Hardware Specialist
Role details
Job location
Tech stack
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.