What is a Systems Engineer?

At AMD, a Systems Engineer on the Linux Kernel and Virtualization team sits at the intersection of silicon architecture, operating systems, and open-source ecosystems. You translate new AMD x86-64 CPU and SoC features into robust, performant, and secure Linux capabilities—so cloud providers, data centers, and developers can realize the full value of EPYC platforms. Your work lands upstream and ships globally via major distributions and hypervisors.

This role is critical because it ensures AMD innovations—from ACPI and PCIe enhancements to RAS, CXL, and confidential computing (SEV/SEV-SNP)—are correctly designed, implemented, and optimized in the kernel and virtualization stack (e.g., KVM/QEMU). You will influence kernel interfaces, collaborate with architects on new instructions and SoC features, and partner with distros to deliver a production-quality experience. The outcome is tangible: better VM density, lower latency, higher throughput, and stronger security at scale.

Expect deep technical engagement, fast iteration, and visible impact. You will work closely with architecture, firmware/BIOS/UEFI, performance, security, and customer teams, and you will interact directly with the Linux community. This is a role for engineers who enjoy low-level problem solving, upstream collaboration, and shipping code that advances what’s possible on AMD platforms.

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Focus your preparation on the Linux kernel and KVM stack, x86-64 architecture, open-source upstreaming practices, and hands-on debugging. AMD’s interviewers prioritize practical insights, clarity of thought, and your ability to reason about trade-offs at the systems level.

• Role-related Knowledge (Technical/Domain Skills) - Interviewers will press on your depth in Linux kernel internals, x86-64 architecture, virtualization (KVM/QEMU), and key subsystems like ACPI, PCIe, IOMMU, RAS, and CXL. Demonstrate understanding through code-level discussions, clear mental models, and concrete examples from your experience or upstream contributions.
• Problem-Solving Ability (How you approach challenges) - You will face scenarios involving kernel crashes, performance regressions, or VM instability. Show how you structure an investigation, choose the right tools (e.g., perf, ftrace, crash, kdump, bpftrace), and iterate to verify root cause and validate fixes.
• Leadership (Influence and collaboration) - AMD values engineers who can lead without authority—especially in open-source communities. Expect questions about driving consensus, responding to code review feedback, mentoring, and aligning multiple stakeholders (silicon teams, distros, customers) behind a technical direction.
• Culture Fit (Collaboration and humility) - Be ready to discuss how you handle ambiguity, deliver under schedule pressure, and communicate crisply. AMD emphasizes being direct, humble, and inclusive; examples where you adapted, listened, and elevated team outcomes will resonate.
• Open-Source Fluency (Upstream process and etiquette) - You should know how to submit, revise, and land patches, cite maintainers, handle NAKs, and follow kernel coding style and ABI stability rules. Concrete upstream stories carry real weight here.

Interview Process Overview

AMD’s process is designed to evaluate how you think, code, and collaborate on real systems problems. You will experience a blend of conceptual probing and hands-on technical assessments that mirror day-to-day work: reading kernel traces, designing interfaces, discussing upstream strategies, and reasoning about x86 interactions with the OS and hypervisor. The pace is focused but respectful—interviewers will encourage clarifying questions and expect structured, data-driven reasoning.

You’ll find the process notably community-aware. Teams care not just that you can write correct code, but that you can get it accepted upstream, maintain it, and support long-term stability. Expect conversations about API design, ABI guarantees, performance trade-offs, and distro alignment. The experience emphasizes collaboration across hardware, firmware, and software boundaries.

This timeline visual outlines typical stages—from initial screen through deep technical and cross-functional panels. Use it to plan your preparation cadence: schedule kernel-practice sessions ahead of technical rounds, line up examples of upstream work, and prepare a concise story for complex investigations you’ve led end-to-end.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

Linux Kernel & OS Internals

This area validates your command of core kernel subsystems and how they interact with AMD platforms. You will discuss control paths, memory management, synchronization, and subsystem-specific details relevant to EPYC-class servers.

