Senior Linux Engineer

Role Description

Keeper Security is hiring a Senior Linux Systems Engineer to join our Privileged Access Management team and help build secure endpoint privilege management capabilities for Linux environments. This is a 100% remote position, with an opportunity to work a hybrid schedule for candidates based in the Chicago, IL or El Dorado Hills, CA metro areas.

As a Senior Linux Systems Engineer on Keeper’s PAM team, you will design and build security-sensitive components that control privileged execution and elevation on Linux endpoints. This is a systems engineering role focused on endpoint privilege management, process authorization, Linux security boundaries and long-running privileged services. You will work across a Rust-based Linux agent, native C PAM modules and .NET services running on Linux. The role requires strong knowledge of Linux internals and the ability to reason carefully about process identity, permissions, authentication, kernel-facing APIs and secure failure behavior. This is not a traditional application development role; the work operates close to the Linux operating system and directly influences how privileged processes are authorized and executed.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain Linux endpoint privilege management capabilities across Rust, C and .NET components
• Build and enhance kernel-facing agent functionality using Linux interfaces such as fanotify, the proc filesystem, namespaces, capabilities and process identity
• Develop and maintain native PAM modules and Linux privilege-elevation workflows
• Build long-running privileged Linux services using Rust, Tokio, MQTT, TLS and asynchronous programming patterns
• Develop Linux-specific orchestration and session-management capabilities in .NET 8, including process authentication, access controls, ephemeral accounts and session monitoring
• Diagnose complex Linux execution and security issues involving blocked processes, authentication races, permissions, SELinux, AppArmor and system service behavior
• Design secure privilege-enforcement mechanisms based on least privilege, process trust and protection against time-of-check/time-of-use (TOCTOU) and authorization race conditions
• Build and maintain systemd services, RPM and DEB packages, installation workflows, service hardening and operational diagnostics
• Collaborate with PAM, endpoint, QA and platform engineers on architecture, testing, cross-platform functionality and production troubleshooting
• Use AI-assisted development tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot or similar platforms to improve systems research, debugging, code development, testing and technical documentation

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional software or systems engineering experience, with significant hands-on Linux systems programming experience
• Deep understanding of Linux process and security concepts, including the proc filesystem, user and group IDs, Linux capabilities, namespaces and process execution
• Strong C programming experience, including native Linux development, memory management, GCC and Make-based build workflows and defensive error handling
• Experience developing or integrating with Linux PAM and PAM configuration
• Strong Rust experience, including ownership, concurrency, asynchronous development and long-running service or daemon design
• Experience with Tokio or similar asynchronous Rust frameworks
• Working proficiency with C# and .NET in Linux environments
• Experience developing security-sensitive software involving authentication, authorization, privilege elevation, process trust or least-privilege controls
• Strong understanding of Linux service management and operations, including systemd, journalctl, SELinux and/or AppArmor, and RPM/DEB packaging
• Experience troubleshooting low-level Linux behavior using system logs, process inspection, tracing and reproducible test tools
• Ability to read Linux kernel and subsystem documentation and translate system behavior into secure production implementations
• Ability and willingness to use AI-assisted tools effectively to support systems programming, debugging, technical analysis, testing and documentation
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with MQTT or other event-driven messaging technologies used for agent, plugin or job execution
• Experience with Linux desktop session technologies, including X11, Wayland, GDM and D-Bus
• Familiarity with TLS, PKI, code signing and certificate-based process or plugin authentication
• Experience supporting multiple Linux distributions, particularly RHEL and Ubuntu, including differences between SELinux and AppArmor
• Experience with endpoint privilege management, privileged access management or endpoint security products
• Familiarity with Avalonia or another cross-platform Linux desktop UI framework
• Experience building Linux software for x86 and ARM architectures, including packaging and signing pipelines
• Familiarity with endpoint security architectures on Windows or macOS
• Strong understanding of authorization models such as allow, deny, approval and just-in-time elevation workflows

Benefits

• Medical, Dental & Vision (inclusive of domestic partnerships)
• Employer Paid Life Insurance & Employee/Spouse/Child Supplemental Life
• Voluntary Short/Long Term Disability Insurance
• 401K (Roth/Traditional)
• A generous PTO plan that celebrates your commitment and seniority (including paid Bereavement/Jury Duty, etc.)
• Above-market annual bonuses