Hey everyone, I just graduated from the AWA fiber technician training program, which places people into data center fiber jobs. There's not much about it online, so I figured I'd answer questions for anyone considering it. Happy to cover how you get in, what the weeks of training actually look like (housing, food, the hands-on material), how the placement and job offer process works, and whether I'd recommend it. I'm just a graduate, not an official rep, so this is my own experience. Ask away.

Hello everyone
I’m an electrical engineer working in a Tier II data center for a local telecommunications company. We have around 70 cabinets, serving both enterprise customers and internal IT departments.
I’ve been working there for about 1.5 years and my role involves supervising contractors and projects, following up on operations and maintenance, performing preventive maintenance, conducting daily electrical and mechanical checks, responding to emergency alarms, and preparing daily reports.
I’m not an IT specialist, so I’d like to grow specifically in the electrical, mechanical, and critical infrastructure side of data centers knowing that we are working in expanding the space for extra 30 cabinets.

My question is: What skills, certifications, or practical knowledge would you recommend I focus on to become an outstanding data center engineer and stand out from others in this field?
I’d appreciate any advice, especially from experienced data center engineers.
Thanks

We're working on a construction site that needs internet for the next few months before fiber gets installed. Site offices, security cameras, and some equipment need reliable access. The main issue is coverage. It's a large area and the layout keeps changing as construction progresses, so running cables everywhere isn't practical. I've been looking at Starlink with some kind of wireless distribution setup to spread it across the site. Point to point links and outdoor APs keep coming up but not sure if that's overkill or if there's a simpler option I'm missing.

We're talking about covering a few hundred meters with multiple zones that need access. Power availability also varies across different areas. Anyone dealt with temporary setups like this? What actually worked for you?

I’m a relatively new L3 EOT at AWS. I am on shift now and ahead of target on my CST qual. I feel like I’m doing pretty well and my manager has given me positive feedback. I enjoy the job, like my team, and like the schedule.

We have some self proclaimed “terminal EOTs” on my team who have no interest in moving up to chief engineer, but I think I would like to eventually move up to chief engineer or FM down the line. I wanted to know how EOTs end up moving out of the technician silo and into management — what senior leadership wants to see, what they NEED to see, and what they don’t wanna see.

I would greatly appreciate any input from those with experience climbing the ladder, or those who are in the process of climbing the ladder! Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone!

I recently applied for a Data Center Operations role at Amazon and received an invitation for a virtual telephonic interview.

Has anyone recently attended an interview for this role? I’d like to know what kind of questions are usually asked in the first round, especially regarding technical topics, troubleshooting scenarios, and Amazon’s Leadership Principles.

Also, what are the next steps in the hiring process after the initial telephonic round?

Any interview experiences, preparation tips, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Since so many data centers have been built, I am curious about your day-to-day structured routine. There are a lot of these companies out there and I know that they all have different requirements and I think it be good opportunity to learn from each other and potentially share some ideas.

Again, this is pertaining to data center operation safety, not construction safety.

1. What is your title?
2. What are your normal hours?
3. What is your yearly focused target/targets?
4. When it comes to environmental, do you have it out or are you doing full responsible party?
5. What is your companies focus on what measures your success?

I received a call last week from my Google Recruiter stating that I have passed all of the interviews for DCT Mechanical II. They did inform me that they will reach out for a fit call. Just seeing how long this process usually takes and or works. My recruiter did state that since it’s getting towards the end of the year and there will be lots of positions at different locations open up. Just wanting to get some feedback on the process. Any feedback would be appreciated thanks.

Geelong near Melbourne, Australia is rapidly emerging as one of Australia’s most significant digital infrastructure locations, with the region attracting unprecedented investment in hyperscale data centre developments.

Hello everyone. Looking for any tips on System Design question types and expectations for a Fluidstack Sys Design interview. Do the questions revolve mainly around GPU clusters and scheduling?

Any tips from folks who have interviewed would be highly appreciated.

Hey guys! I’ve been working in operations at a 3PL for the past five years. About two years ago, we onboarded a huge client to manage transportation for their data center construction projects.
I was managing 4–5 active projects at the same time and became familiar with data center equipment, site safety protocols, and even advised site superintendents on how many trucks they’d need for certain equipment and units.
I really enjoyed that work, and now I want to get involved on the other side of these projects, working directly on-site rather than just coordinating transportation.
One thing that surprised me was that some site superintendents weren’t familiar with the transportation requirements for certain equipment, including how it should be loaded and what type of truck or trailer was needed.
My question is, if I want to transition into a role where I’m directly involved in data center construction projects, what positions would I realistically qualify for with my background?

