Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Collabora is a company focused on open-source software development, and they are seeking an Audio Consultant Engineer specializing in the Linux audio stack. The role involves contributing to upstream communities, designing and integrating embedded Linux audio systems, and collaborating with customers to develop robust audio architectures.
Responsibilities
- Contribute to and collaborate with WirePlumber, PipeWire, and ALSA upstream communities
- Design, integrate, and ship embedded Linux audio systems that work reliably in real-world products
- Implement and debug PipeWire + WirePlumber stacks, including ALSA, DSPs, and system-level interactions
- Work directly with customer teams to translate requirements into robust audio architectures and solutions
- Support adjacent areas like Bluetooth audio and Linux audio tooling when required (pw-cli, pw-top, alsa-utils, tracing frameworks) to diagnose and resolve issues efficiently
- Explain complex audio architecture decisions to product teams, provide honest assessments of what is and isn't possible and build trust through transparent communication
Skills
- Strong hands-on experience with the Linux audio stack (PipeWire, WirePlumber, ALSA)
- Strong proficiency in C and systems-level programming
- Solid understanding of core audio concepts (latency, formats, synchronization, buffering, resampling)
- Proven ability to debug complex issues across multiple layers of a Linux system
- Comfortable working directly with customers in a consulting or support capacity
- Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
- Experience with ALSA kernel driver development
- Familiarity with Rust
- Exposure to Bluetooth audio (A2DP, HFP, LE Audio)
- Basic understanding of DSP concepts, such as signal flow, filtering, and common processing blocks (e.g. echo cancellation, noise suppression, beamforming)
- Contributions to relevant open-source projects
- Experience with embedded or real-time Linux systems
Benefits
- Competitive salary based on experience and location
- Office setup budget
- Sabbatical/Retention of Services - after five years of continuous service
- Co-working policy - support for working outside home
- Wellness assessments - biannual wellbeing assessments with a trained mental health specialist
- Conference attendance -we cover expenses and encourage speaking opportunities
- Open source time - contribute to projects you care about
- Fully remote - work where you’re most productive
- No on-call rotations - this isn't support work
- Flexible hours - manage your own schedule
- Upstream contributions - your work shapes Linux, not just client products
- Technical leadership track - path to principal engineer, subsystem expertise or technical architecture roles
- Consulting track - develop deeper client relationships, lead customer engagements or shape service offerings
- Mentorship opportunities - both receiving and providing guidance
- Conference speaking - we support presentation submissions and provide coaching
- Recognition - your contributions are public, building your professional reputation
Company Overview
Collabora is a global consultancy specialising in delivering the benefits of open source software to the commercial world. It was founded in 2005, and is headquartered in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, GBR, with a workforce of 51-200 employees. Its website is https://www.collabora.com.