> This is the markdown version of https://www.classet.ai/blog/data-center-technician-job-description-template > Learn more at https://www.classet.ai ![Low-poly illustration of a checklist panel in front of server racks](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fblog%2Fdata-center-technician-job-description-template.png&w=3840&q=75) # Data Center Technician Job Description + Phone Screen Questions (Template) A copy-paste data center technician job description with required certs, shift language, and 12 phone-screen questions with what a good answer sounds like. [![Paul Jones](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.basehub.com%2Fe0b5701f%2F6599306507912123f90f150a8bfaaf6c%2Fscreenshot-2026-01-28-at-10.53.16-am.png%3Fwidth%3D100%26height%3D100%26quality%3D100&w=96&q=75) Paul JonesHead of Growth at Classet ](/blog/authors/paul-jones) June 10, 2026 Skilled Trades, Guides & Insights Most data center technician job descriptions are written by someone who has never walked the hall. They ask for a bachelor's degree the job does not need, list "Linux" and "fiber splicing" in the same breath as "lift 50 pounds," and say nothing about the one thing that decides whether a hire lasts: the shift. Then the posting sits on a job board for 126 days, which is the average time to fill a data center role according to Data Center TALNT, while the techs who could do the work take offers from the campus down the road. This is the template we give operators and the contractors who staff their commissioning teams. Copy it, cut what does not apply to your facility, and use the 12 phone-screen questions at the end to find out in ten minutes whether the person on the other end has done the work. Quick answer A data center technician is the person who keeps hardware, power, and cooling running inside a data hall on a 24-hour rotation: racking and cabling servers, swapping failed drives and power supplies, patching fiber, walking scheduled rounds, and responding to UPS, generator, and cooling alarms. A job description that fills the role names four things the typical posting omits. It states the shift pattern in the title, not just "rotating shifts." It separates required certifications (OSHA 10 and NFPA 70E training) from preferred ones (CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+). It gives a pay range against the BLS proxy median of $61,860. And it names the campus location, because the commute drives month-two attrition. The template below does all four, then adds 12 phone-screen questions. ## What a data center technician does on shift Before the template, the job itself, because the description only works if it matches the shift. A tech on a 12-hour rotation spends the first hour on handoff and rounds: temperatures at the rack and row level, airflow in the cold aisle, power draw on the PDUs, anything flagged overnight in the ticketing system. The middle of the shift is tickets. Rack and cable new hardware to the build-out spec, swap a failed drive or power supply, run a fiber patch, label it, close the ticket. The last hour is documentation and handoff again. Then there are the alarms. A UPS goes to battery, a CRAC unit trips, a generator fails a weekly test. The tech is the first person on it and decides in about a minute whether to fix, escalate to the facilities team, or call the on-call electrician. That judgment, more than any certification, is what you are hiring for. The role splits into two tracks that job descriptions often blur. Hardware or operations technicians live on the IT side: racks, cabling, break-fix, ticket queues. Critical facilities technicians live on the mechanical and electrical side: switchgear, UPS, generators, chillers. Small sites combine them. Hyperscale sites separate them. Decide which one you are hiring before you write a word. ## The template Copy the block below into your ATS or job board. Bracketed items are yours to fill in. **Job title:** Data Center Technician (\[Shift: e.g., Nights, 4-on-4-off, 6pm to 6am\]) **Location:** \[Campus name, city, state\]. On-site, \[X\] miles from \[nearest highway or landmark\]. Badge access required. **Pay:** \[$XX to $XX per hour\] plus \[shift differential of $X per hour for nights and weekends\], overtime after 40 hours, \[on-call stipend if applicable\]. **Schedule:** \[12-hour shifts on a rotating 4-on-4-off pattern, alternating days and nights every X weeks\], including weekends and holidays. Facilities run 24/7/365. **What you will do** - Rack, cable, and label servers, switches, and storage hardware to build-out specifications - Swap failed drives, memory, power supplies, and network cards, then verify the fix in the ticketing system - Walk the data hall on scheduled rounds to check temperatures, airflow, and power draw at the rack and row level - Monitor