Datacentre Operations Specialist

The Firm 

XTX Markets is a leading algorithmic trading firm which uses state-of-the-art machine learning technology to produce price forecasts for over 53,000 financial instruments across equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and crypto. It uses those forecasts to trade on exchanges and alternative trading venues, and to offer differentiated liquidity directly to clients worldwide. The firm trades over $250bn a day across 35 countries and has over 300 employees based in London, New York, Singapore, Paris, Bristol, Mumbai, Yerevan and Kajaani.

We leverage the talent of the people who work here, modern computational techniques and state-of-the-art research infrastructure to analyse large data sets across markets quickly and efficiently, to maximize the effectiveness of our proprietary trading algorithms. We are actively seeking new methods and ideas. The models that drive our trading strategies have evolved considerably over the last 10 years, from econometric methods that gave our company its name, to trees, to neural networks, to modern deep learning architectures.

XTX Markets has an unrivalled level of computational resources in the trading industry, with a growing research cluster currently containing over 25,000 GPUs and more than 1 exabyte of usable storage, connected by a high throughput network layer.

Having conducted a thorough review of the XTX’s long-term research objectives, and the compute power required to support it, we have committed to construct a fully owned and managed data centre campus to house the HPC Cluster in Kajaani, Finland, designed with flexibility and capacity in mind allowing for future scalability without constraints or impediments.

At XTX Markets technology is our business and we are a diverse organization which attracts outstanding talent from across all industry backgrounds. We are focused on teamwork and our people collaborate on all aspects of the business, working openly and with respect for each other, our clients and the market. Our culture is non-hierarchical and one where everyone is valued. We strive for excellence in everything we do.

The Role 

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Datacentre Operations Specialist to support the datacentre operations of our multi-megawatt colocation in Kajaani.

This includes the ongoing construction phases, and mechanical, cooling, electrical and automation commissioning.

The role is full-time, permanent, with the primary work location in Kajaani. 

Due to the nature of our research activities, on-call availability outside of shift hours is required, which may include weekend and public holiday work (in both cases, with time off in lieu). Overtime may be necessary during peak operational periods or for planned maintenance and upgrading activities. 

Key Responsibilities

DC Operations  

• Responsible for day-to-day datacentre infrastructure operations for the datacentre campus including automation, electrical, mechanical and datacentre running processes.

• Ensure 24/7 uptime and availability of the datacentre infrastructure. 

• Co-operate with other engineering teams, facility maintenance, and technical teams to address operational issues promptly. 
• Develop and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) for data centre operations. 

Infrastructure Deployment, Maintenance and Upkeep  

• Responsible for the operation and maintenance of well-ordered datacentre infrastructure and related systems (electricity, mechanical, liquid cooling, automation etc.). 

• Handling and resolving technical issues and requests related to DC infrastructure. 

• Schedule and coordinate regular maintenance activities, including DC infrastructure equipment inspections and repairs. 

• Implement preventive maintenance programs to minimize downtime and ensure optimal performance. 

• Communicating with stakeholders about planned maintenance, downtime, or changes in operations. 

Capacity Planning and Scalability  

• Support space and cooling capacity planning to anticipate future growth and scalability requirements. 

• Support evaluation of current infrastructure utilization and planning for expansion or upgrades as needed. 
• Work closely with stakeholders to assess business needs and align infrastructure resources accordingly. 

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability  

• Support initiatives to optimize energy efficiency, costs, and reduce environmental impact. 

Team Development  

• Proactively enhancing a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement within the data centre team.

Essential Attributes

• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting skills. 

• Ability to handle multiple tasks while maintaining attention to detail. 

• Comfortability with working in a fast-paced environment. 

• Outgoing and able to build rapport with colleagues, stakeholders, and vendors. 
• Proficient in both spoken and written English and Finnish. 

Experience 

• Master's or Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical or Automation Engineering, or related field preferred. 

• 3+ years of datacentre experience or related industrial operations management. 

• In-depth knowledge of data centre infrastructure processes including power distribution, cooling systems (including Direct Liquid Cooling), automation/building management systems, fire tracing, and security technologies. 

• Strong understanding of industry standards and best practices. 
• An ideal candidate would also be interested in participating in datacentre infrastructure design, which would involve selecting, specifying, or customizing the best datacentre solutions for IT equipment (power, cooling etc.).
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment. 
• Valid B Driving License.