The 6 Technical Roles Data Centres Must Hire Immediately in 2026

Data centres are expanding at pace, driven by cloud computing infrastructure, AI workloads, and increasing demand for 24/7 digital services. As facilities scale, the technical complexity behind them is growing just as quickly. This acceleration reflects wider data centre hiring trends 2026, as operators respond to rising capacity and performance demands.

This shift is also reflected in the workforce. The global data centre workforce is projected to grow by 35% by 2030, increasing from approximately 2.3 million data centre jobs in 2025 to more than 3.1 million roles across the data centre industry. That growth represents over 800,000 new data centre jobs. As demand accelerates, securing the right data centre technical talent becomes a defining factor in long-term performance and reflects wider data centre hiring trends 2026. Working with a specialist data centre recruitment partner can significantly reduce hiring risk in this competitive market.

The following six roles are critical to delivering reliable, scalable and resilient data centre environments in 2026 and represent some of the most in demand data centre jobs.

1. Commissioning Engineers

As hyperscale and colocation builds become more complex, commissioning is no longer a final stage activity. It is a risk management function that directly impacts time to revenue and operational stability.

With data centre builds increasing in scale across the UK and Europe, demand for experienced data centre commissioning engineers has risen significantly. Over 80% of European markets are expected to see growth. Delays in commissioning can push back handover timelines, increase project costs and expose operators to avoidable performance risk.

In 2026, commissioning engineers are essential for:

Protecting uptime from day one of live operation.
Reducing costly post-handover remediation.
Ensuring integrated electrical and mechanical systems perform under load.
Supporting investor and stakeholder confidence in new facilities.

Commissioning talent is particularly competitive within large scale and AI-ready environments, where integrated systems testing is becoming more complex. Securing experienced commissioning engineers early in the build cycle reduces both delivery risk and reputational exposure.

Our Data Centre specialist team can help you source this expertise.

2. Electrical Engineers

Electrical infrastructure remains the single most critical dependency within modern data centres. With AI workloads significantly increasing rack density and power requirements, operators are under pressure to scale capacity while maintaining resilience.

Industry forecasts show data centre power demand rising sharply over the next five years, placing experienced electrical engineers among the most in demand data centre jobs in the sector. Competition for senior electrical talent has intensified, particularly in regions experiencing rapid hyperscale expansion.

For operators, hiring strong electrical engineers in 2026 is essential to:

Safeguard power redundancy and resilience.
Plan for high density and AI driven capacity growth.
Maintain compliance and operational continuity.
Support long term infrastructure strategy.

Electrical engineering shortages are contributing to the wider data centre skills shortage, directly impacting expansion plans.

3. Mechanical Engineers

Thermal management is now a strategic performance issue rather than a facilities concern. As rack densities increase and liquid cooling adoption grows, mechanical complexity within data centres continues to rise. AI workloads can require 2 to 5 times more power per rack than traditional enterprise workloads, significantly increasing cooling demand and thermal design complexity.

Operators expanding into high density or AI enabled environments require mechanical engineers who understand evolving cooling technologies and energy optimisation strategies. Without this expertise, facilities risk inefficiencies, increased operational costs and reduced equipment lifespan.

In 2026, mechanical engineers are increasingly critical for:

Supporting next generation cooling systems.
Optimising energy efficiency and PUE performance.
Preparing infrastructure for higher rack densities.
Aligning mechanical design with sustainability objectives.

Mechanical expertise is becoming central to AI driven data centre demand and future-proofed infrastructure planning.

4. Skilled Trades

Across both construction and live environments, skilled trades remain the backbone of operational continuity. However, the availability of experienced electrical and mechanical tradespeople continues to tighten across the UK and wider European markets.

Construction sector data consistently shows shortages across HVAC, electrical and mechanical trades, particularly within specialist infrastructure projects such as data centres. This reflects a growing data centre skills shortage impacting delivery timelines.

In 2026, skilled trades hiring is critical to:

Maintain project delivery schedules.
Protect compliance and safety standards.
Ensure preventative maintenance is consistently delivered.
Reduce downtime risk in live environments.

Forward planning and specialist recruitment support are increasingly necessary to secure trade professionals with data centre specific experience.

5. Network Engineers

As digital infrastructure becomes more mission critical, network reliability is no longer a technical preference. It is a commercial requirement. Enterprise clients and cloud providers expect uninterrupted connectivity, low latency performance and robust cyber security.

Demand for experienced data centre network engineers continues to grow, particularly as facilities scale and interconnectivity requirements increase. Around 40% of organisations report difficulty recruiting experienced network specialists, highlighting the network skills gap within data centre talent planning. These roles are increasingly listed among the roles needed for data centre projects supporting hyperscale and enterprise clients.

In 2026, securing strong network engineering talent supports:

Reliable client connectivity and SLA performance.
Resilient, scalable network architecture.
Reduced exposure to security risk.
Long-term competitiveness within enterprise markets.

Network capability increasingly influences client retention and revenue stability.

6. Cloud and Site Reliability Engineers

The convergence of physical infrastructure and software defined operations has created new hiring pressures within data centres. Automation, monitoring and reliability engineering are now central to maintaining uptime at scale.

Cloud engineers and site reliability engineers are among the most competitive technical hires globally, with demand extending far beyond the data centre sector. They are increasingly considered part of evolving data centre engineering roles supporting automation and infrastructure resilience.

In 2026, hiring cloud and SRE talent enables operators to:

Improve system automation and observability.
Reduce manual operational risk.
Enhance uptime through proactive reliability engineering.
Support scalable infrastructure without proportional headcount growth.

Failure to secure this hybrid expertise can limit operational agility and long term scalability amid expanding data centre hiring trends in 2026.

Why These Roles Matter in 2026

As the data centre industry continues to grow, the organisations that perform best will be those that take a structured and forward-looking approach to data centre recruitment. Each of these technical data centre roles contributes directly to uptime, delivery confidence and long-term operational performance.

Technical recruitment for data centres is no longer a reactive exercise. It is a strategic decision that influences outcomes across data centre construction, commissioning and live operations.

We are a specialist data centre recruitment agency supporting data centre operators, contractors and developers with technical and engineering hires across the full project lifecycle. Our focus is on understanding each role in detail and aligning the right data centre engineering talent with the demands of modern environments.

If you are planning new builds, expanding capacity or strengthening your data centre technical teams for 2026, we would love the opportunity to discuss how we can support your data centre hiring strategy.

Get in touch to start the conversation.

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