Data Center & Lab Technician - AI Accelerator Infrastructure - Contract

Role Overview

d-Matrix designs purpose-built AI inference silicon. Our unified infrastructure team (SRE engineers, DevOps engineers, and data center and lab technicians) owns the physical and virtual layer that every engineering team depends on. As a Data Center & Lab Technician, you will own the hands-on side of that work: racking and cabling systems, bringing up d-Matrix AI-accelerated hardware, and keeping lab and colocation environments accurate, organized, and audit-ready.

You will partner with SRE, hardware, software, and silicon validation teams, and your work will directly determine how quickly engineers get clean, reliable systems. This is a one-year contract with potential for full-time conversion, in a small, high-ownership team where your impact is immediately visible.

What You Will Do

• Rack, stack, cable, and decommission servers, PDUs, network gear, and storage in on-premises labs and colocation facilities.
• Execute hardware bring-up for d-Matrix AI-accelerated systems and validation test benches, including BIOS configuration, firmware validation, and Linux OS installation.
• Replace and upgrade components, including PCIe cards, NICs, storage, memory, and accelerator hardware, across multiple server generations.
• Maintain accurate asset and inventory records in DCIM tools (NetBox, Jira, or equivalent), including hardware configuration state, warranty, end-of-life status, refresh schedules, and spare parts.
• Coordinate equipment moves between lab, staging, and colocation, and manage shipping, receiving, and RMA workflows.
• Diagnose and resolve hardware, power, thermal, and network connectivity issues, and serve as first physical responder for incidents, escalating to SRE engineers with clear documentation and reproduction steps.
• Write and maintain SOPs, rack diagrams, cabling guides, and runbooks that a new technician can follow without shadowing.
• Keep lab spaces organized, ESD-compliant, and audit-ready, and support parallel workstreams as silicon programs evolve.

What You Will Bring

• 3+ years in data center operations, hardware validation, or systems technician roles, with hands-on server experience.
• Rack-and-stack experience, including server installation, PDU and patch panel cabling, rack power planning, and professional-grade cable management.
• Hardware bring-up experience, including BIOS/UEFI configuration, firmware updates, component replacement, and OS installation on Linux.
• Linux command-line proficiency to run diagnostics, inspect logs, and execute runbooks independently.
• Experience with DCIM or inventory tools and a track record of accurate, current records.
• Strong written communication, including documenting work, escalating with context, and writing SOPs others can follow.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-moving startup environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Colocation data center experience (Equinix, CoreSite, Digital Realty, or similar).
• Experience with AI/ML or GPU hardware (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel accelerator cards) in a lab or production environment.
• Familiarity with high-speed interconnects such as InfiniBand, RoCE, and SFP/QSFP optics.
• Basic Ansible exposure, including running playbooks and understanding what they do.
• Python or Bash scripting for operational task automation.