Lead Data Center Operations & Systems Technician

About the Role

We’re looking for a Lead Data Center Operations & Systems Technician to join our team. In this hands-on lead role, you’ll lead complex data center operations, infrastructure deployments, maintenance activities, and incident response across server, network, storage, cabling, and supporting systems.

You’ll provide technical direction, coordinate resources and deployment readiness, resolve escalated issues, and drive improvements across documentation, reporting, training, and operational processes. This role requires adherence to client best practices, security requirements, and safety protocols.

What You'll Do

• Lead and perform complex installation, rack-and-stack, cabling, configuration, maintenance, migration, and decommissioning work across servers, network devices, storage systems, rack power distribution units, and rack and MOR cabling.
• Serve as a technical escalation point for hardware, software, imaging, network, connectivity, and configuration issues. Lead root-cause analysis and coordinate restoration and remediation activities.
• Review server, network, storage, and device health, alerts, tickets, and logs. Identify systemic risks and establish clear response, escalation, and follow-through actions.
• Configure, review, and validate switches, firewalls, wireless access points, IP addressing, VLANs, DHCP, DNS, domain access, and device-to-device communication within approved scope and change controls.
• Lead server imaging and deployment using MDT, WDS, PXE, or equivalent environments. Oversee patching, firmware, baseline configuration, validation, exception handling, and deployment readiness.
• Own technical planning for complex installations, maintenance windows, and deployments. Define scope, sequencing, resource allocation, dependencies, implementation notes, readiness criteria, rollback plans, validation steps, and stakeholder coordination.
• Prioritize and allocate equipment and technical resources across competing operational and project demands based on urgency, risk, business needs, and readiness.
• Review configuration backups and recovery evidence, identify gaps, and ensure procedures support operational recovery requirements.
• Establish and maintain high-quality technical procedures, network diagrams, maintenance histories, repair records, configuration standards, inventory controls, and knowledge documentation.
• Oversee the accuracy of project, inventory, and asset tracking. Develop operational, inventory, compliance, capacity, and project-status reporting for stakeholders.
• Identify operational trends, control gaps, recurring issues, and process inefficiencies. Lead corrective actions and measurable continuous-improvement initiatives.
• Provide day-to-day technical direction, mentoring, training, work review, and knowledge transfer for junior and mid-level technicians.
• Support safe and effective technical execution without replacing formal people-management responsibilities.
• Represent data center operations in technical discussions, readiness reviews, incident reviews, and cross-functional planning.
• Communicate risks, tradeoffs, blockers, and recommendations clearly to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

What You'll Bring

• Five or more years of progressively responsible, hands-on experience in data center operations, infrastructure engineering, systems administration, network support, or a comparable mission-critical technical environment.
• Advanced practical knowledge of enterprise server, network, storage, cabling, power distribution, imaging, deployment, maintenance, and decommissioning activities.
• Strong knowledge of TCP/IP, switching, VLANs, DHCP, DNS, firewalls, wireless networking, domain access, device communication, and systematic troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex deployments, maintenance windows, incident response, technical work planning, resource coordination, and validation activities.
• Ability to diagnose escalated and cross-domain issues, perform root-cause analysis, assess operational risks, and drive issues through resolution.
• Experience developing or governing technical procedures, network diagrams, implementation documentation, inventory controls, reporting, and knowledge-management practices.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor technicians, review technical work, influence stakeholders, and lead through ambiguity without formal managerial authority.
• Ability to work onsite, perform hands-on equipment tasks, and meet the physical and scheduling requirements of the assigned data center environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, networking, engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Cisco CCNA or CCNP, CompTIA Server+ or Security+, Microsoft, ITIL, or an equivalent advanced certification.
• Experience leading operations in a large-scale, high-availability, safety-sensitive, or compliance-controlled data center environment.
• Experience with capacity planning, operational metrics, audit readiness, change management, problem management, or formal continuous-improvement methods.

Compensation

At Blueprint, we strive to offer competitive pay that reflects the value of our team members. Compensation for this role is influenced by a variety of factors, including skills, education, responsibilities, experience, and geographic market.

For candidates based in Washington State, the anticipated compensation range is $36.06 to $44.71 USD per hour, with a midpoint of $40.38 USD per hour. Please note that we typically do not hire new employees at the top of the posted range. Actual starting pay will be determined based on experience, skills, and internal equity. The final compensation and job title may vary depending on the selected candidate’s qualifications.

Location and Work Arrangement

Redmond and Totem Lake, Washington

This role requires 100% onsite work within the assigned data center environments.