IT Networking Systems Engineer (Data Center)

Hammerspace•Ottawa, ON

69d•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a high-level IT and Networking Engineer to serve as both the technical and strategic anchor for our data center operations. This role requires a tenured pro capable of managing high-speed NVIDIA/Mellanox fabrics and automated virtualization platforms while simultaneously driving long-term infrastructure and financial planning. You will be responsible for the full lifecycle of our hardware, the efficiency of our resource utilization, and the long-term technical and financial health of our data center footprint.

Requirements

Expert knowledge of 200G/400G+ links and high-performance interconnects.
Advanced understanding of BGP and ECMP for optimized traffic flow.
Proficiency in VMware (ESXi) and Proxmox.
Advanced mastery of Linux environments (e.g., Debian, CentOS, or RHEL-based distributions).
Experience with LXC containers and automated provisioning.
Mastery of Ansible and Terraform for infrastructure deployment.
Strong proficiency in Python and Bash for automation and custom monitoring tools.
Experience with various source control and CI/CD workflows.
Deep knowledge of Dell iDRAC, LifeCycle Controllers, RAID management, and other vendor-diverse hardware considerations.
Ability to perform hands-on troubleshooting, rack management, and cable mapping.
Experience with 35KW+/rack layout.

Nice To Haves

Experience in architecture and administration of AWS, GCP, Azure, and OCI environments.

Responsibilities

Drive 6+ month strategic planning for data center space, power, and cooling infrastructure.
Maintain rigorous oversight of current power and space utilization to prevent capacity bottlenecks.
Project future utilization trends to identify budget needs and maintain active control over infrastructure costs.
Investigate server/network utilization under current workloads to identify inefficiencies and drive more efficient resource use.
Design new server buildouts based on current deficiencies or to maintain a performance balance while controlling costs.
Work with various internal groups to establish future utilization needs and ensure infrastructure growth aligns with company goals.
Facilitate batch and bulk procurement processes to ensure optimal pricing on hardware and services.
Design security policies and controls that balance reasonable protections (physical, network, host, etc) against workload and agility impacts.
Administer VMware (ESXi) and Proxmox environments, including virtual switching, V-motion, data store, and virtual host management.
Oversee the architecture and implementation of high-speed networking (200G/400G+) using NVIDIA and Mellanox hardware.
Configure and troubleshoot core protocols including BGP, ECMP, Spanning Tree, SNMP, VPN, DNS, NTP, etc.
Manage the physical deployment, firmware updates, and troubleshooting of Dell servers (iDRAC, RAID controllers, and network cards).
Maintain and expand infrastructure-as-code using Ansible and Terraform.
Own and execute onsite and offsite backup strategies and systems.
Act as the primary point of contact for DC Providers to ensure service levels are consistently met.
Ensure DC operators provide optimized power and cooling designs that meet technical requirements while balancing scaling/flexibility vs cost considerations.
Establish monitoring procedures to track physical parameters of DC ops (Power utilization, Cooling, per rack design limits, per area design limits, blast radius effects, etc) provide and execute plans covering how to handle out of tolerance situations.
Design and implement best-practice rack layouts that consider cable types, power/cooling needs, physical device mass and other considerations in an environment with varying levels of power density.
Direct team members in work planning and orchestration in project execution (e.g. bulk server installs, inventory activities, decomm/cleanup activities, etc.)
Mentor junior team members in developing their ongoing DC operations skillset.