UPS, generator, and switchgear alarms and escalate electrical faults to the facilities team - Run structured cabling, patch fiber and copper, and test links with certification tools - Respond to hardware and environmental alarms on shift, including nights and weekends - Keep asset records and change logs accurate for every piece of equipment you touch - Follow lockout/tagout, arc-flash, and confined-space procedures around live electrical and mechanical systems **Required** - High school diploma or GED - \[1 to 2\] years in a data center, network operations center, IT hardware support, or an electrical or HVAC trade - OSHA 10 (OSHA 30 preferred) and NFPA 70E arc-flash awareness, or willingness to complete both in your first \[90\] days at our expense - Able to lift 50 pounds, work from ladders and server lifts, and stand or walk for most of a 12-hour shift - Able to pass a background check and hold badge access to a secured facility - Reliable transportation to \[campus\] for shifts starting at \[6am and 6pm\] **Preferred** - CompTIA A+, Network+, or Server+ - Fiber optic certification (FOA CFOT or equivalent) - Experience with a DCIM or ticketing system (\[name yours\]) - Electrical or HVAC trade background for critical facilities work **Why this site:** \[Two sentences a tech would care about: new build, growth path to critical facilities or NOC, tuition support, the specific shift differential.\] Two notes on the template. First, put the shift in the title. A tech who cannot work nights will not apply, and one who wants nights will apply faster; either way you saved a phone call. Second, list the certifications you will pay for. Operators that say "OSHA 30 required" lose candidates who have OSHA 10 and would earn the 30 in a month. Say what you will train. ## Required certifications, and which ones gate the hire None of these are legally required to work as a data center technician. That is the honest answer, and it is why the split between required and preferred matters so much in the posting. Certification What it covers Require or prefer? OSHA 10 / OSHA 30 General construction and industry safety, 10- or 30-hour outreach course Require 10, prefer 30; pay for it NFPA 70E Electrical safety in the workplace, arc-flash boundaries, PPE Require for anyone near live gear; pay for it CompTIA A+ Hardware, OS, and troubleshooting fundamentals Prefer for hardware techs CompTIA Network+ / Server+ Networking and server fundamentals Prefer FOA CFOT (fiber) Fiber optic installation and testing Prefer at colocation sites CDCTP / Uptime Institute courses Data-center-specific operations Prefer for senior and critical facilities roles The [OSHA Outreach Training Program](https://www.osha.gov/training/outreach) is a one- or four-day course available through hundreds of authorized trainers, so requiring it before day one filters out good people for no reason. [NFPA 70E](https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-70e-standard-development/70e) matters more: it is the standard that defines the arc-flash boundaries your techs will work inside, and most operators run a one-day course in onboarding. [CompTIA A+](https://www.comptia.org/certifications/a) is the most common hardware credential in job postings, but a tech who has swapped 500 drives without it is not worse than one who passed the exam last month. ## Shift language that fills the role The shift pattern is the biggest reason data center technician postings underperform, so write it in plain terms. "Rotating shifts" tells a candidate nothing. "12-hour shifts, 4 on, 4 off, days and nights alternating every four weeks, with a $3.50 per hour night differential" tells them exactly whether their life fits. If you run a Pitman schedule (2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off, every other weekend off), say Pitman and describe it. Techs who have worked one know exactly what it means. Also say how far the site is from somewhere. Data center campuses sit on cheap land outside town, and a 45-minute commute at 5am after a 12-hour night is the number one reason a new hire quits in month two. The [data center hiring page](/use-cases/data-centers) covers how Joy asks about commute and shift fit on the first call for exactly that reason. ## Pay guidance The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not track data center technicians as their own occupation. The closest federal proxy, computer user support specialists, had a May 2025 national median of $61,860 a year, with the 90th percentile at $100,540, according to [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151232.htm). Data center employers commonly pay above that proxy, and the shift differential, on-call pay, and overtime push critical facilities techs higher still. The fuller breakdown is on the [data center technician career