How to become a Senior Technician, Electrical
Electrical (LV and MV)
The site’s electrical specialist on shift: switching low and high voltage, transfers, UPS systems and generators, under the authorisations each needs.
There’s a page for this role in , with its licences and local details.
What the role does
The site’s electrical specialist on shift: LV and MV switching, transfers, UPS and generation, and the authorisations they need.
What a shift looks like
Shifts on a roster. Switching programmes for planned work, generator tests, UPS maintenance with vendors, and the first response to electrical faults.
What employers call it
- Electrical SME (hyperscale)
- Critical Power Systems Specialist (colocation and wholesale)
- Critical Facilities Engineer (Electrical) (colocation and wholesale)
- Senior Medium-Voltage Electrician (hyperscale)
- Medium Voltage Electrician (Service & Repair) (hyperscale)
- Staff Electrical Operator (cloud and AI compute)
- HV Engineer (colocation and wholesale)
- Data Centre Electrician (enterprise)
- electrical chargeman (any employer)
Skills
The level the role needs in each, on FacilityVR’s five levels from Aware to Authority.
Safe isolation
- Isolate and lock out a single energy source Leads others
- Isolate plant with several energy sources Leads others
- Prove dead before touching Leads others
- Remove isolations and restore plant Leads others
- Authorise isolations Independent
Emergency response
- Rescue from a live electrical incident Independent
- Recognise and report a suspected cyber incident Assisted
MV switching
- Earth and lock MV equipment Independent
- Inspect a transformer Independent
- Prove MV equipment dead Independent
- Rack an MV circuit breaker Independent
- Read MV systems and their protection Independent
- Write and carry out a switching programme Independent
LV distribution
- Operate LV switchboards and breakers Leads others
- Trace the power path and its redundancy Leads others
- AI load swings and how they are smoothed Independent
- Connect rack power and busway Independent
- Survey electrical plant with a thermal imager Independent
- Work on in-rack DC busbars and power shelves Independent
Power transfer and generation
- Respond to a utility failure Leads others
- Transfer and retransfer at an ATS by hand Leads others
- Coordinate load changes with the site plant or utility Independent
- Operate a static transfer switch Independent
- Operate and respond to a site battery energy storage system Independent
- Prime and behind-the-meter power Independent
- Restore the site from a black start Independent
- Start, load-test and stop a generator Independent
UPS and batteries
- Put a UPS into bypass and return it Leads others
- Respond to a UPS alarm Leads others
- Battery room safety Independent
- Inspect and test batteries Independent
- Operate a flywheel UPS Independent, desirable
Procedures and documents
- Carry out a method of procedure (MOP) Leads others
- Write and review a MOP Independent
Leadership
- Coach and assess others Independent
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
- Lead Critical Facilities Technician, typically 2 years
- Chief Engineer, typically 3 years
- Facilities Assurance Lead (a sideways move)
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: 7411 Building and related electricians.
- 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)