Data Center & Lab Technician - AI Accelerator Infrastructure - Contract - Santa Clara, United States
Originally posted 14 July 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role supports validation test benches and hardware deployment for d-Matrix AI inference silicon.
What you'll do
- Rack, stack, cable, and decommission servers, PDUs, network gear, and storage in on-premises labs and colocation facilities. - Replace and upgrade components, including PCIe cards, NICs, storage, memory, and accelerator hardware across multiple server generations. - Maintain asset and inventory records in DCIM tools like NetBox or Jira, covering configuration state, warranty, end-of-life status, refresh schedules, and spare parts. - Diagnose and resolve hardware, power, thermal, and network connectivity issues, serving as the first physical responder for incidents. - Write and maintain SOPs, rack diagrams, cabling guides, and runbooks, while ensuring lab spaces remain ESD-compliant and audit-ready.
What you'll need
- 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 maintaining accurate, current records. - Ability to document work, escalate with context, and write clear SOPs.
Nice to have
- 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.
Skills: physical infrastructure, hardware bring-up, servers, network gear, AI-accelerated systems, component replacement
This role has been open 98 days — well above the 52-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
973
|
Median days open
52 d
|
Median salary
$155k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | d-Matrix | All employers we track in this specialty (973 roles · 101 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 4 | 973 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 22 | 6222 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 76 d | 52 d (+24 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $155k |
Skills observed across this category: physical infrastructure, hardware bring-up, servers, network gear, AI-accelerated systems, component replacement
Who's hiring in this category
- Intel Corporation · 76 open roles · median 36 d
- KLA Corporation · 65 open roles · median 46 d
- Teradyne · 56 open roles · median 32 d
- NVIDIA · 52 open roles · median 67 d
- Applied Materials · 50 open roles · median 68 d
- AMD · 46 open roles · median 50 d
How we counted: 973 open Hardware Systems Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 101 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 20 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.