DevOps is a cutting-edge methodology that involves managing a software lifecycle’s development, testing, deployment, and support processes. The methodology helps organizations with managing software development, tools deployment, and unified testing and enables increased speed and quality. With most youngsters wishing to make a career here, knowing the DevOps engineer job description has become all the more important for aspirants.
Without knowing what is expected from you, you cannot apply and get hired for a suitable position in this field. The truth is that it is common to know what employers expect from any employee in any sector. So, it comes as no surprise when a company provides a detailed DevOps job description to find a candidate who has potential.
After reading the job description, it is the responsibility of aspirants to figure out their roles concerning their jobs before applying. That will help them craft a suitable resume and prepare for the interview accordingly.
DevOps Engineer: Overview
He/she is an IT professional who pays attention to code deployments and releases in collaboration with software developers, system operators, and other IT staff. From code release and deployment to code maintenance and updates, a DevOps engineer introduces processes, tools, and techniques to stabilize needs during the software development life cycle.
Some companies may pay professionals to perform DevOps for their work, but this only widens the gap between developers and operations teams because successful DevOps adoption needs changes in techniques and culture. So, there has to be an organized and structured flow of work to ensure sync between developers and the operations teams.
DevOps Engineer Job Description
DevOps is a series of processes and practices that help companies automate and speed up aspects of developing, deploying, testing, updating, and releasing software. DevOps engineers facilitate these facets by combining technical expertise with communication and project management skills.
The duties and job description of a DevOps engineer include the following:
- Evaluating current processes and systems and finding ways to improve them
- Building new development infrastructure and tools
- Understanding stakeholders’ needs and conveying them to developers
- Working with software developers and other IT experts to ensure efficient code releases
- Writing specific documents
- Testing and assessing code that others and analyzing the results of the codes
- Finding technical issues and developing software ‘fixes’ and updates
- Planning out projects and getting involved in project management decisions
DevOps Engineer Job Description Template
Sample DevOps job description
At [Company Y], customer experience is at the forefront of everything that we do. So, we are looking for a DevOps engineer who can deploy product updates, identify production issues, and implement integrations that match our customers’ needs. The ideal candidate should have a solid background in software engineering and be familiar with Python or Ruby. He will work with engineers and developers to ensure that software development follows established works and processes as intended.
Objectives
- Creating and employing new development tools and infrastructure
- Understanding stakeholders’ needs and transmitting them to developers
- Finding ways to automate and improve development and release processes
- Testing and assessing codes
- Ensuring the security and safety of systems against threats
- Identifying technical issues and developing software fixes and updates
- Getting involved in project management decisions
Responsibilities
- Deploy fixes and updates and offer Level 2 technical support
- Build tools to minimize the occurrence of errors and enrich customer experience
- Develop software to unify with internal back-end systems
- Analyze production errors and resolve technical problems
- Develop scripts to automate visualization
- Design processes for system maintenance and troubleshooting
Required Skills and Qualifications
- Experience as a DevOps engineer
- Proficiency with GitHub and Git workflows
- Good knowledge of Python or Ruby
- Problem-solving attitude
- Working knowledge of databases and SQL
- Collaborative team spirit
Preferred Skills and Qualifications
- Bachelor (or equivalent) in computer science, engineering, or appropriate field
- Experience in engineering/developing for a big company
Roles and Responsibilities of DevOps Engineer
A DevOps Engineer’s sole responsibility lies in bringing the critical elements of continuous integration and continuous deployment together. Because of its enormous potential, many companies are either offering their employees a reliable DevOps course or motivating them to take one up to enforce these practices in their daily activities.
Usually, the development, testing, as well as support departments used to work in silos, having process gaps and conflicts in duties because different people would manage these functions. Such barriers led to significant causes of miscommunications, misunderstandings, and conflicts in prioritization and were proven extremely harmful to productivity, leading to customer dissatisfaction.
The evolution of DevOps as a methodology and a DevOps engineer job profile has effectively tried to close these gaps substantially. A DevOps engineer is responsible for streamlining the whole process of software development and deployment.
Additionally, his role involves testing and integrating changes during the product development lifecycle. Above all, the responsibilities of a DevOps engineer include collaboration with IT operations staff for a seamless flow of communication for quality and speedy software development.
Skills Needed for the DevOps Engineer Role
Here is the list of skills needed to become a DevOps engineer:
A) Technical Skills
- Linux Fundamentals and Scripting
A DevOps engineer should understand Linux basics such as system administration, file handling, process management, and text processing. He must also know how to run and operate Linux servers and carry proficiency in scripting programming languages such as Python.
- Knowledge of Appropriate Technologies and Tools
Version control, configuration management, continuous integration servers, containers, and deployment automation are some of the DevOps tools that form part of the DevOps job description for any candidate. These engineers should also know infrastructure orchestration, monitoring and analytics, testing and cloud quality tools, and network protocols.
- Cloud Skills
A DevOps engineer must have solid cloud computing skills such as network management and database management. He should also have an understanding of Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform (GPC).
- Coding Skills
Scripting and coding skills are necessary for DevOps. So, DevOps engineers must carry knowledge of Node.js and programming languages such as Java, Javascript, Shell, Ruby, PHP, and Bash.
