Cloud Hardware Sustaining Engineer I

DigitalOcean; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 83,000 - 104,000; Full time

Job summary

DigitalOcean is seeking a Sustaining Engineer to join the Infra::Machines::Design team, focused on hardware and firmware that power our cloud. You’ll support server hardware, cabling, and networking gear, monitor issues, and participate in 24/7 on‑call rotation to drive rapid resolution and reliability improvements.

You’ll collaborate with multiple engineering groups to standardize practices, build tooling, and operate in a fast‑paced, globally distributed environment where innovation and

Qualifications

• BS in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• Hands-on experience operating a cloud infrastructure at mid-tier scale or better.
• In-depth understanding of server hardware, firmware, and infrastructure.
• Strong knowledge in troubleshooting techniques, Python and Bash. Extra points for JTAG debugging / Firmware troubleshooting / Wire sniffing experience.

Responsibilities

• Act as a member of the Sustaining Engineering team in the Infra::Machines::Design Organization.
• Support server hardware, cabling, and networking hardware throughout its operational lifecycle.
• Monitor the #machines channel and MACHINES JIRA project for issues and drive them to resolution.
• Participate in 24/7 on‑call rotation with other members of the team.
• Act as Tier 2 escalation for Datacenter Operations (DCOPS) and Cloud Operations (CloudOps) regarding hardware and firmware components.
• Develop and maintain standards and practices for DigitalOcean hardware operations.
• Work closely with the Qualification team, Firmware team, Fleet Lifecycle Engineering team (FLE), Foresight team, and Infrastructure Services team to resolve issues in tooling, firmware packages, hardware components, and other operational concerns.
• Help with development of tooling and associated runbooks to address gaps in operational capabilities around hardware and firmware operations.
• Coordinate with Ops teams on monitoring thresholds, failure modes and alerting.
• Assist in troubleshooting cause of failures and work to prevent them in the future.
• Raise the quality bar in the delivery of our cloud infrastructure by identifying industry best practices and working to adopt them.

Skills

Cloud infrastructure

Server hardware & firmware

Troubleshooting (Python, Bash)

JTAG debugging

Education

BS in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent

Tools

Python

Bash

Job description

DigitalOcean is seeking a Sustaining Engineer to join the Infra::Machines::Design team, focused on hardware and firmware that power our cloud. You’ll support server hardware, cabling, and networking gear, monitor issues, and participate in 24/7 on‑call rotation to drive rapid resolution and reliability improvements.

You’ll collaborate with multiple engineering groups to standardize practices, build tooling, and operate in a fast‑paced, globally distributed environment where innovation and