Hey everyone, looking for some advice from people who’ve been through this.

Background:

• 10+ years in manufacturing and process operations
• Worked at Panasonic Energy (4.5 yrs) and Tesla (1yr), now a Production Lead at a lithium-ion battery recycling plant
• Basically babysit the operators and production associates, handle whatever operations needs come up, and keep an eye on the process to catch any drift
• Zero actual data center experience

How I got here:
I applied for an AWS EOT role a couple months ago but canceled because it was out of state. About 2 months later a recruiter reached out again, and this time she suggested I apply for a Chief Engineer role in Mesa, AZ. So I did. I have a call tomorrow for next steps.

My concerns:

• I’m worried my lack of DC experience will show in the technical rounds
• I’m honestly not great at interviews. I know my stuff, but I struggle to explain it under pressure
• I’m not sure how deep the technical questions go for CE vs EOT

Questions for anyone who’s interviewed for CE or EOT:

1. What technical questions did you get? How deep did they go?
2. How did the loop work (number of rounds, panel vs 1:1, how long)?
3. How much weight was on LPs vs technical?
4. Has anyone come into DCEO from a plant or manufacturing background? How did you frame your experience?
5. If they think I’m not ready for CE, is it common to get offered EOT instead?

Right now I’m studying the refrigeration cycle, chillers, CRAH vs CRAC, UPS, ATS open vs closed transition, and generators, plus building STAR stories for the LPs.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I'm wondering if working in this division of AWS would be like field service work, where one travels to different data centers?

I'm an EOT in USA.

More context, I have absolutely no technical experience at all. Honestly surprised I got the job, it was completely unexpected. Feeling a bit overwhelmed since everyone around me during orientation are either conversions or have hands on experience in DCs. A bit more anxiety inducing is that I'm in a brand new closed loop liquid cooling facility with GB300 processors.

I was told during the hiring process they would train me and that I'd shadow experienced techs and eventually gain supervised hands on experience. So far the orientation has been very messy with lots of conflicting information being tossed around. What worries me more is that the conversions I've talked to said that the techs are so swamped with work they're almost never available. Not sure how true this is, but yeah, being overwhelmed would be a very big understatement!

Edit: I'm in the USA, Maryland.

Can anyone share work experience as Data Center Engineering Operations Technician?

I’m currently an RME Technician at Amazon and considering moving to Microsoft Data Centre CET. The main attraction of the job is Mon-Fri regular hours, better work-life balance and potentially better career progression. However, it will be 15-18% pay cut.

I’m mainly considering the move because data centre roles seem to focus more on electrical infrastructure. I’m hoping to gain more in-depth experience with electrical systems and build a stronger foundation for long-term career progression in electrical engineering.

Would this be a good move? And what’s your story?

Are pre existing data centers specifically hyper Colo fully leased out still being sold .. hard to track these if so how valuable is it ? Any info on the current market or cost per mw that's fully leased out would be helpful

I’m interviewing for this role at Microsoft and had some questions:

1. The recruiter told me it’s a Monday to Friday job… not shifts, is it true?

2. What’s the average salary and benefits?

3. Career progression? Any advice here is welcome

Thanks

I'm hiring for a site lead for a 6MW cluster about 45 minutes north of Fort Wayne. This will be a liquid cooled Blackwell deployment. If you have hands on experience keeping boxes online and are looking for a change, send me a DM.

Hi guys, I’ve been working for a major data centre operator for about 1.4 years. A friend who is a Facility Manager at AWS told me there are some L4 DCEO Engineer openings and suggested that I apply.

I’m just wondering whether 1.4 years of experience is enough for L4. Has anyone seen AWS hire someone at L4 with this level of experience

A Meta data center is under construction not far from where I live. I've never paid much attention to data centers, but after seeing the size of this one, I got intrigued and have wanted to find a way to work there ever since. I have 19 years of warehouse experience with a chemical manufacturer, but no formal tech experience, so I figured my best way in was through a logistics company. I accepted an entry-level position with GXO as a Production Technician Associate. The recruiter simply described it as warehouse work. Does anyone have any insight into the typical responsibilities of a Production Technician Associate? Thanks!

With the rapid expansion of AI data centers, I’m curious whether electrical infrastructure is becoming a bigger bottleneck than computing hardware.

For those working in the industry, what are you seeing firsthand?

Are switchgear and transformer lead times still causing major delays, or are grid interconnections and power availability the bigger challenges?

And do you think onsite power generation will become a practical solution?

I’d love to hear perspectives from people actually working on these projects. Thanks!