page](/skilled-trades-careers/data-center-technician). Whatever you land on, publish the range in the posting. A range gets more applications than "competitive pay," and it gets fewer applications from people who will turn the offer down. ## 12 phone-screen questions and what a good answer sounds like These are the questions we configure Joy to ask when an operator hires data center technicians. Each takes under a minute, and the whole screen runs about ten. There is no scorecard here. The point is to hear whether the person has done the work, then let your hiring manager decide. The longer version, 15 questions grouped by topic, is in our post on [data center technician interview questions](/blog/data-center-technician-interview-questions). 1. **Walk me through your last shift in a data center or server room.** A good answer has rounds, tickets, and a handoff in it, in that order. Someone who has never done the job describes tasks; someone who has describes a rhythm. 2. **Tell me about a piece of hardware you replaced recently and how you confirmed the fix.** Listen for the verification step: checked the link light, watched the array rebuild, closed the ticket with a note. 3. **What do you check on rounds, and what reading would make you stop and act?** Cold-aisle temperature, PDU load, alarms on the CRAC. A specific threshold is a good sign. 4. **Have you worked around live electrical equipment? What procedures did you follow?** You want to hear lockout/tagout, arc-flash PPE, or a permit process by name. 5. **Which certifications do you hold today, and which have expired?** Honesty here matters more than the list. 6. **Describe a time an alarm went off and you had to decide whether to fix it or escalate.** The good answer includes who they called and why. 7. **What ticketing or DCIM tools have you used?** Any real system is fine. "We used spreadsheets" is fine too if the rest of the answers are strong. 8. **Have you run or terminated fiber? Tested it?** If yes, ask what tester. If no, that is a training item, not a disqualifier for hardware roles. 9. **Our shifts are 12 hours, 4 on and 4 off, rotating days and nights. Have you worked a schedule like that, and how did it go?** The answer tells you whether they will still be here in six months. 10. **How far is the campus from where you live, and how would you get here for a 6am start?** A real plan beats an optimistic one. 11. **Can you lift 50 pounds and work from a ladder or server lift for most of a shift?** Straightforward, and legally fine to ask as a job requirement. 12. **What questions do you have about the role or the site?** A tech who asks about the shift differential, the growth path to critical facilities, or the age of the gear is engaged. Silence is information too. Joy asks these in the candidate's language, follows up when someone mentions specific equipment, and writes the answers into a structured summary with the recording attached, usually within 20 minutes of the application. The hiring manager reads it and decides who to call back. If you want to see it run against your own job description, [book a demo](/demo). And if you are building the facility rather than running it, the same approach works for the electricians and pipefitters on the construction side, which is where our guide to [OSHA certifications for construction workers](/blog/osha-certifications-construction-workers) picks up. ## Common questions What does a data center technician do day to day? A data center technician's shift runs on three activities: rounds, tickets, and alarms. The first hour covers handoff and rounds, checking temperatures and airflow in the cold aisle and power draw at the PDU. The middle of the shift is a ticket queue: racking and cabling new servers to the build-out spec, swapping failed drives and power supplies, running and testing fiber patches, and closing each ticket with a verification note. Alarms interrupt both. When a UPS transfers to battery or a CRAC unit trips, the technician is first on it and decides within about a minute whether to fix, escalate to facilities, or call the on-call electrician. Most sites run 12-hour shifts on a 24-hour rotation, so nights, weekends, and holidays are part of the job. What is the difference between a data center technician and a data center operations technician? Usually nothing, because most operators use the two titles interchangeably in postings. Where a real distinction exists, it splits along the IT and facilities line. A data center operations or hardware technician works racks, cabling, break-fix, and the ticket queue, and typically arrives from a help desk or hardware support background with a CompTIA credential. A critical facilities technician works switchgear, UPS systems, generators, and chillers, and typically arrives from an electrical or