James Morris

CTO

Seattle, Washington, United States31 yrs 5 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchHighly Stable

Key Highlights

Led Linux OS security architecture for Azure Boost.
Created Linux Virtualization Based Security project.
Managed teams delivering critical Linux kernel innovations.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Cloud Infrastructure and Linux Security expert.

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Skills

Core Skills

Linux SecurityLinux Operating SystemSecurity Architecture Design

Other Skills

LinuxSELinuxOpen Source SoftwareTeam BuildingLeadership DevelopmentTeam ManagementElectronicsDigital CommunicationRadio Frequency (RF)AssemblerTurbo PascalQuantum ComputingVirtualizationFree SoftwareKernel

About

Linux OS Security Leader. Current Role (Microsoft): Upstream Linux OS & Security Lead, Azure Core Previously: o Linux Emerging Technologies team manager at Microsoft o Linux Kernel & Security Team manager at Microsoft o Led mainline Linux Kernel development at Oracle o Linux kernel security subsystem maintainer o Created Multi-Category Security (MCS) and sVirt (Secure Virtualization for Linux) o Designed Labeled NFS (now an IETF draft) o SELinux kernel co-maintainer o Kernel networking co-maintainer o Author of the kernel cryptographic API o Member of the original Netfilter core team o Developer on the Linux Security Modules (LSM) project o Miscellaneous kernel development including work on PCI device drivers, VFS and IPSec. Specialties: Linux kernel engineer, security, virtualization, SELinux, IPSec, networking, cryptography (implementation), miscellaneous kernel including the VFS. Open source, free software.

Experience

31 yrs 5 mos

Total Experience

6 yrs 3 mos

Average Tenure

8 yrs 1 mo

Current Experience

Microsoft

4 roles

Principal Software Engineering Manager

Jul 2025 – Present · 9 mos

Upstream Linux OS & Security Lead, Azure Core.

Linux Operating SystemLinux SecurityLinuxSELinuxOpen Source SoftwareTeam Building

Principal Software Engineering Manager

Promoted

Apr 2023 – Jul 2025 · 2 yrs 3 mos

Created and managed the Linux Emerging Technologies team: driving Linux OS innovation and community leadership.
o Overall lead for Linux Code Integrity in Azure, closing Linux gaps with state of the art and positioning to meet evolving security challenges at global scale.
o Created the Linux Virtualization Based Security (LVBS) project and built its development team.
o Developed the strategy and initial architecture for the Linux Guard project, which brings code integrity enforcement to an image-based version of Azure Linux for hyperscale infrastructure workloads. Announced in "Inside Azure Innovations" at Microsoft Build, 2025 by Mark Russinovich.
o Built a small, agile engineering team focused on developing Linux OS innovations from the research stage to production-ready. Developed leadership within the team; delegated responsibility for delivery of the LVBS project & all milestones met.
o Led an upstream Linux OS maintainer & architecture team, delivering industry-wide impact across the kernel, security, and core system -- aligned with strategic customer needs.
o Managed the Azure Boost production security team, driving major improvements in developer experience, validation, deployment, and servicing at massive scale. Reduced deployment latency by 87%, while the fleet grew beyond a million nodes. Fostered leadership within the team.

Leadership DevelopmentTeam BuildingTeam ManagementSecurity Architecture DesignLinux SecurityLinux Operating System

Principal Software Engineering Lead

Promoted

Feb 2019 – Mar 2023 · 4 yrs 1 mo

Managed the Microsoft Linux Kernel, Security, & Systems Team in the Linux Systems Group (LSG).
o Built the Microsoft Linux kernel team, recruiting world-class engineers to create the MSFT Linux Kernel. Developed leadership within the team to position it for sustainable growth. Delivered a high-quality, reliable Linux kernel product which powers critical infrastructure at global scale, including Azure Boost, LinkedIn, WSL2, OpenHCL, Azure Operator Nexus, and all Azure Linux scenarios.
o Built the Linux OS Security Production Team, recruiting Linux security leaders to guide and implement Azure Boost OS security from initial product development through to current broad deployment in the Azure host fleet. Delivered ongoing innovations and operational support for enhanced Linux OS security at scale.