Hardware Specialist

Nscale
4 days ago

Role details

Contract type
Permanent contract
Employment type
Full-time (> 32 hours)
Working hours
Regular working hours
Languages
English
Experience level
Senior
Compensation
£ 88K

Job location

Remote

Tech stack

4G (Telecommunication)
Link Aggregation (Ethernet)
Artificial Intelligence
Intelligent Platform Management Interface
Bash
BIOS
Ubuntu (Operating System)
Data Centers
Linux
Ethernet
Network Interface Controllers
Firmware
InfiniBand
Python
PCI Express
Dell PowerEdge
Red Hat Enterprise Linux - RHEL
Ansible
Scripting (Bash/Python/Go/Ruby)
Extensible Firmware Interface
Nvme

Job description

We're looking for a Hardware Specialist to own the lifecycle of our GPU compute platforms from selecting and configuring the right systems with OEMs (Dell, Lenovo, etc.) to getting them powered, cooled, racked, networked, and kept current in production. You'll be our primary liaison to vendors and the internal go-to for NVIDIA GPU servers and their surrounding ecosystem., * Liaise with hardware vendors (e.g., Dell, Lenovo; plus channel/SIs) to translate workload needs into server configurations and bills of materials (BOMs).

  • Maintain a current view of the NVIDIA data center GPU portfolio and adjacent components (chassis/HGX assemblies, NVLink/NVSwitch options, NICs/DPUs, storage, optics).

Power Requirements

  • Produce accurate node and rack power budgets (typical/maximum), accounting for redundancy (A/B feeds), PSU efficiency, and power capping.
  • Specify and coordinate PDUs (single/three-phase, breaker sizing), UPS integration, and downstream distribution with facilities.
  • Validate power draw during burn-in and acceptance; track capacity vs. plan.

Cooling Requirements

  • Define and validate cooling strategies for high-density GPU racks (air-cooled and liquid-ready): hot/cold aisle, ΔT targets, airflow direction, blanking, containment.
  • Where applicable, plan for rear-door heat exchangers (RDHx) or direct-to-chip (D2C) liquid cooling: CDUs, facility water parameters, quick-disconnects, leak detection, and maintenance procedures.
  • Monitor inlet/outlet temps and set alert thresholds tied to environmental telemetry.

Firmware & BIOS Lifecycle

  • Establish and maintain golden images/profiles for BIOS/UEFI, BMC/iDRAC/iLO/XCC, NIC, NVMe, GPU firmware, and switch OS-plus rollback and emergency procedures.
  • Automate configuration and updates using Redfish/IPMI/CLI/Ansible (or similar), and track CVEs/compliance baselines.
  • Tune BIOS for performance/power (NUMA, C-states, PCIe bifurcation/Above 4G, SR-IOV) aligned to GPU workloads.

Network Integration

  • Design and integrate host networking for AI/HPC clusters: Ethernet (incl. RoCEv2/DCB/PFC/ECN) and/or InfiniBand (spine-leaf, fabric bring-up, and validation).
  • Specify NICs, optics/transceivers, and cabling; implement LAG/LACP/MLAG/EVPN-VXLAN as appropriate.

Operations, Reliability & Documentation

  • Define hardware acceptance/burn-in (power/thermal soak, memory/disk tests, GPU diagnostics).
  • Track inventory, spares strategy, failure rates, and vendor SLA performance.
  • Produce runbooks, rack elevations, wiring diagrams, firmware matrices, and change records consumable by on-call and data center staff.
  • Partner with Security on secure boot/TPM, firmware signing, and chain-of-custody; own data-erasure standards for decommissioning.

Requirements

  • 5+ years building and operating enterprise/x86 server hardware in data centers, including hands-on experience with GPU-accelerated platforms.
  • Proven vendor management with at least one major OEM (Dell PowerEdge, Lenovo ThinkSystem, etc.).
  • Demonstrable expertise in all of the following:

Power: per-node/rack budgeting, A/B feeds, PDU selection, and validation.

Cooling: air and liquid-ready designs for high-density racks.

Rack layouts: elevations, weight/space planning, cable/label standards.

Firmware & BIOS: baseline creation, automation, and lifecycle management.

Network integration: Ethernet/InfiniBand fundamentals for AI/HPC (RoCEv2, DCB/PFC, optics).

  • Comfortable with Linux on servers (Ubuntu/RHEL or similar) and scripting for automation (e.g., Ansible, Python, shell).
  • Excellent documentation habits and cross-functional communication (Facilities, Networking, SRE/Platform, Security, Finance/Procurement).

Nice to Have

  • Experience with NVIDIA DGX/HGX-class systems, NVLink/NVSwitch concepts, MIG/vGPU basics.
  • Familiarity with liquid cooling components (CDU/RDHx), water chemistry specs, and facility interfaces.

Benefits & conditions

  • Highly competitive package (base + equity) with reviews every 12 months.
  • Join the fastest-growing tech startup, your chance to push boundaries, collaborate with brilliant minds, and make your mark on cutting-edge AI.
  • Expect a dynamic progression plan tailored to your ambitions. Grow by trying new things, leading, challenging the status quo, and owning your impact, always with our full support.
  • Human-First Flexibility: We treat you as humans first. Our flexible workplace trusts Nscalers to deliver, giving you the autonomy to shape your day around life's moments.

Join our thriving remote-first team. Geography is no barrier to impact or connection. We build seamless virtual collaboration, empowering you, wherever you work.

About the company

Nscale is the GPU cloud engineered for AI. We provide cost-effective, high-performance infrastructure for AI start-ups and large enterprise customers. Nscale enables AI-focused companies to achieve superior results by reducing the complexity of AI development. Our GPU cloud bolsters technical capabilities and directly supports strategic business outcomes, including cost management, rapid innovation, and environmental responsibility. At Nscale, our Engineering team plays a critical role in driving the deployment and then subsequent management of our infrastructure and software platforms.. We thrive on a culture of relentless innovation, ownership, and accountability, where every team member takes pride in their work and drives it with excellence and urgency. As an Nscaler, you'll build trust through openness and transparency, where everyone is inspired to do their best work. If you join our team, you'll be contributing to building the technology that powers the future.

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