Data Center Operations Technician (SiteOps)

At River AI, our mission is to create personal AI owned and shaped by each individual. To achieve this, we are rewriting the entire stack from scratch: personal hardware for local inference, bespoke training infrastructure, next-generation UIs, and frontier deep learning research.. About the Role We are looking for a hands-on Data Center Operations Technician to keep the infrastructure behind River’s AI systems running reliably. Your goal is to bring new equipment online safely, diagnose and repair hardware faults, and minimize downtime across our compute infrastructure. You will own day-to-day hardware operations, from receiving and installing equipment to troubleshooting failures and retiring systems. Working closely with infrastructure engineers and vendors, you will help maintain a safe, organized, and reliable data center. Who we are At River AI, our mission is to create personal AI owned and shaped by each individual. To achieve this, we are building the full stack required for people and organizations to create AI models of their own - from training infrastructure and open-weight model post-training to personal hardware and next-generation interfaces. We are scientists, engineers, and builders from the industry’s leading technology companies and AI labs. Our team has experience scaling consumer products to hundreds of millions of users and building the infrastructure behind frontier AI systems. What You’ll Do

• Monitor servers, network devices, and facility alerts. Triage incidents and restore service quickly and safely.
• Diagnose and replace failed components, including drives, memory, power supplies, fans, network interface cards, and optics.
• Use Linux and SSH to inspect logs, investigate faults, and verify that repairs resolve the underlying issue.
• Receive, stage, rack, cable, label, and power up servers, switches, and power distribution units, then coordinate handoff for provisioning.
• Complete hardware repair and on-site support requests, including urgent incidents during on-call shifts.
• Maintain spare-parts inventory and coordinate vendor repairs, warranty claims, and return merchandise authorizations (RMAs).
• Keep accurate asset records from receipt through decommissioning, conduct physical inventory audits, and support secure hardware disposal.

Skills & Qualifications Minimum Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• At least two years of experience in a data center or a comparable mission-critical environment, including hardware, industrial, or manufacturing operations.
• Hands-on experience troubleshooting and repairing server, storage, and network hardware.
• Basic Linux skills, including connecting to servers over SSH and reading logs.
• Working knowledge of rack installation, power cabling, and copper and fiber cabling.
• A careful, methodical approach to safety, procedures, labeling, and verification.
• A collaborative mindset, clear communication, and ownership of issues through resolution..

Preferred Qualifications (We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all of these.)

• Experience supporting liquid-cooled server racks.
• Familiarity with NVIDIA GPU-based AI infrastructure, particularly B300 systems or GB300 NVL72 rack-scale platforms.
• Experience deploying, maintaining, or troubleshooting hardware in AI-focused or hyperscale data centers.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment

• Perform physical tasks including lifting equipment weighing up to 50 lb (23 kg), pushing, pulling, bending, kneeling, and using ladders, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Work in tight spaces, hot and cold aisles, and around loud equipment, including extended periods on your feet.
• Follow site safety procedures and use required personal protective equipment, including hearing protection.

Logistics & Benefits

• Location: Palo Alto, California. This is an on-site role in an active data center.
• Schedule: The data center operates around the clock. Shifts may include nights, weekends, and holidays, with participation in an on-call rotation. Additional hours may be required during deployments or maintenance windows.
• Compensation: Depending on experience and skills, the expected base pay is $30 - $50 USD per hour, plus equity
• Benefits: River AI offers generous health, dental, and vision benefits, unlimited PTO, and relocation support as needed.