Senior Data Center Technician at Microsoft

Responsibilities

Data Center Operations

• Demonstrates expertise in standard processes and procedures for preparing, installing, performing diagnostics, troubleshooting, replacing, and/or decommissioning equipment, as well as a holistic understanding of the functions of, and interactions between, network and server equipment.
• Provides guidance to other technicians on processes and procedures.
• Proactively shares relevant information to enable efficient workflow and reviews process changes to evaluate impact on service execution and mitigate the impact that changes to their area of work will have on others.
• Ensures compliance with Data Center Services (DCS) business unit and service-level policies, procedures, and deadlines.
• Completes assigned tickets efficiently and in alignment with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) per task type while meeting or exceeding established Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Coordinates and assigns tasks to other technicians and provides direction as needed to ensure work is appropriately prioritized and meets KPI and SLA targets.
• Service Delivery
• Delegates hardware installation, deployment, and/or replacement work to technicians; prepares, stages, sets up, and performs startups and shutdowns (e.g., racks, hard drives, switches) according to specific instructions provided via checklists, guides, and standard protocols.
• Performs quality control and takes responsibility for work performed by technicians.;
• Assists and provides guidance to technicians to complete challenging or complex tasks and escalates issues as needed.
• Ensures that technicians are performing post-execution quality checks and verifying that grounding, staging, labeling, and cabling are set up in compliance with safety protocols, deployment standards, and planned Network Design Tasks (NDTs).
• Applies advanced diagnostic and troubleshooting expertise to quickly identify the cause(s) of issues; quickly identifies the cause(s) of issues.
• Decommissions hardware for complex changes and/or systems with complex interactions (e.g., upgrading entire racks) following standard procedures; provides guidance and responds to questions and escalations from technicians to ensure they are informed on answers and solutions; ensures quality execution as defined by organizational standards, coordinates downtime, and keeps relevant stakeholders informed of work status to minimize downstream rework; verifies security compliance for decommissions and processes data-bearing devices for destruction.
• Follows procedures to communicate, report, and escalate incidents to appropriate Microsoft data center operations management units, Technician Leads, engineering leads, and Subject Matter Experts.

Managing Services

• Exercises judgment and discretion to contribute to issue tracking, follow-up, resolution, the overall quality of the service.
• Provides guidance to less experienced technicians around client interaction.
• Maintains an awareness of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through dashboards and/or monthly performance discussions.
• Demonstrates understanding of cross-functional processes to support partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Trains and mentors technicians through on-the-job training and by providing direct guidance on specific tasks.

Data Center Work Environment

• Attends, conducts, or assists in conducting daily safety briefings, completes required safety training, provides guidance to technicians to facilitate compliance with safety procedures (e.g., equipment use, lifting, electrical hazards, ladder/rolling stair use).
• Promotes a culture of safety and empowers technicians to take action, speak up, and report safety concerns and/or incidents.
• Complies with security and data management procedures and policies and completes required security training.
• Reinforces a positive and effective team environment by sharing information and best practices with others, driving regular team meetings and cross-discipline collaboration, staying apprised of the status of others' work to respond to questions.
• Coordinates, delegates task, and provides guidance to technicians within an assigned shift to support execution of assigned work by established service and operational level agreements (SLA/OLAs).

Ownership

• Has pride and a sense of accountability for the service quality, completeness, and resulting user experience; displays accountability and ownership of the data center facilities; ensures high quality hand-offs of work to other technicians as needed.
• Learns the client’s business and maintains a strong client focus to understand the impact of their work when completing tickets and assigned tasks.

Other

• Embody our culture and values

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma, GED, or equivalent and basic knowledge of computer hardware and components AND 2+ years’ experience supporting IT equipment or related technology.
• While not required, we also look for the following Preferred Qualifications:
• Associate degree in Computer Science or other field and/or equivalent work experience.
• 3+ years’ experience supporting IT equipment or related technology.
• 2+ years’ experience working in a production, mission-critical 24x7x365 datacenter environment.
• Applicable certifications: ASICS/Inventory Control, CompTIA (A+, Server+, Network+), Basic Structure Cabling (BSC), Data Center Foundation Certification (DCFC), Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Vendor-Specific Network Certifications.