O

Oracle

Builds databases, business apps and cloud services

Principal Systems Software Engineer

Full-TimeUpdated
$110.1k - $234.6k/yr+ Bonus + Equity + Compensation deferral
Expert
Nashville, TN, USA
In Person
Software EngineeringSystems Software Engineering

About the job

Requirements
  • Strong background in operating systems development.
  • Proficiency in C programming and kernel-level debugging.
  • Several years of hands-on Unix/Linux kernel development experience is preferred.
  • Knowledge of security technologies, including TPM, Secure Boot, kernel signing, and encryption frameworks.
  • In-depth knowledge of ARM, Intel, and AMD platforms and chipsets.
  • Familiarity with Python and Bash scripting for development and automation tasks.
  • Knowledge of instruction set architectures and chipsets.
Responsibilities
  • Bring up and harden Oracle Linux on ARM-, Intel-, and AMD-based platforms; develop secure, production-ready images and operating system and firmware update solutions; and help establish the technical foundation for scalable robotic deployments.
  • Own early prototypes through production-ready platform software and technical standards while working closely with product, infrastructure, security, hardware, and platform teams, as well as external silicon and hardware vendors.
  • Make Oracle Linux work on embedded platforms based on ARM, Intel, and AMD.
  • Contribute to and extend open-source software in the Linux kernel, U-Boot, and ATF.
  • Co-design and develop images for these platforms.
  • Lead platform bring-up, firmware updates, platform-level diagnostics, and complex cross-layer debugging.
  • Diagnose and resolve complex issues across software, firmware, and hardware layers, working in DevOps and incident-response paradigms to maintain reliability and availability.
  • Design software solutions and analyze and identify requirements to achieve business and operational goals, sharing results with a manager upon completion.
  • Adhere to and improve execution of all phases of the software development lifecycle, and provide guidance and coaching to engineers to drive improvements.
  • Use advanced knowledge to develop and guide new software features and enhancements, lead design specifications, ensure accessibility, and develop documents clarifying software design and code.
  • Lead code reviews in multiple areas to help drive improvements.
  • Debug and troubleshoot to identify and fix complex software issues, and develop fixes for identified issues.
  • Implement comprehensive software testing, including functional and non-functional testing, quality assurance processes, software error logging, monitoring, and observability for effective debugging, sharing work with a manager and/or lead upon completion.
  • Conduct performance profiling and optimization of coding, build scalable solutions, and anticipate and resolve potential outcomes.
  • Troubleshoot and resolve complex issues related to API functionality and integration, and implement complex API versioning, lifecycle, and interoperability strategies.
Desired Qualifications
  • Several years of hands-on Unix/Linux kernel development experience.

About the company

Oracle builds databases, business applications, and cloud infrastructure for companies and public-sector organizations. Oracle Database stores and processes business data, while Oracle Cloud Infrastructure provides computing, storage, and networking for applications and AI workloads. Fusion Cloud Applications support finance, human resources, supply chains, and customer service, helping businesses manage everyday operations and reporting. Customers pay for cloud subscriptions and usage, software licenses, support, hardware, and consulting, with deployment options in Oracle's cloud or their own data centers. Oracle was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Austin, Texas

Founded

1977

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Cloud infrastructure sales grew: Oracle reported $7.4 billion quarterly revenue, up 121% yearly, in September 2026.
  • Employees build transferable skills: Oracle offers free product certifications and access to Coursera, O'Reilly, and LinkedIn Learning.
  • Existing licenses create repeat business: Oracle sells annual technical support covering software updates, fixes, and assistance.

What critics are saying

  • Expansion consumes cash: Oracle reported negative $5 billion free cash flow for its August 2026 quarter despite profitable operations.
  • Job security faces active restructuring: Oracle's September 2026 filing added $700 million to a plan centered on employee severance.
  • Future datacenters lock in costs: Oracle's September 2026 filing lists $288 billion of future lease commitments, typically lasting 15-19 years.

What makes Oracle unique

  • Its database runs inside rival clouds: Oracle delivers native database services in AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud datacenters.
  • Global expansion keeps one rate card: Oracle charges the same OCI service prices across regions, including government clouds.
  • Hardware participates in database work: Oracle's Exadata storage servers process data-intensive queries alongside specialized database servers and networking.

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Benefits

  • 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match
  • Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits. For employees working at least 35 hours per week, the vacation accrual rate is 13 days annually for the first three years of employment and 18 days annually for subsequent years of employment. Vacation accrual is prorated for employees working between 20 and 34 hours per week. Employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are not eligible for vacation.
  • 11 paid holidays
  • Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire. Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.
  • Paid parental leave
  • Adoption assistance
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan
  • Financial planning and group legal
  • Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance

Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

1%

1 year growth

2%

2 year growth

3%
Yahoo Finance
Oct 27th, 2026
Oracle adds Google TPUs, OpenAI security and Cerebras chips to cloud; shares rise 4%

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) will become the first major cloud provider outside Google to offer Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), starting in early 2027. Oracle shares rose about 4% on Tuesday after it announced partnerships with Google, OpenAI, and Cerebras Systems. Oracle also launched the Oracle AI Security Mesh, powered by OpenAI's cyber models. It combines OpenAI's reasoning systems with Oracle's testing tools and customer data to find code flaws and model fixes under human supervision. Oracle will also add Cerebras' wafer-scale processors to its data centres by the first half of 2027, offering fast inference for AI agents. The stock is down about 32% this year.

CNBC
Oct 27th, 2026
Oracle to embed OpenAI's ChatGPT and Codex across more of its products

Oracle is adding OpenAI's ChatGPT and Codex to its application stack, extending enterprise access to OpenAI tools. The agreement embeds the artificial intelligence (AI) tools in more of Oracle's products.

Associated Press
Oct 27th, 2026
SambaNova and Oracle to deploy SN50 AI chips in Oracle Cloud data centres

SambaNova, an AI chip company, announced a collaboration with Oracle to bring its chips to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) data centres. The deal pairs OCI's infrastructure with SambaNova's Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU) chips, aimed at AI inference. Oracle plans to host the systems and offer the capacity to customers that need a high-performance, efficient inference platform. "Inference demand is growing fast," said Karan Batta, senior vice president of OCI. SambaNova's SN50 is its fifth-generation RDU, built for agentic AI. The company says it delivers up to 5X the maximum speed of competing chips and 3X lower total cost of ownership. Each SambaRack SN50 draws an average of 20 kW, low enough for existing air-cooled data centres. The chip can also work alongside NVIDIA GPUs.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 27th, 2026
Oracle adds Google, Cerebras and SambaNova AI chips to cut reliance on Nvidia

Oracle is adding AI chips from Google, Cerebras, and SambaNova to its cloud networks, as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia. It marks the first time Google is selling its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for use in a third-party data centre, rather than only renting out capacity. Cerebras' chips will provide AI inference and AI agent processing power, while SambaNova's SN50 processor will handle agentic inference. Companies want to avoid being locked into a single supplier and to contain costs. Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic also have or are developing custom chips. Nvidia is not in immediate trouble, though. Oracle is also bringing Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 superclusters and Vera CPUs to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Oracle is also partnering with OpenAI on an AI Workspace, which lets users access Oracle's tools via ChatGPT.

Bloomberg
Oct 27th, 2026
Oracle to offer Cerebras computers in AI cloud, challenging Nvidia's dominance

Oracle will offer cloud services built on Cerebras Systems computers in its data centres. The deal gives Cerebras, a young challenger to Nvidia's dominance of AI hardware, another large customer.