Data Center Engineer

The global Network & Datacentre organization is expanding the team to support Millenium's growth. We are looking for an additional Datacentre Engineer to own the day-to-day operation of our Tokyo datacentre and office technology rooms. You will be responsible for the physical infrastructure for the Tokyo datacentre and multiple Tokyo office technology rooms. The role requires strong hands-on datacentre management experience and CCNA-level networking knowledge, with a strong desire to develop and apply tooling, automation, and integration to improve reliability and efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

Datacentre & Tech Room Operation

• Own the physical operation of the datacentres (power, cooling, space, cabling, security) and office technology rooms.
• Perform racking/stacking, structured cabling (copper/fibre), labelling, patching, and cable hygiene.
• Manage hardware lifecycle: installation, upgrades, moves/adds/changes, and decommissioning of servers, storage, and network gear.
• Coordinate and perform hardware replacements including RMAs with local and international vendors.
• Conduct regular inspections and capacity checks (power, cooling, space, ports) and proactively flag risks.

Infrastructure Monitoring, Incident & Change Management

• Monitor infrastructure and environmental alerts, respond to incidents, and perform first-line troubleshooting.
• Work within established ITIL/ITSM processes for incident, request, and change management (ServiceNow and Jira).
• Participate in maintenance windows and on-call/extended-hours work as needed for a 24x7 environment.
• Maintain accurate records (rack elevations, patch maps, serials, locations) in CMDB/asset inventory (ServiceNow and Nlyte).

Network Operations Support (CCNA-Level)

• Support deployment and basic configuration of network devices (switches, routers, firewalls, load balancers) under direction of Network Engineering.
• Perform physical connectivity tasks: patching, validating links, assigning and validating VLANs, and basic Layer 2/3 troubleshooting.
• Assist with basic configuration changes (e.g., access ports, trunks, simple routing changes) following strict change control.

Tooling, Automation & Integration

• Use and help enhance DCIM, monitoring, logging, and ITSM ecosystem for visibility and control of the datacentre estate.
• Contribute to the development of light automation to reduce manual tasks (inventory updates, checks, reporting).
• Contribute to the integration of the datacentre-related dataset with central platforms (CMDB, monitoring, capacity tools) via APIs and CLI tools.
• Contribute to and improve runbooks, SOPs, and documentation to standardize and automate recurring activities.

Risk, Compliance & Best Practice

• Adhere to security, compliance, and governance in accordance with Japanese regulatory requirements including the Fire Service Act (消防法), Electricity Business Act (電気事業法), and applicable JIS (Japan Industrial Standards) for structured cabling and infrastructure.
• Follow strict access control, audit, and change procedures in line with local building management and colocation facility requirements applicable to datacentre facilities.
• Ensure all activities are performed with safety, resilience, and high availability in mind to support Millennium operations.

Essential Qualifications & Experience

Experience

• 5+ years in a datacentre or large-scale infrastructure environment (financial services or other mission-critical environments a plus).
• Proven experience managing racks, cabling, hardware installation, and decommissioning in multi-cabinet environments.
• Experience supporting office technology rooms / comms rooms (IDF/MDF) in addition to core datacentres.
• Prior experience working within Japanese colocation or carrier-neutral datacentre environments is highly desirable.

Datacentre & Hardware Skills

• Strong hands-on skills in racking/stacking, structured cabling (copper and fibre), and patch management.
• Understanding of datacentre power and cooling (PDUs, UPS, dual feeds, capacity management, hot/cold aisle concepts).
• Experience with remote management technologies (IPMI, iDRAC, iLO, console servers, OOB management).

Networking Skills (CCNA-Level)

• Solid understanding of TCP/IP, VLANs, trunking, basic routing, subnetting, and access control concepts.
• Ability to perform basic configuration and CLI-based troubleshooting on enterprise switches and routers.
• CCNA certification (or equivalent knowledge/experience) strongly preferred.

Tooling, Automation & Integration

• Comfortable working with ITSM and CMDB tools (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira Service Management) for tickets and asset management.
• Basic scripting ability (Python, PowerShell, or Bash) for task automation and data manipulation.

Desired Skills & Attributes

• Must be comfortable with travelling to other cities outside of Tokyo for work.
• Experience with DCIM tools and visual rack/patch management (e.g., Nlyte, NetBox or similar).
• Strong documentation skills (rack diagrams, patching schematics, runbooks, standard operating procedures).
• High attention to detail, strong sense of ownership, and ability to work independently.
• Clear and concise communication skills in both Japanese and English; able to coordinate with local facility management, Japanese vendors, and global teams across time zones.
• Business-level Japanese language proficiency (JLPT N2 or above) strongly preferred; ability to liaise with local vendors, building management, and colocation facility staff in Japanese.
• Familiarity with Japanese business communication customs and vendor relationship management practices.