Lead Data Center Project Engineer

Title: Data Center Project Engineer

Duration: 6 Month Contract to Hire

Location: Remote; This role requires 80-90% travel

Pay Rate: $70-75/hr

Required Skills & Experience

• Serve as the senior technical lead for structured cabling, rack deployment, and network/fiber infrastructure in data center environments, ensuring all solutions adhere to BICSI, TIA/EIA, and client-specific standards.
• Own technical delivery across the full project lifecycle—from design (site surveys, rack elevations, BOMs, and cabling strategies) through implementation (cabling, fiber, and hardware deployment) to closeout (testing, documentation, labeling, and client sign-off).
• Direct and mentor onsite field teams including rack build technician, low voltage technicians, cabling installers, and subcontractors.
• Perform hands-on supervision of cable pulling, dressing, patching, and termination activities (Cat6A, fiber, etc.).
• Support the installation and connectivity of core, aggregation, and leaf network infrastructure by coordinating rack/stack hardware deployment, structured cabling, patching, and uplink integration within data center environments.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive engineering documentation, including rack elevations, cable routing diagrams, patch schedules, test results, and standardized labeling schemes.
• Lead site walks, participate in kickoff meetings, and punch list reviews with internal and client stakeholders.

Core Focus Areas

• Data Center Networking: Core/leaf/spine architectures, Cisco Nexus/Meraki, Arista, Juniper, Palo Alto.
• Structured Cabling: Cat6A, OM3/OM4/OS2 fiber installations, fiber plant documentation, OSP/ISP terminations, Single Mode & Multi Mode fiber types.
• Rack & Stack: Server, storage, and networking gear installation with labeling, power, and grounding best practices.
• Connectivity & Testing: Fluke DTX/Versiv & Exfo testing, OTDR, patch field design and documentation, cross-connect management.

Nice to Have Skills & Experience

• BICSI Technician or RCDD
• CCNA/CCNP
• OSHA 10/30
• Fluke/EXFO certifications
• AutoCAD, Revit, Visio
• Smartsheet or MS Project
• Bachelors degree

Job Description

The Data Center Project Engineer – Data Center Field Engineering (Lead Level) is a senior technical delivery role responsible for the design, implementation, and oversight of physical infrastructure and networking systems within enterprise and colocation data centers. Reporting to the Data Center Field Engineering Practice Lead, this role provides end-to-end ownership of complex deployments—ranging from structured cabling and fiber plant design to high-performance data center networking infrastructure. This engineer serves as a key technical leader on the ground, managing implementation efforts, field crews, and project engineering tasks while ensuring that solutions meet technical, operational, and customer standards. The role bridges design and delivery, working closely with project managers, integration teams, and customer stakeholders.