Senior Compute Engineer

About Torus

Torus is headquartered in Utah and is expanding manufacturing at our 545,000-square-foot facility in Salt Lake City called GigaOne. We are the world’s first mesh energy infrastructure, uniting communities through resilient, sustainable, and intelligent power. We design, engineer, manufacture, install, and support our systems end-to-end, standing behind them throughout their lifecycle. Torus systems help reduce costs, lower emissions, and protect facilities from outages, while strengthening the security and reliability of the broader utility grid. Torus is committed to American manufacturing, engineering excellence, and building energy systems that last.

Torus has raised over $267 million from investors like Magnetar, Mercado, ICONIQ and Origin Ventures. The investments are helping to accelerate deployment of modular power plants across utilities, data centers, and industrial sectors. This investor confidence reflects the strength of our team, technology as well as the scale of the problem we are solving. 

At Torus, you will be part of something larger than a single product or technology. Your work will help build energy infrastructure that supports and strengthens our electrical grid, critical  systems, industry, and communities for decades to come. We value accountability, collaboration, and clear thinking. We are looking for people who want to solve hard problems and build things that matter.

About the Role

The Senior Compute Engineer will own the design, provisioning, and lifecycle of the compute infrastructure that powers Torus Systems. You will take GPU and CPU servers from rack to production-ready, building repeatable, secure, automated processes for bare-metal bring-up, out-of-band management, and fleet operations at scale.

This is a hands-on, deeply technical role for an engineer who is equally comfortable at the BMC console, in a Linux shell, and writing the automation that replaces both. You will set the standards for how we commission, configure, and maintain compute and its GPU fabric across multiple sites, and you will mentor junior engineers as the team grows.

Who You Are

You build technology people can rely on, and when it breaks, you find out why. You write down what you learn so the next engineer doesn’t start from zero.

• You ask before you push back. You find out what others know about the environment before you reject a design or change a config, and you assume good intent.
• You say it early and directly. You flag risks and missed windows as soon as you see them, give clear feedback, and praise good work openly.
• You build on strengths. You look for what each teammate does well and use it to cover the team’s gaps.
• You lead with the answer. Incident updates, change requests, and runbooks open with the status and the action needed.
• You move fast and test first. You automate repeatable work and validate before rollout.
• You think in systems. Network, compute, software, and security decisions depend on each other, and on power and cooling at the site. You use telemetry and logs to make the call, and when a technical preference conflicts with what the customer needs, the customer wins.

Responsibilities

Bare-metal hardware and BMC management

• Configure and standardize BMCs (Supermicro IPMI and Redfish, or equivalent such as iDRAC or iLO): network settings, user and role management, certificates, alerting, and firmware
• Define hardware-side provisioning standards (BIOS/UEFI settings, boot order, option ROM settings, storage and RAID configuration) and hand off to the MAAS-based provisioning platform operated by Systems Engineering
• Secure the out-of-band management plane: dedicated management networks, credential rotation, disabling unused services, and access controls
• Own firmware lifecycle management for BIOS, BMC, CPLD, NICs, storage controllers, and GPUs, including testing and staged rollout

GPU compute and fabric

• Own GPU node bring-up and validation: drivers and CUDA stack, GPU and NVLink health, DCGM or equivalent diagnostics, and burn-in
• Own the node side of the GPU fabric (InfiniBand or RoCE Ethernet, ConnectX 400G-class NICs): NIC firmware, link validation, rail-aligned cabling and port mapping, breakouts, and fabric manager integration
• Validate optics, cables, and MPO polarity against the design before nodes enter production
• Work with Network Engineering on switch-side fabric configuration and cluster-level performance validation

Power, cooling, and physical standards

• Own server-to-PDU outlet mapping and labeling, and define staged power-on procedures that respect branch circuit limits and inrush
• Define power capping and load-balancing practices across PDU branches, and review electrical load before large power events
• Understand the thermal and liquid-cooling dependencies (CDU, chiller) of the nodes you commission, and coordinate with facilities on maintenance windows
• Establish and enforce naming, asset-tagging, and inventory standards across sites

Compute architecture and standards

• Define reference builds and configuration baselines for standard and GPU/accelerated compute nodes
• Evaluate and validate server hardware, working with procurement on specs, vendor comparisons, and quote review, including the optics and cabling bill of materials

Commissioning and quality

• Develop and maintain commissioning checklists and acceptance tests, including burn-in, stress testing, and hardware validation
• Verify network, storage, and compute readiness before nodes enter production
• Drive root cause analysis on failed hardware and recurring provisioning issues, and work RMAs with vendors
• Define the onboarding and offboarding procedure for nodes handed to a tenant or hosting partner, including BMC credential rotation, firmware verification, and out-of-band-only verification where a third party owns the host OS

Automation and fleet operations

• Build and maintain automation (Python, Bash, Ansible, or similar) for hardware configuration, configuration drift detection, and fleet registration
• Integrate nodes with monitoring, logging, and endpoint security tooling, including BMC sensor telemetry (IPMI and Redfish) into the observability platform and detection of wedged or flapping BMCs
• Maintain patching and update processes with minimal downtime

