In a move that might surprise a lot of people, AMD has hired a Linux kernel developer to work on it’s AMDGPU Linux driver. The announcement of the position was posted on the AMD job board[1], but has already been taken down (which probably indicates they’ve hired a developer for the job).
Before the job listing was taken down, it made the duties clear:
- Work as part of the global Software engineering team to design and maintain Linux open source graphics device driver (AMDGPU) and other software components
- Resolve problem reports related to GPU device driver including troubleshooting, debugging, & defect correction
- Specify, design, and implement software features in Linux open source driver stack for AMD GPU and APU product support
It should also be noted that the position covers both workstation and data center machines, so it’s not necessarily a gaming-focused gig.
Should this position work out, it could bear serious dividends for those who use Linux as their preferred gaming platform. AMD already has a highly regarded, open source unified Linux graphics driver. For those who aren’t sure which GPU to purchase for their gaming rig, this could easily tip the scales from either the proprietary NVIDIA driver or the less-than-ideal open source Nouveau driver to AMD.