DigitalOcean is the Inference Cloud — a full-stack, production-ready cloud platform built to run AI applications with predictable performance, sustainable economics, and radically simpler operations at scale. We are built for teams turning AI into real products — not just training models. Our advantage is not fewer features, but fewer failure modes when operating AI at scale — combining minimal operational overhead, predictable cost efficiency, and a full-stack cloud that works as a system. Hyperscalers are broad by design. Neoclouds are infrastructure-first. DigitalOcean is inference-first — with a real cloud underneath. It combines inference-optimized compute, managed inference software, and integrated cloud capabilities that reduce operational burden for teams running real workloads. Inference is the foundation—not the boundary. Everything else builds on top of it.
Systems Engineer II
Location
United States
Posted
3 days ago
Salary
$107K - $134K / year
Job Description
Dive in and do the best work of your career at DigitalOcean. Journey alongside a strong community of top talent who are relentless in their drive to build the simplest scalable cloud. If you have a growth mindset, naturally like to think big and bold, and are energized by the fast-paced environment of a true industry disruptor, you’ll find your place here. We value winning together—while learning, having fun, and making a profound difference for the dreamers and builders in the world.
We want people who are passionate about optimizing and troubleshooting data center hardware at mega-scale so our customers don’t have to worry!
Reporting to the Manager of Infra Machines Design, you will act as the team lead for sustaining engineering efforts for the hardware infrastructure of the DigitalOcean server fleet. The ideal candidate will be eager to face new challenges as DigitalOcean continues to scale its data center footprint and infrastructure cloud capacity and explore new technologies and capabilities to bring to our customers, providing top-tier support for our hardware and firmware in the DO fleet.
What You’ll Be Doing:
- Act as technical lead for the Sustaining Engineering team in the Infra::Machines::Design Organization
- Support server hardware, cabling, and networking hardware throughout its operational lifecycle Monitor the #machines channel and MACHINES JIRA project for issues and drive them to resolution
- Participate in 24/7 on-call rotation with other members of the team
- Act as Tier 2 escalation for Datacenter Operations (DCOPS) and Cloud Operations (CloudOps) regarding hardware and firmware components
- Develop and maintain standards and practices for DigitalOcean hardware operations
- Work closely with the Qualification team, Firmware team, Fleet Lifecycle Engineering team (FLE), Foresight team, and Infrastructure Services team to resolve issues in tooling, firmware packages, hardware components, and other operational concerns
- Liase with DCOPS teams to develop, deliver, and support hardware-related runbooks
- Liase with vendor support teams regarding hardware and firmware issues and drive issues to resolution Identify gaps in tooling and operational processes and engage appropriate peer teams to close gaps
- Help with development of tooling and associated runbooks to address gaps in operational capabilities around hardware and firmware operationsCoordinate with Ops teams on monitoring thresholds, failure modes and alerting
- Assist in troubleshooting cause of failures and work to prevent them in the future Raise the quality bar in the delivery of our cloud infrastructure by identifying industry best practices and working to adopt them
What We’ll Expect From You:
- Technical Degree (BS Computer Science/Engineering) or equivalent practical experience
- Hands-on experience operating a cloud infrastructure at mid-tier scale or better
- An in-depth understanding of server hardware, firmware, and infrastructure
- Strong knowledge in troubleshooting techniques, Python and BASHExtra points for JTAG debugging / Firmware troubleshooting / Wire sniffing experience
- Clear communication and collaboration across key stakeholders An insatiable passion for constant improvement
Compensation Range:
- $107,000 - $134,000
*This is a remote role
JR: 2026-7601
#LI-Remote
Why You’ll Like Working for DigitalOcean
- We innovate with purpose. You’ll be a part of a cutting-edge technology company with an upward trajectory, who are proud to simplify cloud and AI so builders can spend more time creating software that changes the world. As a member of the team, you will be a Shark who thinks big, bold, and scrappy, like an owner with a bias for action and a powerful sense of responsibility for customers, products, employees, and decisions.
- We prioritize career development. At DO, you’ll do the best work of your career. You will work with some of the smartest and most interesting people in the industry. We are a high-performance organization that will always challenge you to think big. Our organizational development team will provide you with resources to ensure you keep growing. We provide employees with reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education. All employees have access to LinkedIn Learning's 10,000+ courses to support their continued growth and development.
- We care about your well-being. Regardless of your location, we will provide you with a competitive array of benefits to support you from our Employee Assistance Program to Local Employee Meetups to flexible time off policy, to name a few. While the philosophy around our benefits is the same worldwide, specific benefits may vary based on local regulations and preferences.
- We reward our employees. The salary range for this position is based on market data, relevant years of experience, and skills. You may qualify for a bonus in addition to base salary; bonus amounts are determined based on company and individual performance. We also provide equity compensation to eligible employees, including equity grants upon hire and the option to participate in our Employee Stock Purchase Program.
- DigitalOcean is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.
Application Limit: You may apply to a maximum of 3 positions within any 180-day period. This policy promotes better role-candidate matching and encourages thoughtful applications where your qualifications align most strongly.
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