How to become a Data Centre Operator
White space and IT hardware
Works in the data hall following the site’s procedures: installs equipment in racks, patches and traces cabling, keeps the airflow right, and handles routine requests from customers.
There’s a page for this role in , with its licences and local details.
What the role does
Works in the white space under the site’s procedures: racks and stacks equipment, patches and traces cabling, keeps containment right, and carries out routine remote-hands requests. Needs no licence. The white-space ladder’s first rung, beside the Critical Facilities Operator.
What a shift looks like
Shifts on a roster. Tickets for installs and cabling, walks of the hall, deliveries to unpack and stage, and customers’ remote-hands requests.
What employers call it
- Service Delivery Technician (colocation and wholesale)
- Service Delivery Technician I (colocation and wholesale)
- Associate Data Center Technician (cloud and AI compute)
- Data Centre Technician – Trainee Program (hyperscale)
Skills
The level the role needs in each, on FacilityVR’s five levels from Aware to Authority.
Site safety
- Hazards of a critical facility Independent
- Select and use protective equipment Independent
- Electrical safety awareness Assisted
- Move equipment and handle loads safely Assisted
Emergency response
- Evacuate and muster Independent
- Raise the alarm and escalate Independent
- Recognise and report a suspected cyber incident Assisted
Procedures and documents
- Follow a standard operating procedure (SOP) Assisted
White space and IT hardware
- Take electrostatic discharge precautions Independent
- Build cages, trays and cabinets Assisted
- Carry out remote-hands requests Assisted
- Decommission equipment and handle media Assisted
- Inspect and clean fibre Assisted
- Install and test a cross-connect Assisted
- Keep hot and cold aisles right Assisted
- Patch and trace cabling Assisted
- Rack and stack equipment Assisted
Monitoring and response
- Walk the rounds and take readings Assisted
Physical access and security
- Badge in and out Independent
- Escort visitors and contractors Assisted
Licences and credentials
Licences depend on the country you work in, and sometimes the state. The role’s page for Australia lists them there.
Ways in and ways on
From outside the industry
From another data centre role
Where it leads
- Critical Facilities Operator (a sideways move)
- Data Centre Technician, typically 12 months
- Facilities and IT Technician, typically 12 months
Jobs open now
None right now. See every open job.
Questions about data centre careers? Ask about data centre careers
Sources and licences
Occupation codes: 3511 Information and communications technology operations technicians.
- Critical Facilities reference framework © Facility Labs. (CC BY 4.0)
- ISCO-08, International Labour Organization, as published in ESCO v1.2.1. This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission. (Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of Commission documents)