DeepSeek is hiring for operations and maintenance with a monthly salary of 30,000, while regular duty staff only earn five to six thousand

According to an interview with "Daily People," a data center operations engineer who has worked in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia for 5 years stated that local AI data centers are still under large-scale construction, but the hiring demand at his company has significantly decreased. The company hired thousands of people in 2025, but by the time of the interview in 2026, only 3 new hires had been made.

The engineer, who goes by the pseudonym Zhang Liwei, originally worked on an assembly line at an automobile factory. When he first switched careers, his internship monthly salary was 2,000 yuan, which increased to 4,500 yuan after graduation. After 5 years of job hopping and promotions, he currently earns over 10,000 yuan per month. In April of this year, DeepSeek was hiring senior operations engineers and senior delivery managers for its data center in Ulanqab, offering a monthly salary of 15,000 to 30,000 yuan, with 14 months' salary. These positions require extensive experience in data center operations and project management. According to Zhang Liwei's observations, local ordinary duty staff still earn around 5,000 to 6,000 yuan per month, while assistant engineers can earn over 10,000 yuan.

The entry barriers are also rising. In 2024, some data centers were still hiring newcomers without relevant professional backgrounds; however, this year, some companies have required candidates to have a relevant degree and work experience, and there is even a 35-year age limit for basic duty positions. Zhang Liwei mentioned that a former colleague has started a training class for operations, charging nearly 20,000 yuan per student, and classes only start when there are 60 students, with a single session fee approaching 1.2 million yuan. The so-called internal recommendations are mostly just to help students secure an interview opportunity.