DevOps - Job Description

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The modern business world relies on effective usage of computing technology to operate, succeed, and flourish. DevOps Engineers play a major role in supporting corporations in all sectors of industry, via the adoption of processes, systems and methodologies designed to nurture success. In essence, the role of a DevOps specialist is allied to streamlining processes and workflows.

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Duties and responsibilities - What does a DevOps do?

Developing a working infrastructure in line with the needs of the company
Providing support for end users and helping them to get the most from the infrastructure
Ensuring applications and systems are safe and secure, and adequately protected from the threat of cybercriminals
Collaborating with other members of the DevOps team in the development of effective and efficient applications
Taking responsibility for all aspects of DevOps, including the likes of data management, application development and service delivery
Reporting to senior management and other interested parties on the progress of relevant developments

Qualities needed for a successful DevOps

The best DevOps specialists possess a varied range of personal qualities, chief of which will be the ability to communicate and collaborate well with others, including with some who aren’t as au fait with technical matters. They will also have a comprehensive knowledge of current applications allied to an understanding of technologies yet to come.

These individuals will need to be self-motivated at times, and perfectly capable of working within dedicated teams. There’s also a need to constantly bear in mind the demands of relevant stakeholders, as well as to understand the specific commercial needs of the business. In-depth knowledge of the cloud and how it impacts on a commercial organisation is a must.

As this role is rightly regarded as highly complex by other staff members, there will be times when a DevOps professional will need to assess, test, and monitor their own work. It’s important in this position to have a proactive approach, and to be prepared to show patience when explaining processes and systems.

Qualifications and technical skills - How to become a DevOps?

As befits such a technical position, DevOps specialists will need a good knowledge of issues such as integration technology, networks, cloud integration and the like. They often have a sound academic background, often with a bachelor’s degree in related subjects like computer science, mathematics, information technology, data mining, business intelligence and systems analysis. Experience in writing scripts in programming languages such Golang, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python, Ruby, or Rust is also highly regarded. Certification from the major cloud providers, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud (GCP) or Microsoft Azure are also available in DevOps.

In addition to qualifications, successful DevOps professionals will know how to utilise a diverse range of tools and applications on a daily basis. Which of them are used will depend on the individual role and the CI/CD methodology used, but the list will often include the likes of Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, Nagios, Vagrant, Ansible, Puppet and Git for source control.

Career development - What is the next step after DevOps?

Those who become DevOps specialists often come from other IT-related disciplines, including web design, programming, coding, and database management. Those who succeed in DevOps can go on to become Senior DevOps Engineers, Cloud Managers and Directors of IT. This is still an evolving role, so the possibilities of advancement can and almost certainly will change.