Data Center Operations Engineer at Cloudflare · LumiJobs

Responsibilities

We're looking for Data Center Engineers to be the hands, eyes and judgment on the ground at our new sites. You'll work on-site every day at your home data center, helping bring it online and keeping its hardware healthy once it's in production.
You'll rack, cable and replace equipment, troubleshoot servers and network gear well past a simple parts swap, and keep every asset accurately documented from the moment it arrives. You'll work alongside colocation staff, integrators and partner teams, and support other sites remotely when the team needs you. Experienced engineers will have room to act as the technical lead for their site, mentor others, and help set the standards the team uses everywhere.
We're building these sites to run with less manual effort than traditional data centers. When something breaks, we expect you to fix it for good, not just for today, and to use AI and automation to make the fix stick, whether that means a better runbook, a script, or a change to how the team works.
This role is hands-on at the physical layer: hardware, cabling, and Layer 1/Layer 2 connectivity. You'll use the command line to troubleshoot servers and Layer 2 network issues, but network configuration and server provisioning are owned by partner engineering teams.
Support integrated site builds: receive and inspect hardware, rack and stack equipment, and run and dress structured cabling to standard.
Verify integrator and contractor work against build specifications, drive defects to resolution, and make sure sites are production-ready before handoff.
Break/Fix and Troubleshooting
Triage and troubleshoot server hardware using BMC/IPMI, hardware logs, diagnostics and firmware tools. Find the root cause instead of swapping parts until something works.
Replace components and whole systems, including servers, switches and optics, safely and with minimal disruption.
Troubleshoot Layer 1 and Layer 2 issues: console into network devices, read interface and link state from the command line, inspect and clean optics, check light levels, and test fiber with a light meter or OTDR.
On-Call and Incidents
Take part in an on-call rotation and respond on site to incidents affecting hardware at your data center.

Qualification

Careful and preciseDependable on your ownSecurity-mindedA troubleshooterSomeone who makes the team betterAI-fluent and automation-firstRequired ExperienceHands-on experience in data centerExperience rackingExperience writing runbooksCertifications such as CompTIA A+Experience at a hyperscaler

Required

Careful and precise. Clean cabling, correct labels and accurate records matter to you. If it isn't documented, it isn't done.
Dependable on your own. You're often the only Cloudflare person on site. You work independently, communicate clearly with a remote team, and know when to escalate.
Security-minded. You understand that access rules and chain of custody exist for a reason, and you follow them every time.
A troubleshooter, not a parts swapper. You want to know why something failed, and you use logs, diagnostics and the command line to find out.
Someone who makes the team better. You share what you learn, help newer teammates get up to speed, and take ownership of your site's outcomes.
AI-fluent and automation-first. Your first instinct is to solve a problem for good, not work around it again. You reach for AI tools and automation to troubleshoot faster, document better and improve how the team works, and you check the output before you trust it.
Required Experience
Hands-on experience in data center, network or server hardware operations, including working independently on site.
Experience racking, stacking and cabling servers and network equipment, and replacing whole systems and components.
Solid working knowledge of structured cabling standards, fiber and copper, and optics.
Hardware troubleshooting beyond parts swaps, including BMC/IPMI, hardware logs, diagnostics and firmware.
Comfort with the Linux command line and with network device CLIs to troubleshoot Layer 1 and Layer 2 issues.

Preferred

Experience as a technical lead or primary on-site contact for a data center, including leading on-site incident response.
Experience mentoring or training other technicians or engineers.
Experience writing runbooks, build standards or checklists used across multiple sites.
Experience supporting or leading new data center builds or integrated rack deployments.
Scripting experience (for example Bash or Python), or experience building automation or AI-assisted workflows that reduced manual work.
Certifications such as CompTIA A+, Network+ or Linux+, CCNA, BICSI, or data center certifications (for example CDCP or CDCTP).
Experience with DCIM and source-of-truth tooling such as NetBox or Nlyte, and Jira-based workflows.
Experience at a hyperscaler, cloud provider, major CDN or similarly large infrastructure operator.

Data Center Operations Engineer

Responsibilities

Qualification

Required

Preferred

Benefits

Company

Cloudflare

More roles at Cloudflare