audio with Opus, chunk it into 64-byte HID packets, and implement the required notification and header protocol.
• We will enumerate the composite USB device, locate the correct HID interface, and communicate via hidraw or libusb.
• We will handle USB attach and detach events, reconnects, write failures, and buffer overruns robustly.
• We will implement the shared command protocol without API changes and provide matching stub handlers.
• We will deliver diagnostic logging with parity to the Windows tool, including audio level, VID/PID, connection status, and errors.
• We will perform side-by-side validation against the Windows version and Android reference app for audio quality, latency, framing, and stability.
• We will deliver a production-ready Linux daemon that builds on the target Debian platform, captures and encodes audio, streams correctly framed HID packets, handles device reconnects, runs as a reliable systemd service, and matches the Windows implementation on quality, latency, and behaviour.

Technologies

• API
• Android
• Debian
• Embedded
• Hardware
• Linux
• Windows

More

We are building a robust kiosk daemon for a custom USB HID device, porting an existing Windows implementation to Debian Linux while matching the original on audio quality, latency, framing, protocol behaviour, and stability. This is a hands-on systems role focused on integrating audio capture, Opus encoding, USB HID communication, and reliable unattended Linux service operation. The target hardware, Debian version, Windows source, USB descriptors, protocol documentation, Android sample app, and reference devices will be provided before the relevant work begins.

last updated 32 week of 2026