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Data Center Engineer

Etched· Software
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San Jose$130k - $210k + equityFull-timePosted 3mo ago

About the role

Data Center Engineer at Etched responsible for end-to-end lifecycle of data center and hardware lab environments, including facility selection, rack design, power distribution, networking, cabling, hardware management, day-to-day operations, and capacity planning. Role emphasizes architectural thinking on power density, thermal constraints, network topology, and physical security to scale high-density AI inference infrastructure.

Responsibilities

  • Own rack layout, capacity planning, power distribution, network design, cabling, and physical deployment of Etched High performance computing platforms across data center and hardware lab environments.
  • Design and manage power distribution and redundancy architectures — from utility feeds and PDUs to per-rack power and cooling budgets - for high-density AI compute deployments pushing 90 kW per rack.
  • Collaborate with physical infrastructure and facilities teams, as well as external vendors to build and manage highly sophisticated hardware labs used for bring-up, EVT, and customer demos.
  • Partner with co-location vendors and internal teams to evaluate sites, negotiate contracts, and enforce SLAs around power, cooling, physical security, and network connectivity.
  • Architect and implement high-speed networking infrastructure (100G/200G/400G Ethernet) connecting compute nodes, storage, and upstream peering, in coordination with network and platform engineering teams.
  • Develop and maintain asset management systems, rack diagrams, and change control processes to ensure full visibility into physical infrastructure state at all times.
  • Build and operate monitoring and alerting for environmental health (temperature, humidity, power draw, UPS state) and drive rapid response to hardware and facility incidents.
  • Define and execute preventive maintenance schedules and hardware lifecycle processes, including RMA coordination with vendors and on-site repair.
  • Lead capacity planning cycles in lockstep with the hardware roadmap, forecasting power, space, and network needs 6–18 months out and translating those forecasts into facility agreements and procurement plans.
  • Establish and enforce physical security procedures, access control policies, and audit trails across all data center sites.

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of hands-on data center engineering or operations experience, with direct responsibility for physical hardware deployment, power architecture, and facility management.
  • Designed and deployed high-density compute environments (20 kW/rack and above) and managed thermal and power challenges.
  • Deep experience with structured cabling, fiber and copper plant management, and high-speed networking hardware at scale.
  • Ability to read electrical one-line diagrams, raised-floor and hot-aisle/cold-aisle plans, and co-location facility documentation.
  • Experience building or operating monitoring and DCIM tooling and treating infrastructure visibility as essential.
  • Strong vendor management skills, including RFPs, competitive evaluations, and enforcing vendor commitments.

Skills

Required:Rack design and deploymentPower distribution and redundancyHigh-speed networking (100G/200G/400G)DCIM and monitoring tooling

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage
  • $500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits
  • Housing subsidy of $2,500 per month for those living within walking distance of the office
  • Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)
  • Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more
  • Daily lunch and dinner in our office
  • Unlimited compute budget subject to ROI justification
Last updated Oct 15, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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About Etched

Etched is building frontier inference clusters: co-designs chips, racks, software and manufacturing to push the pareto frontier for AI hardware.

frontier inference clustersAI hardwarechipsrackssoftwaremanufacturingparto frontier
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