Data Center Engineer

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us.  Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

We are seeking a Data Center Engineer to join any U.S. office. The candidate will be responsible for daily operations of data center services for K&L Gates.  Responsible for hardware and systems support and engineering relating to data centers and local office server rooms. Candidates must be self-starters who possess the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Excellent communication skills and a commitment to providing the highest quality client service are strongly preferred.

Essential duties

Develops UPS strategies and solutions for new infrastructure configurations within the local office environments, for either existing or new office build-outs, taking into consideration load and run-time requirements. Knowledge of smart PDUs a plus.
Provides operational data center reports for various departmental subscribers which contributes to the firm’s capacity planning efforts.  Reports are crafted using tools such as Visio, Excel and Powerpoint.
Configures and monitors alerts from data center systems in order to ensure system reliability and uptime.  Monitoring systems such as Schneider’s Struxureware or standalone power systems are used for this monitoring.
Coordinates maintenance scheduling with vendors and data center staff, tracks open maintenance tickets and works with Change Management on system change details.
Provides system analysis and debugging strategies for resolving communication links between power systems and monitoring systems.
Configures security layers for local and data center monitoring systems.  Manages the UPS device passwords in secret server (or equivalent password store).
Operates UPS test lab for systems testing and automation upgrades.
Analyzes power consumption of systems to provide estimates for local office power installations and makes recommendations for implementing efficiencies or reducing consumption when applicable. 
Works directly (or as a team member) with technical staff in other departments to resolve incidents or complete project tasks related to data center systems.
Provides technical expertise related to UPS and data center systems to management or other engineers for incident or planning purposes.
Complies with physical and logical security policies covering data center systems and sites.
Complies with departmental documentation standards such as creating and updating standard operating procedures, following through on installation qualification/operational qualification steps, or adhering to departmental web sites document requirements.
Utilizes vendor-based portals and interfaces to stay abreast of open incidents.  Stays on top of internal data center requests originating from peer engineers in order to ensure jobs are not slipping from desired implementation dates.
Integrates data from monitoring systems into reports or databases which are used for operations reports and capacity planning decisions by management.
Tracks equipment shipments, alerts team lead and management of equipment provisioning delays.
Gathers and/or transcribes data related to data center systems and local office hardware into various repositories.  Data is used to produce rack elevation diagrams, hardware identifiers, or data extracts for other databases/reports.
Sets up alerts for power consumption monitoring, gathers data regarding power quality and consumption at the data center and local offices
Works with asset management personnel regarding equipment attrition and destroy orders and receipts.
Provides guidance on media destruction policy and procedures to ensure that the firm’s sensitive information on media is secure.
Experience and skills required

Demonstrates a solid discipline for consistent operational housekeeping and ability to stay on tasks and meet deadlines.
Sufficient knowledge of information technology systems including data center specific systems, power and UPS systems.  Networking and DHCP concepts must be understood along with layer 1 troubleshooting (physical layer).
Understanding of power operation for both single phase and 3 phase power. Understanding of power draw and ability to size UPS devices based on power and load requirements.
Knowledge of server room hardware, cabinets, PDUs, server room layout types and power design is recommended.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills required for illustrating technical/complex engineering concepts.
Ability to adapt to fast pace work environment and rapidly changing priorities.  Projects can be delayed or changed at any time to adapt to system failures/incidents.
Bachelors Degree, or equivalent plus 2+ years experience in information technology field.  Experience with data centers or server rooms is highly recommended.
Additional abilities required

Collaborative demeanor with other team members and/or departments on but not limited to hardware installs and decommissions.
Maintain a congenial yet assertive position with vendors and data center staff.
Responsibilities occasionally may require an adjusted work schedule during rollouts or DR events.
Some physical work is involved when installing/removing/adjusting equipment such as servers, switches, cabling and heavy UPS devices.
On-call duties are shared among team members.  On call duties require ability to resolve issues 24 hours per day while on call.
Able to effectively work remotely.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally.
Compensation Salary $80,400 - $120,700/ year

The compensation salary for this position will be determined during the interview process and will vary based on multiple factors, including but not limited to prior experience, relevant expertise, current business needs, and market factors.

As required by the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative Ordinance and San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, qualified applicants for our Los Angeles and San Francisco offices with arrest and conviction records will be considered.

ABOUT THE FIRM

K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with lawyers located across five continents in more than 40 offices. We have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade and now rank among the largest U.S. based law firms in the world.  We take pride in constantly striving for innovation, imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We come up with big ideas and then roll up our sleeves to get the job done, guiding our clients through their most complex issues in a variety of industry sectors and across multiple regions of the world. 

The industry recognition the firm has garnered emanates from the foundation of a global community aligned on behalf of our clients. The people at K&L Gates are committed to working together to create a legacy for each other, the firm, our clients, and the communities in which we serve. We thrive in an inclusive and socially conscious environment that embraces diversity and takes a holistic approach to the career evolution of all our professionals.

For more information or to view other job opportunities, please click here to go back to our careers page.

Notice: We participate in E-Verify in certain Firm locations for purposes of verifying employment eligibility.

BENEFITS

K&L Gates offers our personnel a comprehensive suite of benefits to help meet your needs now and in the future. Depending on your eligibility, options for full-time personnel include:

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Firm is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions will be based on merit, qualifications, competence, and business need. Employment practices will not be influenced or affected by a person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. This policy governs all aspects of employment including, without limitation, recruiting, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, assignment, and dismissal. In addition, it is the Firm’s policy to provide an environment that is free of all unlawful harassment including, without limitation, that based on sex, race, age, disability, or national origin. The Firm complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please contact askHR@klgates.com.