HVAC trade with NFPA 70E training already in hand. Small sites combine both roles in one person. Hyperscale sites separate them, and the facilities track pays more. Decide which one the requisition is for before writing a word, then put that answer in the job title so candidates self-select correctly. Should I require a degree for a data center technician? No. The standard requirement at most operators is a high school diploma or GED plus one to two years of hands-on work in a data center, a network operations center, an IT hardware role, or an electrical or HVAC trade. Requiring a bachelor's degree shrinks an already tight applicant pool without improving the hires, and it screens out the military technical ratings and trade backgrounds that produce strong critical facilities technicians. Dennis Cronin of 7x24 Exchange has called the industry's habit of demanding five years of experience for entry-level roles a closed-loop problem: candidates cannot get hired without experience and cannot gain experience without being hired, so operators end up poaching each other rather than growing the pool. A degree requirement compounds the same trap. Which certifications should a data center technician job description require? Require two and prefer the rest. OSHA 10 and NFPA 70E training belong in the required list for anyone working near live equipment, and the posting should state that the employer pays for both within the first 90 days, since the OSHA Outreach course runs one to four days and most operators run NFPA 70E during onboarding. Prefer CompTIA A+, Network+, or Server+ for hardware roles; CompTIA describes Server+ as the standard credential for data center environments. Prefer a fiber certification such as FOA CFOT at colocation sites where cabling volume is high. Data-center-specific credentials, including CNet's five-day CDCTP and Uptime Institute operations courses, belong on senior and critical facilities postings rather than entry level, because employers usually fund them after the hire. How should I write the shift in a data center technician posting? Spell out five details: shift length, the rotation pattern, how often crews swap between days and nights, weekend expectations, and the differential in dollars. A line such as "12-hour shifts, 4 on 4 off, rotating days and nights every four weeks, $3.50 per hour night differential" gives a technician enough to say yes or no without a phone call. The phrase "rotating shifts" gives nothing. Name the pattern if it has a name, since technicians who have worked a Pitman 2-2-3 schedule know exactly what every-other-weekend-off means. Put the shift in the job title as well, because a candidate who cannot work nights will skip the posting and one who wants nights will apply faster. Uptime Institute advises against shifts longer than 12 hours. ## Key points - Decide whether you are hiring a hardware technician or a critical facilities technician before you write the posting; the skills and certs differ. - Put the shift pattern and the commute in the posting. They decide retention more than any qualification. - Require OSHA 10 and NFPA 70E and pay for them; prefer CompTIA and fiber credentials rather than requiring them. - Publish a pay range. The BLS proxy median is $61,860; data center employers commonly pay above it plus differentials. - Screen with 12 questions in 10 minutes, listen for rounds-tickets-handoff, and let the hiring manager decide. ## Next steps Paste the template into Joy and it drafts the phone screen from your own posting, then calls applicants within minutes of applying. [See how it works](/demo), or read how the same approach handles the construction side on the [data center hiring page](/use-cases/data-centers). [![Paul Jones](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.basehub.com%2Fe0b5701f%2F6599306507912123f90f150a8bfaaf6c%2Fscreenshot-2026-01-28-at-10.53.16-am.png%3Fwidth%3D100%26height%3D100%26quality%3D100&w=128&q=75) Paul Jones Head of Growth at Classet Paul comes from an operator background running an Alpine-owned company, and brings firsthand experience with the hiring challenges Classet was built to solve. He's driven by a belief that the right technology can make meaningful work more accessible. ](/blog/authors/paul-jones) Follow Classet in Google Add classet.ai as a preferred source and our hiring research is more likely to show up in your Top Stories and AI Overviews. [Add as preferred source →](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=classet.ai) ## Explore More ### Use Cases - [RPO / BPO Recruiting](/use-cases/call-centers-bpo) - [Data Centers Recruiting](/use-cases/data-centers) - [Healthcare Recruiting](/use-cases/healthcare) ### Integrations - [Greenhouse](/integrations/greenhouse) - [Bullhorn](/integrations/bullhorn) - [Lever](/integrations/lever)