Data Centre Engineer

OpticoreIT; Manchester; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Opticore IT is seeking a hands-on Data Centre Engineer for an initial 6-month engagement across Leeds, Manchester and Gateshead. You will deliver physical infrastructure work, rack moves, cabling, and on-site BAU support within change control.

Responsibilities include supervising third party contractors, ensuring safety, updating rack diagrams and asset inventories, and coordinating with architects on space and cooling requirements.

Qualifications

• Data Centre Operations & Rack/Power Management.
• Power & Data Cabling to Recognised Standards.
• Incident, Change & Third Party Supervision.
• DC Documentation & Asset Inventory.
• H&S Accreditation & Full UK Driving Licence.

Responsibilities

• Rack and derack servers, storage arrays, networking equipment, cabling and patch panels; move equipment between racks, rooms and buildings.
• Coordinate goods inwards, verify packing lists, inspect deliveries for transit damage and keep hardware inventory accurate.
• Supervise third party contractors on site to ensure safe, accurate work with no disruption to live services.
• Work with architects to specify target racks and rooms, confirming space, power, cooling, and floor loading limits for moves.
• Establish and validate cabling and connectivity requirements for new and relocated equipment.
• Execute hardware upgrades and port reassignments within established change control procedures and with audit trails.
• Provide remote hands support for engineering teams during BAU cover, performing physical checks and feeding back in real time.
• Respond as first responder to infrastructure alarms and environmental failures, supporting incident and change bridges with physical intervention.
• Maintain accurate records of racks, CARs and apparatus rooms, including rack diagrams, port maps and asset data in Device42.
• Collaborate with data centre teams and use Jira and Freshservice for daily operational calls.

Skills

Data Centre Ops

Rack/Power Mgmt

Cabling & Connectivity

Incident & Change

DC Documentation

H&S & Driving Licence

Job description

Opticore IT is a specialist Network Engineer and Project Management consultancy offering a wide variety of opportunities to work within fast-paced, challenging environments across our client base spanning multiple sectors including Finance, Broadcast Media, Telecommunications and more.

Opticore IT are currently searching for a Data Centre Engineer who have a strong background within hands‑on data centre operations and have the capacity to travel across sites in Leeds, Manchester and Gateshead. This opportunity would have you join the team for an initial 6 month period with scope to extend inside IR35.

You will act as the hands‑on physical infrastructure engineer for the Group's Technology function, delivering data centre and apparatus room project work (rack moves, power and data cabling, hardware installation and decommissioning) safely and within change control, while providing on‑site cover for BAU operations and incidents when required.

What you'll be doing:

• Rack and derack servers, storage arrays, networking equipment, cabling and patch panels, preparing target racks with power and data cabling and moving equipment between racks, rooms and buildings.
• Coordinate goods inwards, verifying packing lists, inspecting deliveries for transit damage and keeping the hardware inventory accurate.
• Supervise third party contractors on site, including electrical engineers and hardware vendors, ensuring work is completed safely, accurately and without disruption to live services.
• Work with architects to specify target racks and rooms, confirming space, diverse power, cooling capacity, mechanical attributes and floor loading limits ahead of hardware moves.
• Establish and validate cabling and connectivity requirements for new and relocated equipment.
• Execute all physical changes, including hardware upgrades and port reassignments, strictly within established change control procedures and with a full audit trail.
• Provide remote hands support for engineering teams during BAU cover, performing physical checks, verifying status indicators and feeding back in real time.
• Respond as first responder to infrastructure alarms and environmental failures, and support incident and change bridges with physical intervention and emergency hardware swaps.
• Maintain accurate records of racks, CARs and local apparatus rooms, including rack diagrams, port maps and asset data in Device42.
• Collaborate with the teams responsible for data centre and apparatus room design, managing work through Jira and Freshservice and attending daily operational calls.

What you'll bring:

• Data Centre Operations & Rack/Power Management
• Power & Data Cabling to Recognised Standards
• Incident, Change & Third Party Supervision
• DC Documentation & Asset Inventory
• H&S Accreditation & Full UK Driving Licence

Diversity:

At Opticore IT we embrace diversity and are committed to equal opportunities. We actively recruit for an inclusive and diverse workforce and as such, want to ensure we do everything we can to support your application.

We want you to feel empowered to let us know if you require any adjustments to be made with your application or interview process so please speak to our recruitment team.