Nvidia is hiring Linux gaming experts | usagoldmines.com

Linux gaming is kind of having a moment. Granted, that’s almost entirely on the back of Valve’s Steam Deck, and the Linux hippies probably don’t love having to thank a billionaire for their platform gains. But with the Steam Machine on the horizon (hopefully), even Nvidia is taking notice, according to a couple of new job listings.

Nvidia’s job postings now include a “Linux Graphics Senior Software Engineer” and a “Senior System Software Engineer, Vulkan Performance.” The former is self-explanatory; the latter is all about the Vulkan graphics API, a cross-platform alternative to DirectX. And perhaps more pertinently, it’s a core component of Proton, the Valve software that makes it super easy and barely an inconvenience to run Windows games on the Linux-based SteamOS that powers the Steam Deck.

While it’s not perfect, notably missing out on core features (some would say “drawbacks”) of some anti-cheat software for online multiplayer, Proton is reliable enough that it makes even brand-new games playable on the Steam Deck and Linux. So it’s not surprising that Nvidia is looking into it, even though most of the relevant hardware is running on AMD graphics (an integrated APU for the Steam Deck and most handheld gaming PCs, and a discrete Radeon card for the Steam Machine).

The job listing for Vulkan specifically calls out “Diagnosing GPU and CPU performance bottlenecks in Vulkan and Proton titles” as well as “Implementing driver performance improvements,” as noted by VideoCardz.com. That sure sounds like Nvidia is trying to buck its reputation for poor driver support on Linux, specifically for gaming. Nvidia might be keeping an eye open to the expansion of SteamOS and other Windows alternatives among gamers, too.