Be ready to go over:

• Memory management (MMU, page tables, NUMA, THP): Page faults, TLB shootdowns, NUMA placement, and huge page strategies under mixed workloads.
• Interrupts and I/O (APIC/x2APIC, MSI/MSI-X, IRQ handling): Affinity, balancing, latency impacts, and ISR vs. threaded handlers.
• Kernel concurrency and synchronization: Locks, RCU, atomics, memory barriers—when and why each is appropriate.
• Advanced concepts (less common): KASLR, mitigations for speculative execution, lockdep/KASAN/UBSAN workflows, live patching, and eBPF tracing models.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk through debugging a kernel panic with an oops trace and provide a hypothesis-driven plan to isolate the offending subsystem."
• "How would you diagnose a NUMA imbalance causing latency spikes on an EPYC system?"
• "What’s your approach to resolving a THP performance regression after a kernel upgrade?"

Virtualization & KVM/QEMU

You’ll be assessed on KVM architecture, QEMU device models, and how AMD virtualization extensions surface through the stack. Expect deep questions about VMEXITs, NPT, vCPU scheduling, and virtio performance.

Be ready to go over:

• KVM fundamentals: vCPU lifecycles, exits, CPUID/feature exposure, shadow vs. nested paging (NPT).
• Device virtualization: virtio, vhost, SR-IOV with IOMMU interactions and DMA remapping.
• Live migration and dirty logging: Strategies, pitfalls for large-memory VMs, and ensuring consistency.
• Advanced concepts (less common): SEV/SEV-ES/SEV-SNP, nested virtualization behaviors, PMU virtualization, and migration under memory encryption.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "A workload experiences excessive VMEXITs after enabling a new CPU feature—how do you triage?"
• "Design a plan to expose a new CPUID leaf via KVM and safely surface it to guests."
• "Explain why live migration might fail with encrypted VMs and how you’d mitigate it."

x86-64 Architecture & SoC Features

Interviewers will probe your fluency with x86-64 microarchitecture and server SoC features—how they’re configured, exposed, and monitored in Linux.

Be ready to go over:

• Core architecture: Caches, SMT, microcode, MSRs, APIC, power states (C/P-states) and their OS interfaces.
• Platform features: ACPI tables (e.g., SRAT/SLIT), PCIe, IOMMU, RAS (MCA/MCE), and CXL.
• Security and memory technologies: SME/SEV, page attributes, and mitigation trade-offs.
• Advanced concepts (less common): Side-channel mitigations, firmware-first RAS vs. OS-first, CXL.mem attach semantics.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Interpret an MCE log on an EPYC system and outline next steps for containment and recovery."
• "How would you enable a new CXL.mem region in Linux and validate performance/NUMA policy?"
• "Explain the interaction between APIC/x2APIC and interrupt distribution on multi-socket servers."

Open-Source Upstreaming & Collaboration

Success in this role depends on your ability to deliver changes to the Linux community efficiently and sustainably. You’ll discuss mailing list workflows, maintainer engagement, and long-term maintenance strategy.

Be ready to go over:

• Patch lifecycle: RFCs, vN revisions, cover letters, checkpatch, sign-off (DCO), and bisection for regressions.
• Maintainer relations: Responding to review feedback, handling NAKs, and reaching consensus on interfaces.
• Stable/backports: Criteria, risk mitigation, and distro-specific constraints.
• Advanced concepts (less common): ABI stability principles, deprecation strategies, CI in kernel workflows, licensing nuances.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Draft the outline of a cover letter for a 5-patch series enabling a new RAS capability."
• "You received conflicting feedback from two maintainers—how do you proceed?"
• "How do you structure a backport policy for a feature used by multiple enterprise distros?"

Debugging, Performance, and Testing

AMD will test your methodical debugging and performance engineering under real constraints. You must demonstrate data-driven analysis and the ability to reproduce and isolate complex faults.

Be ready to go over:

• Tools and techniques: perf, ftrace/trace-cmd, bpftrace/eBPF, kprobes, kgdb, kdump/crash, lockdep/KASAN.
• Performance methodology: Baselines, noise control, PMU events, flamegraphs, and regression detection.
• Robust validation: Unit tests, selftests, kselftest, QEMU-based CI, and stress/fault injection.
• Advanced concepts (less common): Microarchitectural counter interpretation, NUMA-aware load generation, reproducibility across kernels.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "A 15% regression appears after enabling a new IOMMU feature—what’s your investigation plan?"
• "Analyze a soft lockup report and propose the next three commands you’d run."
• "Describe how you’d build a minimal reproducer for a rare use-after-free."

This visualization highlights where interviews concentrate. Expect heavy emphasis on Linux kernel, x86-64, KVM/QEMU, security (SEV/SEV-SNP), and platform subsystems like ACPI, PCIe, IOMMU, RAS, and CXL. Use it to prioritize your final review and to build concise stories aligned with these domains.

