The 8 Most In-Demand DevOps Engineer Skills for 2024

The term “DevOps” is a portmanteau of “development operations” and is a practice that aims to automate all software construction steps. One of your job responsibilities is identifying issues within the software, and you should be familiar with testing tools to spot software bugs that need fixing. With experience and expertise, DevOps engineers can transition into leadership roles such as DevOps team lead, DevOps manager, or DevOps architect. These roles involve overseeing and orchestrating DevOps initiatives, driving strategic decision-making, and shaping the organization’s DevOps culture and practices.

devops engineer skills

A DevOps Engineer typically has a deep understanding of both Development and Operations processes and is able to work comfortably in both environments. In addition, he/she is typically well-versed in automation tools and practices, which can further speed up the software development process. You can check DevOps skills list must of DevOps engineers further below in this article. Source code management is essential for version control and collaboration among development and operations teams.

Git

For example, one of the most valuable returns on a DevOps investment is the ability to deliver faster feedback to developers. A DevOps engineer will often have to work with QA (whether they be manual testers or developers who write test automation) to improve the speed, efficacy, and output of testing methodologies. A DevOps engineer will have experience with system administration, such as provisioning and managing servers, deploying databases, security monitoring, system patching, and managing internal and external network connectivity. DevOps community offers a great opportunity to meet other engineers and learn about the latest trends and technologies. Being active in a community will allow you to stay up-to-date on the latest DevOps news and learn from other engineers.

devops engineer skills

Release engineering includes the work required to build and deploy application code. The exact tools and processes vary widely depending on many variables, such as what language the code is written in, how much of the pipeline has been automated, and whether the production infrastructure is on-premise or in the cloud. Release engineering might entail selecting, provisioning, and maintaining CI/CD tooling or writing and maintaining bespoke build/deploy scripts. DevOps engineers rely heavily on automated tools and processes to manage their workflows. Combining the terms “development” with “operations” results in the term “DevOps.” Compared to conventional software development techniques, it seeks to improve an organization’s capacity to offer services and applications more quickly. What are the top DevOps engineer skills needed to become a successful DevOps Engineer?

Key DevOps Engineer Skills You Must Have

They must thoroughly understand basic programming languages, such as Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, Shell, Node.js, Bash, Ruby, and more. They must also have experience in Linux as the developers continue to use it even to this day. The primary role of a DevOps Engineer is to introduce methodologies to balance needs throughout the software development life cycle, processes, and tools, from coding to development to maintenance and updates. They monitor health and track everything happening in all system parts during the software lifecycle.

devops engineer skills

Many organizations have adopted these or similar tools to automate system administration tasks such as deploying new systems or applying security patches to systems already running. A DevOps engineer is an IT generalist who should have a wide-ranging knowledge of both development and operations, including coding, infrastructure management, system administration, and DevOps toolchains. DevOps engineers should also possess interpersonal skills since they work across company silos to create a more collaborative environment.

Who does a DevOps Engineer work with?

To develop such multifaceted  DevOps Engineer skills sets, its always better to learn from the professionals and opt for courses like KnowledgeHut DevOps Foundation certification. DevOps engineers possess a wide range of knowledge in both operations and development, including coding, infrastructure, and so on. The DevOps engineer integrates project functions and resources all across the product life cycle, right from building, testing, planning, and deployment to support. Becoming a successful DevOps engineer requires you to master diverse system structures, developer tools, and security practices. Moreover, strong communication and collaboration skills are key to building successful partnerships within the organization.

devops engineer skills

The main role of a DevOps engineer is to resolve technical issues, provide technical support, perform the main cause analysis for production errors, and develop the software to integrate with the internal backend systems. You can gain in-demand DevOps skills from an industry leader in technology with IBM’s Introduction to DevOps. In this beginner-friendly online course, you’ll learn devops engineer training about essential DevOps concepts like CI/CD, automation, and test driven development (TDD). Working with cutting-edge tools and systems, a DevOps engineer’s goal is to shorten the software development cycle, increase update frequency, and allow for more dependable releases. A DevOps engineer leads and coordinates different teams’ efforts to create and maintain a company’s software.

How to Demonstrate Your Skills as a DevOps Engineer in 2024

Container images are a standalone, lightweight unit that packages software code so that the software application runs faster and is more reliable as it is exclusive to other containers that are present in the same environment. Different containers that are running on the same operating system use the same system resources as opposed to the traditional way of hardware virtualization. Since DevOps ships code quickly, there are often quite a lot of bugs and vulnerabilities which get originated as an effect of the faster delivery cycle.

  • Containers encapsulate software dependencies and runtime environments, enabling applications to run consistently across different infrastructure environments.
  • DevOps has significantly evolved as a key component in the ever-changing world of software development that usually allows businesses to increase their efficiency and reliability.
  • DevOps is a methodology, or I can say it is a mindset and work culture; Its aim is to automate and integrate software development and IT operations through the use of best practices and tools.
  • You can work in IT, system administration or software development to get this experience.

DevOps engineers should understand the principles of continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) and create and maintain CI/CD pipelines for efficient and reliable software releases. While DevOps engineers aren’t necessarily full-time software developers but must understand software development principles. Proficiency in algorithms and software design patterns can help DevOps engineers write more efficient automation scripts and troubleshoot code-related issues effectively. DevOps toolchains are tools and practices that facilitate the software delivery pipeline.

To be successful in this role, there are certain skills that a DevOps engineer must possess. DevOps is a methodology, or I can say it is a mindset and work culture; Its aim is to automate and integrate software development and IT operations through the use of best practices and tools. Furthermore, once you purchase the hardware, you need more time and resources to manage the new hardware. Depending upon the complexity of the application, choosing cloud platforms instead of on-premise hardware can significantly reduce deployment time and cost. Version control systems like Git facilitate collaboration in a team while providing a centralized repository for the code. DevOps engineers work in multidisciplinary teams, interacting with developers, IT operations staff, quality assurance professionals, and other stakeholders.

By focusing on these aspects, you can significantly improve the efficiency, security, and maintainability of your Jenkins setup, contributing to smoother and more reliable DevOps processes. Docker is a platform for developing, shipping, and running applications inside lightweight, portable containers, enabling consistent environments and streamlining deployment and scaling across various environments in a DevOps workflow. Kubernetes is an open-source platform designed for automating deployment, scaling, and operations of application containers across clusters of hosts, providing container-centric infrastructure for DevOps engineers. Yet it is not unheard of for an organization to have a separate automation expert or automation engineer role.

Platform

DevOps engineers are responsible for infrastructure provisioning, infrastructure management, process automation, system administration, and security for an entire organization. DevOps engineers use a variety of tools from all disciplines and methodologies to help maintain a consistent workflow between development and operations teams. These tools help them resolve issues as they arise and help prevent certain issues with simple automations.