Hardware Engineer (Poughkeepsie, NY)

Introduction

Qualify and test hardware servers and components such as CPU's, Memory, Disk Drives, NIC Cards, Switch cards, O/S, Firmware, and Security Encryption used in IBM Cloud's world-wide public data centers. Responsibilities will also involve working with research, procurement, shipping, software, and development teams to fully qualify and test products before they reach the field. Collaboration and interaction with multiple vendors is also required to communicate specifications, debug failures, drive improvements, and understand new product introductions.

Your Role and Responsibilities

IBM Cloud Poughkeepsie Position for a Hardware Server Qualification support Engineer for Qualification, Test, Diagnosis, and Repair. This role is related to component and server qualification for the latest x86 server technology, GPU accelerator technology (for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning workloads), and networking technology used in high density systems to support an enterprise Cloud customer base. The basic building blocks of cloud servers (compute, storage, and network) which include CPU's, NIC cards, Memory DIMMs, Drives, and S/W must qualified for the IBM public cloud.

This position is for a hardware developer responsible for qualifying hardware and firmware used on various components, cards, and boards which make up the latest servers used in IBM-Cloud Datacenters. The individual will work on a small team focused on developing and qualifying integrated hardware solutions to support IaaS (Information as a Service) on best of breed Cloud Architecture. The individual should be very detail oriented with excellent documentation and communication skills. Hardware experience and familiarity with x86 computer servers, components, and GPU based systems is preferred.

The candidate should also be familiar with server hardware subsystems including processor memory storage, I/O adapters, PCI busses and switches, and BMCs. Familiarity with FW/BIOS updates and settings and network booting is preferred and knowledge of JIRA, Redfish, and xCAT, are a plus, but not required. Knowledge of security vulnerabilities and patching of systems would be useful.

Candidate is responsible for Server Qualification prior to System Qualification and Field Deployment

• Booting Servers to test for existence and functionality of all components

• Qualification of Server level Secure Boot and Memory Boot

• Confirming all Secure Measures and encryption measures are compliant

• Testing proprietary Baseboard Memory Control / OpenBMC on all server configurations

• Automation of tests using Redfish for new products and regression on existing products

• Qualification of each new vendor version of BMC, BIOS, and firmware code

• Hardware upgrades and network connections

Required Technical and Professional Expertise

• Booting Servers to test for existence and functionality of all components

• Qualification of Server level Secure Boot and Memory Boot

• Confirming all Secure Measures and encryption measures are compliant

• Testing proprietary Baseboard Memory Control / OpenBMC on all server configurations

• Automation of tests using Redfish for new products and regression on existing products

• Qualification of each new vendor version of BMC, BIOS, and firmware code

• Hardware upgrades and network connections

Preferred Technical and Professional Expertise

• Hardware Qualification and Documentation

• Verification of Hardware & Firmware Functions, and Data Analysis

• Familiarity with server hardware design including processors, memory, storage drives, and I/O adapters, BIOS, and BMC

• Familiarity with server bring-up including firmware/bios updates, bios settings, network boosting, and basic networking is very beneficial

• Familiar with typical datacenter power, cooling infrastructure, and datacenter energy efficiency

• Some familiarity with network design.