Server Onboarding Specialist

Vultr; United States; On-site; USD 75,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) match

Professional dev reimbursement

Holidays & PTO

Sabbatical & anniversary bonus

Remote office stipend

Internet reimbursement

Gym stipend

Wellable access

Job summary

Vultr is seeking an Onboarding Specialist to join the Server Onboarding team, responsible for bringing newly racked CPU and GPU servers into production. You will follow runbooks, perform imaging, activation, and handoff to validation in a high-volume data center.

You will troubleshoot onboarding workflows, coordinate with upstream teams, and keep the pipeline moving for Vultr’s global bare metal and GPU infrastructure expansion. Strong hardware hands-on skills are essential.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of Linux systems administration (CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu).
• Experience with IPMI, BMC, iDRAC or equivalent out-of-band interfaces.
• Experience with PXE booting and automated OS provisioning workflows.
• Familiarity with configuring RAID/JBOD and firmware updates.
• Experience with Puppet or similar configuration management tools.
• Strong communication and teamwork skills.
• Proficient in Bash/Python scripting or similar.

Responsibilities

• Bring newly racked CPU and GPU servers from handoff to production readiness.
• Configure and verify out-of-band management (IPMI/BMC) and BIOS/RAID settings.
• Perform network-based OS provisioning (PXE) and troubleshoot imaging failures.
• Run configuration management tools to verify server configurations.
• Triaging DOA hardware, coordinating with on-site techs for remediation.
• Coordinate with upstream teams to resolve blockers and maintain flow.
• Maintain accurate inventory in fleet management tools.
• Document issues and workarounds for process improvements.

Skills

Linux administration

PXE booting

IPMI/BMC familiarity

RAID/JBOD knowledge

Networking basics

Puppet configuration management

Scripting (Bash/Python)

Remote hands support

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Puppet

IPMI/BMC interfaces

Job description

Who We Are

Vultr is on a mission to make high-performance cloud infrastructure easy to use, affordable, and locally accessible for enterprises and AI innovators around the world. With 33 global cloud data center locations, Vultr is trusted by hundreds of thousands of active customers across 185 countries for its flexible, scalable, global Cloud Compute, Cloud GPU, Bare Metal, and Cloud Storage solutions. In December 2024 Vultr announced an equity financing at a $3.5 billion valuation. Founded by David Aninowsky and self-funded for over a decade, Vultr has grown to become the world’s largest privately-held cloud infrastructure company.

Vultr Cares

• 100% company-paid insurance premiums for employee medical, dental and vision plans.
• 401(k) plan that matches 100% up to 4%, with immediate vesting
• Professional Development Reimbursement of $2,500 each year
• 11 Holidays + Paid Time Off Accrual + Rollover Plan
• Commitment matters to Vultr! Increased PTO at 3 year and 10 year anniversary + 1 month paid sabbatical every 5 years + Anniversary Bonus each year
• $500 stipend for remote office setup in first year + $400 each following year
• Internet reimbursement up to $75 per month
• Gym membership reimbursement up to $50 per month
• Company paid Wellable subscription

Join Vultr

Vultr is seeking an Onboarding Specialist to join our Server Onboarding team responsible for bringing newly racked CPU and GPU servers into production. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, process-driven, and comfortable working hands-on with server hardware in a fast-paced data center environment.

In this role, you will be the first-line person to onboard new CPU and GPU hosts at our data center locations, following established runbooks to take servers from racked hardware through inventory, imaging, configuration, activation, and handoff to validation. You will execute and troubleshoot existing onboarding workflows, coordinate with upstream teams to resolve blockers, and keep the onboarding pipeline moving through high-volume server deployments. This is your opportunity to play a direct, hands-on role in expanding Vultr’s global bare metal and GPU infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Bring newly racked CPU and GPU servers from hardware handoff through full provisioning and configuration to production readiness
• Configure and verify out-of-band management (IPMI/BMC) on new servers, including BIOS settings, RAID/JBOD modes, and firmware updates
• Perform network-based OS provisioning (PXE booting, automated imaging) and troubleshoot common imaging failures across diverse hardware
• Run and monitor configuration management tools (e.g., Puppet) on newly provisioned servers to verify clean, complete configuration.
• Triage and document dead-on-arrival (DOA) servers, failed components, and RMA candidates, performing basic hardware troubleshooting and coordinating with on-site technicians for physical remediation.
• Coordinate with upstream teams (networking, storage, provisioning, validation) to resolve blockers and keep the onboarding pipeline moving.
• Maintain inventory accuracy in fleet management tools — switch assignments, rack locations, BMC credentials, disk inventory, and GPU population.
• Maintain and follow established onboarding runbooks and standard operating procedures, documenting issues and workarounds for future process improvement.

Work Schedule

• A rotating 4-day, 10-hour shift schedule, coordinating with team members to maintain continuous onboarding coverage.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in Linux systems administration. (CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu)
• Familiarity with IPMI, BMC, iDRAC, or equivalent out-of-band management interfaces, with comfort working with server hardware, BIOS configuration, RAID/JBOD modes, firmware updates, and basic hardware troubleshooting.
• Experience with PXE booting and automated OS provisioning workflows, with working knowledge of basic networking concepts — DHCP, VLANs, IPv4/IPv6
• Familiarity with configuration management tools (e.g., Puppet) and willingness to run and troubleshoot existing automation rather than author new automation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for tracking progress in shared spreadsheets, ticketing systems, and team channels.
• Familiarity with scripting languages such as Bash, Python, or similar.
• Comfortable working in high-volume deployment environments with remote hands support.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.

Compensation

$75,000 - $80,000

This salary can vary based on location, years of experience, background and skill set.

Inclusion & Privacy

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences, and we prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. Vultr will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in accordance with applicable laws and will not conduct a background check until after an offer of employment has been extended and accepted.

We also take your privacy seriously. We handle personal information responsibly and follow applicable laws, including U.S. privacy rules and India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Your data is used only for legitimate business purposes and is protected with proper security measures.

Where allowed by law, applicants may request details about the data we collect, access or delete their information, withdraw consent for its use, and opt out of nonessential communications. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.