Staff Systems Engineer, Lab Operations and Administration

Role Summary

Operate and maintain the software and hardware engineering lab environments at Upscale, a fast-moving AI hardware and infrastructure company. This is a hands-on role: day-to-day work includes provisioning and racking servers and switches, keeping systems and networks healthy, and following the standards and automation already set up by senior engineering staff. You're the person engineers and lab owners rely on to get equipment up and running, keep things tracked, and keep projects moving. There's room to grow into broader systems and network ownership as the lab and team scale. This role suits someone comfortable wearing multiple hats in a fast-paced environment, rather than operating in a narrow, siloed function.

Responsibilities

• Hands-on provisioning and operations: provision and configure servers, switches, and storage for lab use; receive, commission, and physically deploy lab hardware; take ownership of routine maintenance and troubleshooting yourself; rack and stack hardware as part of routine setup.
• Day-to-day systems and network administration: install, configure, and maintain physical and virtual servers and lab network equipment, following established configuration standards; working knowledge of basic networking (switches, TCP/IP, DNS/DHCP); administer Linux/Windows systems day to day (OS installs, patching, routine config); operate virtualization platforms (e.g., VMware, Proxmox) for software and hardware development environments; run existing automation tools (e.g., Ansible playbooks) built by senior staff; monitor system and network health using established tools and respond to alerts.
• Lab owner support and coordination: work with lab owners and engineers across both software and hardware teams to understand what they need set up and when; keep them updated on status; flag upcoming capacity or equipment needs to leadership rather than independently planning long term architecture.
• Project and request management: triage and prioritize incoming requests; keep status updated; coordinate with the ASIC team to keep work moving.

Qualifications

• 7 to 10 years of hands on experience provisioning and operating servers, networking equipment, and lab or data center infrastructure, ideally supporting a software and hardware development engineering environment.
• Working knowledge of basic networking (switches, protocols) and Linux/Windows server administration.
• Familiarity with virtualization platforms (VMware, Proxmox, or similar).
• Able to run established automation tools (e.g., Ansible) without needing to build or architect them.
• Comfortable with physical hardware installation as everyday work, including rack and stack.
• Experience tracking inventory and assets and helping manage procurement.
• Good organizational skills for juggling multiple requests.
• Willing and able to travel to or work on site at colocation or data center facilities as needed
• Experience in a networking, server, or infrastructure company.
• Background at an AI hardware or infrastructure startup, a semiconductor or networking hardware company with hands-on bring-up or validation labs, or a hyperscale data center operator, ideally having worn multiple hats rather than a narrow, single-function role.
• Familiarity with monitoring and provisioning tools.
• Prior experience in a hardware or engineering lab environment.