C/C++ systems engineers on Linux. A server or a storage system is a Linux machine whose software has to keep data safe and the box running even when parts fail. Writing that software is most of the hiring here, and this is among the places where the role is most concentrated. The work covers storage software and file systems, including NFS and SMB, the protocols that share files across a network. It also covers the Linux kernel and device drivers, the board support that brings new hardware to life, and the networking code between servers. In networking equipment the same role mostly writes software that routes packets. Here it mostly writes storage and operating-system code.

Embedded firmware engineers. Every server has a small second computer on its main board, called the baseboard management controller. It switches the server on, watches its temperature and fans, and lets an administrator reach it from far away. Firmware engineers write that controller's code, the BIOS and UEFI that start the server, and the firmware of storage and power controllers. They are the second role here, hired more often than at most product companies, and the postings require device drivers, PCIe, I2C and SPI, with some FPGA work.

Test engineers. Before a new server ships, someone has to prove that its firmware, BIOS and storage software behave on real hardware, and that the box survives stress and works with the equipment around it. Much of the testing here is that kind of system testing, automated in Python with pytest, and the rest covers the management software, in Java. Testers make up about the same share of hiring as at other product companies.

Cloud and DevOps engineers. A data centre may hold thousands of servers that have to be managed as one fleet, and clusters built for AI. Cloud and DevOps engineers build and run the software that does this, in Python and Go on Kubernetes, with Ansible for configuration. They are a somewhat smaller group here than at most product companies, and some postings also require experience with infrastructure for AI.

Java engineers. Java is far less common here than elsewhere. Where it appears, the work is the management and service software around servers, such as APIs, back ends and lifecycle tools, in Spring with Kafka and RabbitMQ. Strikingly, most of these Java postings also require experience of integrating large language models, so the Java work here is largely about adding AI features to server management.

GenAI engineers. At the server makers, Dell Technologies, HPE and Lenovo, GenAI engineers are few, adding AI assistants to management consoles. At Equinix, the data-centre operator, they make up a much larger part of a small team, building agents and assistants that help run the buildings.

Also present in small numbers. Data engineers work on fleet telemetry and site data. Android engineers appear at Lenovo, a maker of both devices and servers, whose phones are described in Market Segment 36.1, Smart home appliances and consumer electronics, in Industry Vertical 36. There are also a few chip designers, and Software Engineer, Security roles, meaning software engineers who specialise in security and build login systems, cloud and network protections, and the checks that keep code safe. Here they secure firmware and the server platform.

Rare here. Frontend, .NET, Python and Node backend, SAP and ServiceNow barely appear. Salesforce and Oracle work appears at Equinix, but for its own sales and back office, not its product.