Key Responsibilities

You will own upstream enablement and optimization of AMD platform features within the Linux kernel and virtualization stack. That includes translating hardware capabilities into stable, performant kernel features that land upstream and reach users through distros and cloud platforms.

• Primary deliverables: Patch series for kernel subsystems (e.g., KVM, mm/, ACPI, PCIe), QEMU enhancements, documentation updates, and targeted tests/selftests.
• Cross-team collaboration: Partner with CPU/SoC architects, firmware/BIOS, security, performance, and customer teams. Align API/ABI decisions with community standards and product roadmaps.
• Feature leadership: Drive roadmaps for areas like virtualization, confidential computing, RAS, CXL, and live migration.
• Production readiness: Debug field issues, guide distros on backports, and support partner solutions to ensure reliability at scale.

Expect a mix of upstream development, rigorous debugging, design reviews, and community engagement. You will routinely switch between code, performance data, and cross-functional discussions to close the loop from silicon to software.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

This role demands proven systems-level depth and a track record of high-quality upstream collaboration. Candidates typically have experience across the full software lifecycle—from design through validation and long-term maintenance.

• Must-have technical skills

  • Expert C for kernel/systems development; strong git proficiency and mailing-list workflows
  • Linux kernel internals (mm, interrupts, scheduler/concurrency, ACPI/PCIe/IOMMU, RAS)
  • Virtualization (KVM/QEMU), nested paging (NPT), virtio, and live migration fundamentals
  • x86-64 architecture (MSRs, APIC/x2APIC, microcode, cache/NUMA) and low-level debugging
  • Kernel debugging and performance tooling (perf, ftrace, kdump/crash, bpftrace, lockdep/KASAN)

• Nice-to-have expertise

  • SEV/SEV-SNP, SME, secure virtualization flows and migration of encrypted guests
  • CXL memory/IO models, RAS/MCA handling in large systems, SR-IOV device virtualization
  • Distro interactions (RHEL, Ubuntu, SUSE), stable backporting strategy, CI for kernel changes
  • GNU toolchain depth; scripting for automation (bash/Python); emulator/simulator familiarity

• Experience level

  • Roles span from Staff to Sr. Staff; postings commonly indicate 4+ to 10+ years depending on scope and leadership expectations.
  • A BS/MS in EE/CE/CS or related field is expected.

• Soft skills that distinguish

  • Crisp technical communication, upstream diplomacy, data-driven decision-making, and the ability to build consensus across diverse teams and communities.

This visualization summarizes recent compensation signals for similar roles and levels. Treat it as directional and adjust for location (Austin vs. Santa Clara), seniority (Staff/Sr. Staff), and total compensation components. At AMD, final offers consider experience, scope, and market dynamics.

Common Interview Questions

You will encounter a balance of kernel deep dives, virtualization scenarios, open-source process questions, and behavior-focused leadership prompts. Use the categories below to structure your practice.

Linux Kernel & OS Internals

Expect to discuss mm, interrupts, concurrency, and relevant subsystems.

• Explain how a page fault is handled on x86-64 and where huge pages affect the path.
• Diagnose a kernel oops from a provided trace; what are your next three steps?
• How would you use perf and ftrace to locate a scheduler-induced latency spike?
• Discuss strategies for NUMA-aware memory allocation for mixed IO/compute workloads.
• When would you prefer RCU over locking, and what are the pitfalls?

Virtualization & Security (KVM/QEMU, SEV/SEV-SNP)

You’ll be asked to reason across the host, guest, and hardware boundary.

• Walk through how KVM handles a CPUID query and feature exposure to the guest.
• Why might nested paging (NPT) lead to unexpected TLB behavior, and how do you measure it?
• Outline a design to add a new KVM capability and negotiate it with userspace (QEMU).
• What breaks during live migration of encrypted VMs and how would you fix it?
• Compare SEV and SEV-SNP from a threat-model and kernel-interface perspective.

System Design / Kernel Architecture

Focus on designing maintainable, upstream-friendly solutions.

• Propose a kernel interface for reporting new RAS events to userspace; justify ABI choices.
• Design a minimal selftest for a new ACPI table interpretation.
• How would you structure a CXL.mem attach/detach flow and validate NUMA placement?
• Propose a plan to expose a new PMU event set through perf; discuss back-compat.
• Outline metrics and guardrails to gate a new memory-mapping optimization.

