Embedded Systems Engineer
As our new Embedded Systems Engineer, you’ll be a member of our RIPE Atlas development team working on the development of the firmware running on RIPE Atlas probes - a pretty unique task! Do you have experience in this area, and are you eager to learn and share knowledge with a highly collaborative, multinational team? Then the RIPE NCC is the place for you!
Embedded Systems Engineer (Linux/OpenWrt)
Location: from our office at Amsterdam Central Station and from home
37.5 hours per week on a full-time basis
Working part-time is also possible
RIPE Atlas is a collaborative, active Internet measurement platform built and operated by the RIPE NCC. It relies on about 13,000 vantage points (which we call probes) that are hosted by volunteers spread all across the globe measuring the network and sharing their findings. These measurements include DNS queries, traceroutes, pings, NTP, HTTP and other data.
The firmware of these probes is written mainly in C (with an appropriate level of scripting thrown in) and is available as open source. It is built using tools such as libevent and BusyBox. It runs mostly on OpenWrt or CentOS, but it is available as packages for RHEL, Debian and other OSes as well. As of today, the majority of our probes run on small, dedicated hardware devices, while the rest run as software packages. The security and stability of the firmware code running on these devices is essential to the system.
In this role, you will:
Maintain and enhance the RIPE Atlas probe firmware, for example by working on new types of measurements or new features of existing ones
Make sure that the firmware code is safe and sound
Participate in packaging (or collaborate with package maintainers) for various Linux based operating systems; manage the probe firmware release process
Explore the use of potential new hardware devices to run the firmware on
Depending on experience: be involved in, or collaborate with the back-end developers (and perhaps support the front-end work too!) using your ideas, skills and code
Our ideal candidate would have:
Experience writing C code for networking applications and scripting languages (e.g. shell, Python) around them
Experience creating packages for OpenWrt, RHEL, Debian and/or CentOS
Good understanding of basic networking protocols such as DHCP, IP, TCP, UDP, TLS/SSL, HTTP and DNS
Experience building and installing OpenWrt on routers, small devices, etc.
Good command of English, both written and spoken
Ability to carry out tasks individually as well as work in a team
It would be nice if you also have:
Experience in network protocol design
Hands-on electronics knowledge
UNIX/Linux system administration skills
What can we offer you?
A modern, flexible and informal work environment with an emphasis on a healthy work/life balance
An annual salary between €50.000,- and €65.000,- (before tax) for a full time week (37,5 hours per week), depending on experience. This includes the standard 8% annual “holiday pay”,
Excellent secondary benefits: 5% end-of-year allowance, annual budgets for health, transportation and technology purposes, non-contributory pension scheme, paid parental leave, top-tier health insurance coverage for you and your family and 33 vacation days (full-time)
A generous yearly training allowance for professional development
About the RIPE NCC
The RIPE NCC is a not-for-profit organisation founded on the belief that the Internet should be governed openly, transparently and together with the wider Internet community. We are one of the oldest Internet organisations in Europe and are proud of our legacy.
Our strongest asset is our staff. We bring together more than 175 people from more than 40 countries in our modern, vibrant office in the east wing of Amsterdam Central Station. Our official working language is English, but more than 30 languages are spoken by our colleagues.
Our backgrounds are diverse, but our goal is the same: work for the good of the Internet. Our vision: Together, let’s shape the future of the Internet. Will you join us?
How to Apply
If you are interested in this position, please click on the Apply Button and fill in the short application form. Send it to us together with your CV and motivation letter (in English only please). An assignment and a pre-employment screening (done by Validata) will be part of the recruitment process.