Data Center Smart Hands Technician Onsite

Pinnacle Group, Inc.; City of Albany (NY); On-site; USD 37,000 - 43,000; Full time

Job summary

Pinnacle Group, Inc. is seeking an experienced Data Center Smart Hands Technician for a fully onsite contract in Rensselaer, NY. The role runs 9/21/26–3/21/27 with potential extension and contract-to-hire conversion.

Typical hours are Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., with occasional on-call every other week. The technician will support data center and infrastructure operations, handle cabling, server and network equipment, and work with remote engineering teams.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of hands-on Smart Hands, data center, server-room, or infrastructure-support experience.
• Ability to work independently onsite with limited supervision.
• Willingness to participate in a biweekly on-call rotation.
• Strong documentation and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Perform routine data center, server-room, IDF, and MDF walkthroughs and identify/report equipment, environmental, security, cabling, or facility concerns.
• Support scheduled site audits, inspections, inventory validations, and operational checks.
• Provide onsite Smart Hands support for servers, network devices, racks, cabinets, IDF/MDF closets, and related infrastructure.
• Install, remove, rack, stack, label, and organize servers, switches, network devices, and other IT infrastructure equipment.
• Replace approved field-replaceable hardware components, including power supplies, hard drives, memory, fans, cables, and similar components.
• Trace, install, replace, label, test, and organize copper and fiber cabling.
• Perform cable management and maintain clean and organized racks, cabinets, patch panels, IDF/MDF closets, and data center spaces.
• Verify equipment status, power, indicator lights, ports, physical connections, and cabling during troubleshooting activities.
• Perform requested reboots, power cycles, visual inspections, connectivity checks, and basic diagnostic activities under direction from remote engineering or support teams.
• Support network equipment installation and replacement activities, including switches, routers, access points, and related infrastructure.
• Assist with server and infrastructure installations, moves, additions, changes, and removals.
• Support equipment decommissioning, asset validation, packing, equipment staging, and approved disposition/disposal activities.
• Coordinate and support scheduled equipment disposal pickups when required.
• Support hard-drive replacement, removal, handling, validation, and vendor-related activities in accordance with established security procedures.
• Escort authorized vendors and third-party service providers while work is performed within secured data center or infrastructure areas.
• Maintain the physical organization of data center, IDF/MDF, rack, cabinet, and equipment areas, including cleanup and removal of retired or abandoned equipment/cabling when authorized.
• Maintain accurate documentation of equipment locations, asset changes, cabling changes, hardware replacements, inspections, and work performed.
• Update incidents, service requests, change records, inventory/asset records, and associated tickets as required.
• Follow established data center, security, safety, access-control, change-management, and documentation procedures.
• Communicate site conditions, work status, issues, and exceptions clearly to remote engineering teams and local stakeholders.
• Provide onsite support for infrastructure refreshes, deployments, lifecycle activities, and related projects as required.
• Participate in the rotating after-hours/on-call schedule approximately every other week.

Skills

Strong communication

Customer service

Independent onsite work

Education

High school diploma or GED

Associate degree in IT/CS (plus)

Tools

ServiceNow

Job description

Pinnacle Group, Inc. is seeking an experienced Data Center Smart Hands Technician for a fully onsite contract in Rensselaer, NY. The role runs 9/21/26–3/21/27 with potential extension and contract-to-hire conversion.

Typical hours are Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., with occasional on-call every other week. The technician will support data center and infrastructure operations, handle cabling, server and network equipment, and work with remote engineering teams.