What is DevOps engineering?

Development operations (DevOps) is a modern approach that combines software development and IT operations to help teams deliver updates faster, improve performance and keep systems running smoothly.

DevOps engineers create a more streamlined and efficient development pipeline. They implement and manage the DevOps approach within an organization to leverage the flexibility of the cloud for rapid software development and delivery.

Examining development operations

Initially, development and operations teams worked in relative isolation as software was deployed to physical servers.

For example, when developers created a new application or updated an existing one, they passed the updates to the operations team, who would then test the software on the server to ensure it wouldn’t compromise the system’s stability. This process was slow but dependable, fitting the pace and infrastructure of its time.

As the internet evolved and cloud computing became standard, application development became more complex. This shift created opportunities for rapid development and deployment, but it also required a new way to manage collaboration and infrastructure.

DevOps engineers are central to this approach, working with both development and operations teams to ensure software is delivered quickly, reliably and securely. This means they have oversight across the entire software development lifecycle, from initial planning and development to testing and deployment.

As businesses seek to deliver software faster and more efficiently, they require skilled professionals who can manage complex cloud infrastructure, automate tedious processes and resolve issues quickly. DevOps engineers possess unique skill sets and expertise that make them invaluable to businesses that need to stay ahead of the software development curve.

“A great DevOps engineer unifies the entire software delivery ecosystem. With their expertise, they can seamlessly connect hardware, software and all the various teams involved. This is why they get paid as much as they do.”

—Scott Nameth, CEO and Java programmer

What a DevOps engineer does

DevOps engineers orchestrate the modern software development lifecycle, from conception to deployment and ongoing operation. They act as a bridge between development and operations, ensuring software is delivered continuously, securely and with high quality. By automating processes and integrating security, DevOps engineers help organizations release new features faster while maintaining reliability and compliance.

DevOps engineers do this in several ways:

Collaboration between development and operations

Development and operations teams traditionally have had distinct business objectives. Engineers want to develop new features and get them to users as fast as possible. Operations teams favor a conservative approach to updates to keep systems stable and operational. These goals often conflict.

DevOps engineers liaise between these two teams, ensuring continuous updates and deployments are managed without compromising stability. They lead both teams, keeping everyone aligned toward the same goal.

Using collaboration tools such as Slack, Jira, Confluence, GitHub and Azure DevOps, they coordinate workflows and ensure both teams align on goals, performance metrics and deployment schedules. This alignment promotes a culture of continuous delivery where innovation and stability coexist.

Continuous integration and delivery

DevOps engineers automate the software development process as much as possible. This involves implementing continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines to enable faster, more frequent software releases. CI/CD pipelines involve automated testing, building and deployment processes that allow developers to quickly and easily push code changes to production.

By leveraging Docker, Kubernetes and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools such as Terraform and Ansible, engineers ensure that software can be built, tested and deployed consistently across environments.

Infrastructure management and cloud architecture

Today’s infrastructure is cloud-native and often multi-cloud, spanning providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

DevOps engineers manage this infrastructure through Infrastructure as Code (IaC), enabling them to provision and scale environments programmatically. They also use container orchestration, such as Kubernetes, Amazon EKS, Azure AKS and Google GKE and serverless computing, including AWS Lambda and Azure Functions, to optimize performance and reduce costs.

Security is integrated into every stage, an approach known as development, security and operations (DevSecOps), where automated security scans, compliance checks and vulnerability testing are part of the pipeline itself.

Monitoring and testing

Once applications are deployed, DevOps engineers continuously monitor system health and performance. They use observability platforms such as Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, Splunk and New Relic to collect metrics, logs and traces.

Automated testing (unit, integration and load testing) is integrated into pipelines to detect and resolve issues early. These practices help maintain uptime, improve user experience and reduce the time to identify and fix incidents, often using AI-powered monitoring and alerting for faster response.

