Data Center Operations Engineer

Title: Data Center Operations Engineer Location: In-Office

Available Locations: Boston, MA | Dallas, TX | Salt Lake City, UT  (This role requires you to be onsite 5 days a week in one of our locations)

About the Department

Infrastructure Operations builds and manages the data center infrastructure behind Cloudflare's global network. The organization brings together engineering, operations, hardware and logistics teams that plan, deploy, operate and maintain our footprint in hundreds of cities worldwide. In this role, you'll help extend that footprint with a new generation of data center sites across the United States.

About the Role

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.

What You'll Do

Site Builds

• 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.
• Document what happened and what you did, and contribute to root-cause analysis and follow-up actions.

AI, Automation and Continuous Improvement

• Solve problems for good. When an issue repeats, find the underlying cause and change the process, runbook or tooling so it doesn't come back.
• Use AI tools as part of your daily work: to speed up troubleshooting, interpret hardware and network logs, draft and improve documentation and runbooks, and summarize incidents.
• Find repetitive manual work and remove it with scripting, automation or AI-assisted workflows, or turn it into clear requirements for tooling teams.
• Share what works so the rest of the team can adopt it across every site.

Documentation and DCIM

• Keep DCIM records accurate in real time, including rack elevations, cabling, power and asset location, from receipt through decommissioning.
• Follow and improve runbooks and build standards so work is repeatable across sites.

Logistics and Hardware Lifecycle

• Own receiving, shipping and spares inventory at your site, and process RMAs end to end.
• Perform on-site decommissioning: unracking, serial number verification and chain of custody through handoff for secure destruction.

Vendors, Partners and Compliance

• Escort and supervise colocation remote-hands staff, contractors and integrators working at your site, and hold them to our quality and safety standards.
• Work directly with partner teams to coordinate access, maintenance and escalations for your site.
• Follow physical security, access control and compliance procedures without exception, and help produce accurate evidence for audits.

Supporting Other Sites

• Support other sites remotely, for example by guiding remote hands or reviewing documentation, and travel occasionally to help with builds or surges.

Who You Are

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.
• Experience with fiber inspection, cleaning and testing, including light meters or OTDR.
• Regular, hands-on use of AI tools in your technical work, such as troubleshooting, log analysis or documentation, and examples of improving a process instead of repeating a workaround.
• Experience with asset tracking, DCIM or inventory systems, and with receiving, shipping and RMA processes.
• Experience working in colocation facilities and with third-party vendors or contractors.
• Willingness to take part in an on-call rotation and respond on site.
• Clear written and verbal communication, including documenting work and updating tickets.
• A valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and proximity to your assigned data center.
• Ability to travel occasionally to other sites.

Preferred Qualifications

• 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.
• Experience with ITAD and secure destruction processes.

We also consider candidates earlier in their careers who bring strong fundamentals and a drive to learn.

Physical Requirements

• Lift and move equipment up to 50 lbs, and handle heavier equipment with a team or lift assist.
• Stand, walk, bend, kneel and work in tight or elevated spaces for extended periods.
• Work in loud, cold, and tightly controlled data center environments.
• Use ladders, lifts and carts safely.

These are essential functions of the role. Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified individuals with disabilities.

Compensation

Compensation may be adjusted depending on work location.

Equity

This role is eligible to participate in Cloudflare’s equity plan.

Benefits

Cloudflare offers a complete package of benefits and programs to support you and your family.  Our benefits programs can help you pay health care expenses, support caregiving, build capital for the future and make life a little easier and fun!  The below is a description of our benefits for employees in the United States, and benefits may vary for employees based outside the U.S.

Health & Welfare Benefits

• Medical/Rx Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Commuter Spending Accounts
• Fertility & Family Forming Benefits
• On-demand mental health support and Employee Assistance Program
• Global Travel Medical Insurance

Financial Benefits

• Short and Long Term Disability Insurance
• Life & Accident Insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
• Employee Stock Participation Plan

Time Off

• Flexible paid time off covering vacation and sick leave
• Leave programs, including parental, pregnancy health, medical, and bereavement leave