Senior/Principal Infrastructure Engineer, Data Centers

Location: Ann Arbor, MI

Department: Technical Operations

Utilidata is a fast-growing NVIDIA-backed edge AI company enabling greater visibility and control of power utilization in energy-intensive infrastructure, like the electric grid and data centers. Karman, the company’s distributed AI platform powered by a custom NVIDIA module, is transforming the way utility companies operate the grid edge and will enable data centers to unlock more compute for the same provisioned power.

The Infrastructure Engineer is responsible for deploying, configuring, and supporting Karman systems within high-density data center environments, ensuring optimal performance, reliability, and scalability of infrastructure operations. This role provides Tier 3 infrastructure support across Utilidata’s self-hosted data center and partner colocation environments. The engineer will operate across networking, power, Linux systems, and rack infrastructure to ensure high availability and rapid issue resolution in environments where monitoring and visibility are evolving. In addition to operational ownership, this role will contribute to building the policies, tooling, and processes required to deliver robust Tier 3 support. This includes defining incident response practices, escalation paths, root cause analysis standards, and reliability targets (SLAs/SLOs), while improving logging, monitoring, and observability. The engineer will not only resolve complex cross-layer issues, but also drive the systematic improvements needed to reduce recurrence and strengthen long-term reliability across both environments. This position is based onsite at our company headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with flexibility for occasional remote work. Candidates will be expected to collaborate cross-functionally with remote teams based across the country. 

Responsibilities

• Deploy and configure Karman systems in high-density data center environments, ensuring adherence to best practices and organizational standards
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve technical issues related to Karman applications, networking, and infrastructure components
• Manage and maintain B300 or equivalent rack systems, including PDU (Power Distribution Units) and PSU (Power Supply Units) configuration and optimization
• Perform Linux system administration tasks including installation, configuration, patch management, and performance tuningDesign and implement network configurations to support Karman deployments, including routing, switching, and connectivity optimization
• Develop a deep understanding of how compute, power, and networking resources are being consumed by internal teams, and proactively identify constraints, risks, and scaling bottlenecks
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to plan capacity requirements and scale infrastructure to meet growing demands
• Document deployment procedures, configuration standards, and troubleshooting guides for knowledge sharing and operational continuity
• Provide technical support and training to internal teams on Karman system operations and best practices
• Conduct regular system health checks, performance monitoring, and proactive maintenance to prevent downtime
• Participate in on-call rotation to ensure 24/7 system availability and rapid incident response

Minimum Qualifications 

• 8+ years of experience with Linux system administration (RHEL, Ubuntu, CentOS, or similar distributions)
• Proven experience deploying and managing applications in high-density data center environments
• Strong understanding of data center infrastructure including rack systems (B300 or equivalent), PDUs, PSUs, cooling systems, and power management
• Hands-on experience with enterprise networking concepts including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, firewall concepts, routing protocols, switching, and network troubleshooting
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in environments with evolving processes and incomplete tooling, using first-principles debugging and cross-domain reasoning.
• Strong ownership mindset with a bias toward proactive improvement rather than reactive ticket resolution.
• Willingness to travel up to 20% of the time, including international travel

Enhanced Qualifications (Nice to Have) 

• Proficiency with configuration management and automation tools (Ansible, Puppet, Chef, or similar)
• Familiarity with tail-scale/wireguard experience
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack, or similar)
• Knowledge of containerization and orchestration technologies (Docker, Kubernetes)

Salary Range: $160,000 to $195,000 base compensation depending on experience and stock options.  Salary will be commensurate with an individual's skills, training, years of experience, and in line with internal compensation bands.

Location: This position is based onsite at our company headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with flexibility for occasional remote work.

Our Commitments:
Utilidata values the diversity of our team. We provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy or childbirth, sexual orientation, genetics, genetic information, marital status, or status as a covered veteran or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state and local laws.

We are committed to:

• Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that is welcoming, supportive, affirming and respectful
• Empowering employees to solve problems and work together to make a difference
• Providing mentorship and growth opportunities as part of a collaborative team
• A flexible work environment with flexible paid time off
• Competitive compensation and benefits, including health, dental, vision, and employer-match 401k