- Automation Skills
Every DevOps engineer must possess automation skills and be able to automate a full DevOps pipeline. He must understand configurations and infrastructure, app performance monitoring, CI/CD pipelines, and more. Additionally, knowledge of automation tools such as Ansible and Source Code Management (SCM) is important.
- Testing Skills
Automation testing skills are necessary as they help DevOps engineers identify bugs in software projects and products. These IT experts must have knowledge of virtualization and be proficient in testing tools such as Docker, Puppet, and Chef. Additionally, he should know how to conduct tests for the whole DevOps automation pipeline and how to unify Jenkins with Selenium.
- Security Skills
All IT professionals, especially DevOps engineer, need security skills. DevOps security skills include change management, code analysis, security training and vulnerability assessment, threat investigation, and others.
- Proactive Monitoring Skills
Understanding proactive monitoring is an integral part of a DevOps engineer’s job. He must know how to use monitoring tools such as Splunk and Nagios. Plus, he should upgrade system versions, recognize bottlenecks in the production system, and pave security patches.
- Containerization Skills
A DevOps engineer should be familiar with container-related tools for effective results. Some examples include container registries, Docker Engine, LXC, Docker Swarm, and Kubernetes.
- Continuous Integration Skills
Continuous Integration is one of the best practices of DevOps that allows developers to merge changes in software to the main branch several times on any given day. DevOps engineers must be able to automate the integration of code changes from multiple developers into a single software project.
- Version Management Skills
These skills form part of the senior DevOps engineer job description as they let engineers track and manage changes to software codes. Key version management skills include how to use tools such as Jenkins, Git, and Maven.
On top of that, DevOps technicians must be familiar with development practices such as continuous delivery and tools such as GitHub. In addition to understanding the Agile framework and methodology, they must also have enough knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (IAC) and provisioning.
B) Soft Skills
The DevOps approach is collaborative. So, DevOps engineers need soft skills along with technical skills to perform well in their positions. A few soft skills any DevOps engineer must possess include:
- Communication skills
- Self-organization skills
- Collaboration skills
- Commitment skills
- Customer-focused approach skills
- Mentorship skills
Preparation Tips for DevOps Engineer Job
When it boils down to getting a job, you need to be realistic and have the right approach. If you ignore this point, you will not be hired, no matter your credentials and experience level. Ideally, you should look from the perspective of the interviewer.
What does a potential employer look for in a DevOps engineer candidate? The ability to answer DevOps engineer interview questions confidently.
- First and foremost, try to figure out what your potential employer expects from you. Technical skills are the turning point and driving force in getting a DevOps job. So, make sure you possess all the necessary technical skills mentioned above. This point also holds for soft skills such as communication and collaboration traits.
- On top of that, you must show a zeal for continuous learning. Why? The DevOps field is ever-evolving. So, keep yourself updated with the latest happenings in DevOps methodology. Any employer would like to know how you update yourself with recent DevOps developments.
- Finally, you must prepare for interview questions. Many professionals who have enough knowledge think that they can easily bypass the interview questions due to their knowledge and expertise. It is here most of them get on the wrong side. You do not know what the employer may ask you. An interviewer may likely pose a couple of questions that you may not have answers to. If so, your golden opportunity and efforts will go in vain.
So, do not overlook interview questions when applying for a job in this field. It is advisable to prepare for interview questions and host a mock interview with your friends or close associates. Be serious in this mock test and demonstrate your skills. That should help you get rid of a panic situation and face the interviewer with confidence.
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Final Words
DevOps is the future of the technology world, specifically in software development and deployment. Most companies have understood the benefits and are employing this methodology. For these reasons, the demand for DevOps engineers is higher. If you wish to enter this field, get familiar with the DevOps engineer job description, DevOps engineer salary, and roles before applying for a position. If you stick to the above advice, you can eventually succeed as a DevOps engineer and make a remunerative career.
Amol Shete
Senior Software Engineer
A well-experienced DevOps engineer who loves to discuss cloud, DevOps, and Kubernetes. An energetic team player with great communication & interpersonal skills.
FAQ's
Any DevOps engineer has a series of responsibilities. He manages the IT infrastructure that enables software codes to run efficiently in different types of technological environments. DevOps experts have to provide resources, determine a suitable deployment strategy, use a testing process for validating each release, and track the performance after the release. Test data preparation, analysis results, establishing communication with software development, and problem debugging also rest on the shoulders of a DevOps engineer.
On the other hand, intricate enterprise-grade projects that involve tasks like cloud migration, cluster orchestration and end-to-end release automation require advanced expertise. However, by adopting an approach of starting small and gradually expanding knowledge and skills, individuals at all competency levels can successfully handle DevOps projects.
Becoming a DevOps engineer commands a sheer degree of expertise. The following skills are required to get hired in this position.
- Strong hold of Linux basics as well as Scripting
- Knowledge of different tools and methodologies
- Soft skills such as collaboration and effective communication
The compensation package of a DevOps engineer varies depending on several factors. The entry-level salary is around INR 360,000 a year in India. The average mid-level DevOps engineer’s salary in India is pegged at INR 1,500,000 a year. Experienced DevOps engineers are paid as much as INR 1,600,000 yearly in this position. The salary of a DevOps engineer in India also depends on the job location, company, and the applicant’s skill set.
