About
Table of Contents
Who I Am #
I’m Joseph Maxwell, a Datacenter Technician at Google working on production AI/ML accelerator infrastructure.
My daily work combines physical hardware turn-up and site operations: commissioning TPU accelerator clusters, diagnosing optical paths across Optical Circuit Switches (OCS), triaging complex hardware faults with agentic AI, and directing AI agents and Google Apps Script to eliminate repetitive technician workflows.
Before Google, I spent 14 years in freelance IT consultation and hardware servicing. That background taught me how to triage hardware faults quickly, manage client expectations, and execute under maintenance window pressure.
Experience #
Datacenter Technician — Google (Oct 2023 – Present) #
AI/ML Infrastructure & Deployments Commission and maintain Google Cloud TPU accelerator clusters. Travel for multi-site deployments to handle physical installation, rack-level integration, and cluster turn-up.
Optical Interconnects & Fiber Testing Isolate optical transport faults using power meters, Visual Fault Locators (VFL), and loopback plugs across fiber patch infrastructure and Optical Circuit Switches (OCS).
AI-Assisted Diagnostics & Team Knowledge Sharing Perform root-cause failure analysis across 23+ production architectures (accelerator, compute, high-density storage) by combining hands-on systems knowledge with agentic AI tooling. Actively share techniques and train teammates on practical AI workflows to speed up incident triage.
Area Logistics Tooling & Workflow Optimization Adapted an internal logistics tool from a mentor, extending and improving it with Google Apps Script, Forms, and Sheets for a key site functional area. Streamlined technician workflows, cut repetitive entries, and reduced shift handoff errors.
Storage Media Destruction Handled the secure staging, chain-of-custody tracking, and physical destruction of decommissioned storage media according to NIST SP 800-88 physical destruction standards.
Mentorship & Safety Evaluated and certified technicians on data security standards, Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) electrical safety, and hardware servicing. Served as site ergonomics champion for safe material handling during heavy rack installations.
Cross-Functional Operations Coordinate with remote deployment engineers, network operations, and site logistics leads during scheduled maintenance windows, providing clear status handoffs to protect cluster availability SLOs.
Datacenter Technician — Akkodis (Apr 2023 – Oct 2023) #
Contract datacenter operations role that led directly to my position at Google.
Freelance IT Consultant (Jan 2009 – Apr 2023 · 14 years) #
Handled technical consultation, infrastructure deployment, and hardware servicing for small businesses and private clients. Managed client relationships directly, resolving hardware failures and deploying backup systems with fast turnaround.
Skills #
| Category | Technologies |
|---|---|
| Hardware | TPU v5e/v5p, GPU servers, high-density storage, 23+ production architectures |
| Networking / Optical | Optical Circuit Switches (OCS), fiber (SC/LC/MPO), VFLs, power meters, loopback testing |
| Operating Systems | Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL/CentOS), server BIOS / IPMI / BMC, Proxmox |
| AI & Diagnostics | Agentic AI hardware triage, AI workflow training & team mentorship, root-cause analysis (RCA) |
| Automation & Tooling | Google Apps Script, Google Workspace (Forms & Sheets), Agent-directed tooling & workflows, Bash |
| Safety & Compliance | Storage media destruction (NIST SP 800-88), Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), chain-of-custody tracking |
| Operations | Root-cause analysis, maintenance window coordination, technician certification |
Find Me Online #
- LinkedIn — josephrmaxwell
- selfhostdojo.com — self-hosting tutorials and Linux guides
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