Tools and technologies used by DevOps engineers

The work of DevOps engineers requires expertise across a variety of tools, technologies and methodologies. Cloud-based platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are industry standards for hosting, automation and resource management.

Containerization and orchestration technologies have become equally essential. Tools like Docker, Kubernetes and OpenShift streamline the packaging, deployment and scaling of applications across environments. These technologies are often managed with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions such as Terraform, Ansible or Pulumi, allowing teams to define and version their infrastructure as they do with application code.

DevOps engineers also require knowledge of the following tools and methodologies:

• Source and version control using git
• Linux-based operating systems and system administration
• Proficiency in multiple programming and scripting languages
• Automated code testing tools and techniques and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices
• Agile and Scrum development methodologies for iterative, collaborative development

DevOps engineers often spend considerable time writing and improving code. They review software scripts and find ways to improve automation and resolve operational issues. While some DevOps engineers may delegate coding to developers, they need to understand computer science principles to address workflow issues.

Skills and qualifications for DevOps engineers

A DevOps engineer brings a powerful combination of abilities to companies, requiring deep expertise in both infrastructure management and software development. These professionals aren’t common in the tech world because their role requires bridging what have traditionally been very separate domains.

Here is an explanation of their expertise:

Technical skills

Today’s DevOps environments run on cloud-native architectures using providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Rather than powering virtual servers, a serverless approach uses code to specify the computing resources necessary for the corresponding software to function. AWS and Azure are just a couple of platforms that use this approach. It’s an approach that requires considerable technical acumen and it’s essential to most DevOps engineering roles.

In addition, deep expertise in containerization techniques and tooling is essential. A significant aspect of a DevOps engineer’s role involves automating infrastructure configuration, server deployment and software setup tasks.

Infrastructure is often managed programmatically through IaC tools such as Terraform, Pulumi, AWS CloudFormation and Ansible. Containerization tools enable them to create predefined, isolated environments that are considerably faster and simpler to provision than traditional virtual servers.

These versatile engineers also require development-level expertise in programming. Much of this is leveraged during the aforementioned automation tasks, which require code. DevOps engineers are often proficient in programming languages such as Python, Bash and PowerShell for this purpose. They also require a strong understanding of software engineering principles to remediate problems during testing and deployment.

Soft skills

While DevOps engineers are technically strong, their soft skills are equally important. They are a vital link between development and operations teams, which often have differing objectives, so they require strong leadership qualities and excellent communication skills to succeed. These professionals can serve as facilitators and coaches, guiding teams toward automation, agile delivery and best practices for continuous improvement.

Strong problem-solving abilities and the ability to find well-balanced solutions can help DevOps engineers navigate conflicting business objectives. This also means they’re highly flexible and adaptable, a necessity in the constantly evolving world of continuous development.

DevOps engineers are important for strategic planning to meet business goals and for performing careful cost-benefit analyses across both technology and operational aspects. They’re also adept at conducting risk assessments, setting operational forecasts and managing deployment timelines.

Acting as strategic advisors, they guide workflow optimization and cross-departmental collaboration, turning insights into actionable plans that keep projects on track.

Education and training

In most colleges and universities, degree programs focus on the broader discipline of computer science. While this can lead to a path of DevOps engineering, programs that teach the necessary skills often sit at two ends of a spectrum. In most cases, DevOps engineers are professionals who have spent years working in one area while gaining the necessary knowledge in the other.

Industry certifications, such as those for Amazon, Microsoft and Google’s cloud solutions, are highly regarded by businesses. These certifications all require extensive knowledge and experience to obtain.

DevOps engineers bridge development and operations to enable faster, more reliable software delivery in cloud-native environments. By automating CI/CD pipelines, managing infrastructure as code, integrating security and fostering collaboration, they help drive efficiency and innovation. Their rare blend of technical expertise in tools like Kubernetes and Terraform, programming skills and strong soft skills can make them highly valuable.