Senior Data Center Engineer

The Trade Desk Senior Data Center Engineer role, in our Production Engineering team is responsible for the reliability and efficient operation of systems, applications, and processes at The Trade Desk. You will be hands-on in managing and improving our high-scale data centers as we continue to expand our physical footprint. As a Data Center Engineering team member (DCENG), we set the standards for data center/colocation deployments for the engineering organization and provide guidance on architecting and maintaining our physical infrastructure.Join us in shaping the future of our growing data centers-if you're up for the challenge, we'd love to connect!

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Trade Desk infrastructure is "hybrid" both in operating system (Linux, Windows) and environment (bare metal, cloud). This position supports the fundamentals of the bare metal portion of our technology.

• You will oversee data center builds, expansions, and changes by collaborating with multiple stakeholders, teams, and vendors. Strong attention to detail and excellent communication skills are essential.
• Providesolutions at scale for the physicalinfrastructurerequiredto run aglobally distributed environment handling over 13 million requests per second.
• Participate in root-cause analysis and postmortem discussions to effectively drive lasting improvements in operational health.
• Analyze and Identify process gaps and implement solutions to streamline execution and minimize manual toil.
• While this is not a traditional Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) role, it involves aspects of the SRE mindset, including capacity modeling, monitoring, data collection and analysis, KPI definition, configuration management, and outcome tracking.
• Participate in "follow the sun" on-call rotation.
• Occasional travel may be required.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• You have hands-on data center experience and a solid understanding of concepts like colocation space, power, cooling, cross-connects, structured cabling, and remote hands.
• You are skilled in troubleshooting physical infrastructure issues and quickly identifying root causes.
• You have at least 4 years experience either in a direct role or via related functions such as a NOC or systems administration.
• You think automation first. At our scale we are not interested in "boutique" manual management. While you may not have formal software engineering experience, you are adept at automating data center and server management tasks using tools like Bash, PowerShell, or Python.
• You know servers. You have a strong understanding of server hardware, including components like storage, memory, processors, motherboards, and chipsets, as well as their interoperability. Certifications from leading server vendors such as Dell, HP, or Cisco are a valuable plus.
• You are highly organized. You will take ownership of server and parts inventory management, ensuring the accuracy of metadata such as serial numbers, in-service dates, rack locations, power circuits, and more. You have experience with common tools like JIRA, Confluence, Git, Excel, etc. to streamline and track this information effectively.
• You stay informed on industry trends, vendors, and emerging technologies. You proactively assess these developments and recommend improvements to our physical hardware infrastructure when relevant.
• You work with confidence and without an ego. Our engineers have deep knowledge and exercise a high degree of leadership and autonomy in their daily work. You hold strong, well-founded opinions and advocate for what you believe is right, while remaining open to new perspectives. You are skilled at evaluating trade-offs, willing to be proven wrong, and quick to support your teammates through challenges. Though you may have strong opinions, you are always open to change and growth.
• You value, foster and actively seek out diversity. As part of a global team with varied backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, you embrace ideas different from your own and excel at finding common ground to build on.
• You are a creative thinker. One who is unafraid to challenge the status quo and not bound by "the way things have always been done". What matters most to us is not what you already know, but your ability to learn, innovate, and think outside the box. We do not need engineers who have all the answers-we need those who can invent solutions to problems that have not even been imagined yet.

What We Value:

What matters most to us is what and how you can contribute. We are not focused on the specific degree you have or the exact technologies you have worked with. The diversity of technical challenges is one of the most exciting aspects of being an engineer at The Trade Desk, and we do not expect you to know every technology we use from day one. What we do care about is your ability to learn quickly and tackle complex problems with the right tools.

Our culture runs much deeper than just having fun together (though, we do that well too...) - we are looking for team members who are trust-builders, generous collaborators, scrappy problem-solvers, and gritty pursuers of excellence.

Does this sound like you? If so, we welcome your application and the chance to meet you.

The Trade Desk does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm recruiters. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of The Trade Desk. The Trade Desk is an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.

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