Job posts for this role ask most for C/C++, with the Linux kernel, Linux device drivers and Linux BSP for work close to the hardware, TCP/IP, Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking with BGP and OSPF, DPDK for fast packet processing, file systems and NFS for storage, and GDB for debugging. The full story of what each skill is used for is on the skills page.

Big tech is the strongest hiring hotspot for systems engineers, because it builds its own data centres, storage and networks. Amazon is the largest single employer of systems engineers in India, across its retail systems and AWS infrastructure (who they hire). Google hires them for the infrastructure, storage and networking of its own data centres, and it is the most open of the big tech companies to a junior (who they hire). Microsoft hires them for Windows, Azure infrastructure and storage (who they hire). Apple has a few openings, mostly for networking.

Among product companies, systems engineers are hired by the companies that build the machines and platforms other software runs on. Almost all of them are B2B.

The companies of Networking, infrastructure and security, behind networks, data centres and security, are the biggest hiring hotspot. Dell, HPE and Penguin Solutions build server and storage hardware, and systems work is a large part of what they hire for, almost all of it senior. Cisco, Arista Networks, Infoblox and Aruba write the network operating systems inside enterprise networking, and they take juniors more readily than most (who they hire). Nokia, Ericsson and Calix build 4G and 5G protocol stacks for telecom equipment and operators, and NETGEAR and Plume build home router and Wi-Fi software. Zscaler, SonicWall, F5 and Palo Alto Networks, which build network security, firewalls and SASE, write the fast packet processing inside their firewalls and gateways, mostly with senior engineers.

Data platforms and AI hires systems engineers for storage and database engines. NetApp, Cohesity, Nasuni and Rubrik write the file systems, storage operating systems and backup engines for enterprise storage and backup (who they hire). Teradata, Databricks, Couchbase and SingleStore write the engines inside their databases and data warehouses, the query, storage and transaction code. Red Hat, Canonical and Nutanix build enterprise Linux and private cloud platforms, working on Linux itself and on virtualisation, and they are open to juniors.

The chip makers hire systems engineers for the software around their chips (who they hire). NVIDIA, Qualcomm, AMD and Intel, processor and GPU makers, write drivers, compilers, GPU libraries and kernel code. KLA, Applied Materials, Keysight and Lam Research write C++ software for chip-making and test equipment, and they take juniors more readily than most. Cadence and Synopsys build large C++ code bases for chip-design tools, Broadcom and Marvell write software for networking chips, and Arm and SiFive build compilers for their processor designs.

A few more pockets are worth knowing. D. E. Shaw builds low-latency trading systems, the classic home for a C++ engineer who loves speed. Citrix and Omnissa build virtual desktops, and JumpCloud, Trellix and Sophos build security agents that run close to the operating system. Harmonic and Qube Cinema write video encoding and delivery code. GE HealthCare and Philips hire systems engineers for their scanners and take juniors readily. Business software, finance and commerce companies hire few.

In the services world, systems engineers work on networking, telecom and Linux for product-company clients. The engineering-services firms where the work is hardware, cars and chips, like ACL Digital, Quest Global, ALTEN India and KPIT, hire them more heavily than any other services firms (who they hire). The IT services giants, like Infosys, Wipro, IBM and Capgemini, hire many systems engineers too. Accenture and the other services firms hire few. More on all of them is in the services world's embedded and chip hiring.

The GCCs hardly hire systems engineers, because the banks and retailers build applications rather than systems. The exception is the few centres that engineer the parent's own hardware. Inside the manufacturers and carmakers, Celestica, Dell International Services, Toshiba and Sony hire systems engineers for product research and development. More on this is in the GCCs' other roles.

The staffing companies, like HuntingCube, TekWissen and Info Origin, place systems engineers with the product companies above. The hiring platforms, like Turing, Uplers and Weekday AI, offer some remote systems work.

Systems engineers are rarely hired by business software, finance or commerce companies, or by the GCCs of banks and retailers. Among the services firms, Accenture and the firms that build products for clients hire few.