Debugging & Performance

Demonstrate disciplined, tool-driven investigation.

• A virtio-net throughput drop appears after a kernel bump—triage steps and hypotheses?
• How do you isolate a lock contention issue in a highly parallel workload?
• Explain your method to capture and analyze a kdump after a rare crash.
• Which PMU events help you attribute LLC misses vs. DRAM latency on EPYC?
• Build a minimal reproducer for a suspected use-after-free in a driver.

Open-Source Process & Collaboration

Show you can land and maintain code upstream.

• Draft the key points of a cover letter for a 7-patch series touching mm/ and KVM.
• How do you respond to a NAK that cites ABI stability concerns?
• When is it appropriate to mark a patch RFC vs. v1?
• Describe your approach to backporting a critical fix to multiple stable trees.
• How do you coordinate with distros to stage a feature behind a config gate?

Behavioral / Leadership

Highlight influence, judgment, and composure.

• Tell us about a time you aligned multiple teams on a contentious design.
• Describe a high-severity incident you led—what did you change afterward?
• How do you balance upstream correctness with pressing product timelines?
• Share an example of mentoring someone through an upstream patch series.
• When did you change your mind after data contradicted your initial view?

Use this interactive module on Dataford to rehearse across categories, track progress, and benchmark response quality. Practice aloud and refine your structure, then iterate with real traces, code snippets, and diagrams to strengthen your delivery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How difficult is the interview, and how long should I prepare?
Expect a challenging but fair process emphasizing hands-on kernel/virtualization depth. Most strong candidates allocate 3–5 weeks of focused refreshers on kernel subsystems, KVM/QEMU, and performance/debug tooling.

Q: What makes successful candidates stand out at AMD?
Clear mental models of the kernel and x86, disciplined debugging, and evidence of upstream impact. Candidates who communicate trade-offs crisply and collaborate constructively with maintainers perform best.

Q: What is the culture like on these teams?
Teams are direct, humble, collaborative, and inclusive, with an emphasis on execution excellence. You’ll work cross-functionally and in the open, balancing product needs and community standards.

Q: What timeline should I expect after interviews?
Timelines vary by role and location, but decisions typically follow within 1–2 weeks of the final round. Keep your recruiter informed about competing timelines; we’ll do our best to accommodate.

Q: Is the role hybrid or on-site?
Many roles are hybrid in Austin, TX and Santa Clara, CA, with periodic on-site collaboration days. Confirm expectations with your recruiter for your specific team and level.

Q: Are these roles eligible for visa sponsorship?
Per the postings, these specific roles are not eligible for visa sponsorship. Please confirm your work authorization status during the initial screening.

Other General Tips

• Prioritize currency: Review the last 2–3 kernel release notes for changes in KVM, mm/, ACPI, PCIe/IOMMU, and CXL. This signals you’re current with upstream.
• Build a local lab: Set up linux.git, QEMU/KVM, and perf/ftrace/bpftrace; rehearse triaging a panic and a perf regression end-to-end.
• Lead with data: Anchor answers in measurements, traces, or logs; show how you validate fixes and prevent regressions.
• Tell upstream stories: Prepare 2–3 concise vignettes where you navigated review feedback, handled a NAK, or negotiated an interface.
• Clarify constraints: In design questions, state assumptions (security, performance, maintainability) and make trade-offs explicit.
• Document as you go: Mention how you write design notes, commit messages, and test plans—interviewers value maintainers’ discipline.

Summary & Next Steps

As an AMD Systems Engineer in Linux Kernel and Virtualization, you will turn cutting-edge x86-64/SoC features into upstreamed software that powers the world’s compute infrastructure. The work spans kernel design, KVM/QEMU enablement, confidential computing, RAS, and CXL—landing in distros and cloud platforms at global scale.

Center your preparation on five pillars: kernel internals, virtualization (KVM/QEMU), x86-64 platform features, debugging/performance, and open-source upstreaming. Build succinct stories, rehearse with real tools, and refresh recent upstream changes in your target subsystems. Precision, clarity, and collaboration are your differentiators.

Leverage the modules above on Dataford to practice targeted questions and track readiness. You’re aiming to demonstrate depth, judgment, and an ability to deliver upstream-quality code under real constraints. Approach the interview as a technical conversation among peers—and show how, together, you will advance what AMD platforms can do.