Security and compliance

• Apply hardening standards (CIS benchmarks or equivalent) to hosts and management interfaces
• Support audit and compliance efforts against NIST and CIS-aligned frameworks through configuration evidence and documentation
• Partner with security engineering on vulnerability remediation, including firmware-level vulnerabilities

Collaboration and leadership

• Work with network engineering on VLANs, management network design, and site turn-up
• Work with systems engineering on MAAS enlistment and commissioning, images, and telemetry integration
• Mentor junior engineers and technicians, and review their commissioning work
• Produce clear runbooks, diagrams, and technical documentation
• Provide escalation support for complex hardware and provisioning incidents

Required Experience

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 5+ years of experience in systems engineering, data center operations, or infrastructure engineering, with significant bare-metal server experience
• Hands-on experience configuring and managing BMCs at scale (Supermicro IPMI, iDRAC, iLO, or similar), including Redfish and IPMI tooling
• Hands-on experience with GPU or accelerated compute nodes: drivers, firmware, and burn-in validation
• Working knowledge of high-speed server networking (25/100/400G, RDMA, RoCE or InfiniBand), including optics, breakouts, and cabling
• Strong Linux administration skills (RHEL, Ubuntu, or similar), including networking, storage, and troubleshooting at the command line
• Familiarity with automated provisioning tools and methods (PXE/iPXE, cloud-init, MAAS, Foreman, Ansible, or equivalent)
• Solid understanding of server hardware: CPUs, memory, RAID/storage controllers, NICs, and firmware
• Working knowledge of networking fundamentals relevant to compute, including VLANs, LACP/bonding, and out-of-band management networks
• Proficiency in at least one scripting language (Python or Bash)
• Experience writing technical documentation, runbooks, and commissioning or acceptance procedures
• Ability to work independently, prioritize across competing tasks, and mentor less experienced teammates
• Willingness to travel within Utah, with occasional travel to remote sites
• Willingness to be part of an on-call rotation

Preferred Experience

• Experience with InfiniBand fabric management (UFM or similar) and rail-optimized GPU cluster design
• Familiarity with liquid-cooled systems (CDU, direct-to-chip) or high-density power distribution (switched or metered PDUs)
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code and configuration management at fleet scale
• Experience with endpoint security and device management tools (EDR, MDM)
• Exposure to hardware security practices: secure boot, TPM, firmware signing, and supply chain validation
• Experience operating bare-metal infrastructure for third-party tenants or hosting partners
• Familiarity with OT/ICS or energy infrastructure environments
• Knowledge of NIST, CIS, IEC 62443, NERC CIP, CMMC and similar security frameworks
• Relevant certifications (RHCSA/RHCE, Linux Foundation, vendor server certifications)
• Experience with monitoring and observability stacks (Datadog, Prometheus, Grafana, or similar)

Additional Details

Background Check All candidates are subject to a background check.

Location This role is a hybrid remote position based in Salt Lake City. The Compute Engineer will be expected to travel to Torus locations located in Salt Lake and Utah counties as needed.

Compensation $150,000 - $190,000 (Note: We have the flexibility to hire at different levels, which may impact the corresponding pay range.)

Work Authorization Applicants must already have the legal authorization to work in the US without requiring any employer sponsorship.

Physical Requirements

• Regularly operates a computer and other peripheral office equipment such as a printer or mouse.
• Ability to communicate information so others can understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
• Must report to work reliably and with the ability to use full and unimpaired skills and judgment to safely execute your job.
• Proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking English required.
• When on the production floor, required to don personal protective equipment to include, but not limited to ear protection, gloves, eye protection and/or safety helmet.
• When on the production floor, ability to observe, detect and respond to audible and visual machine malfunction warnings.
• Ability to lift and install servers using a server lift or team lift, and to push and pull loaded carts and racks.
• Ability to stand, bend, and kneel for extended periods in data center environments with elevated noise and varying temperatures.
• Ability to work around energized power distribution equipment, following required electrical safety procedures and training.
• Ability to ascend ladders and work at heights. 
• Ability to work outside normal business hours for maintenance windows and power events.
• Ability to participate in an on-call rotation, including responding to alerts outside business hours.
• Ability to travel to Torus sites in Salt Lake and Utah counties and occasionally to remote sites.

Our Perks & Benefits

Benefits eligibility is based on employment status.

Financial

• Employee Rewards Package including equity
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
• Torus paid life and AD&D Insurance with options to purchase additional coverage
• Voluntary short- and long-term disability insurance

Health & Wellness

• Health Benefits Package: Choice between traditional PPO or HSA-eligible medical plans with Torus covering 50% of medical premiums; Dental insurance; and Vision insurance
• Plan participants have access to telehealth services, mental health support and coaching, and exclusive discounts on brands, dining, entertainment, and more.

Time Off

• Unlimited discretionary PTO
• 10 paid company holidays
• Waiting period-free 100% paid parental leave

Culture & Community

• Regular company-wide offsites to showcase our progress and learnings. A time to step back, think strategically, and work on the business together.
• Team members receive Torus branded gear
• Peer Recognition Program
• Fully stocked break rooms with free snacks and drinks. Because great work deserves great fuel.

Torus is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

Torus participates in E-Verify. Once you accept a job offer, we will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from your Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.

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