Finding the right DevOps Engineer for your project might be one of the most challenging components of development.
The expected pay rate of the engineer, their background, and the skills required for your project are three factors to consider when searching. Balancing these can be so difficult at times that you may wonder if it is better to give up and continue with the project.
That, of course, is not an option. Having an expert develop and manage the CI/CD pipeline might mean the difference between a team that can complete projects quickly and one that can’t finish a single one, let alone meet deadlines.
If you feel lost, keep reading.
In this post, we will look at some of the best practices for hiring DevOps engineers. We will also explore some mistakes that many recruiters fall into, which impedes the recruitment process.
What is DevOps?
DevOps is a merger of development and operations, hence the name Dev-Ops. Product development procedures are separated into various tasks and phases, each of which falls under either development or operations. DevOps engineers master both development and operations, ensuring DevOps’ long-term success.
However, in order to fully comprehend the role of a DevOps engineer, we must first discuss development and operations. The development phase focuses on the product’s UI/UX and coding, followed by testing and deployment by the operations team.
This entails cycling back and forth between development and testing, as well as returning to development to address bugs and other issues. This causes a delay in the procedure.
However, hiring DevOps professionals might shorten the lead time by handling development and operations concurrently. The process of managing the development & operations in chorus is commonly referred to as the DevOps infinity pool.
Why do you need a DevOps Engineer?
At the heart of all recruitment is a fundamental question: what do you hope to achieve with that position? Understanding the complexities of your project and the difficulties they bring is critical to choosing the best candidate for the job. In that light, it is critical to understand what a DevOps engineer is and why you require one.
DevOps is not a singular set of abilities, nor is it a vocation that can be defined by a college degree. Some firms demand a DevOps Engineer with a solid expertise in a certain language, but others that want to focus on deployment may benefit from a DevOps with a thorough understanding of web technologies like AWS or Azure.
If you’re searching for a DevOps professional, you’re probably thinking about CI/CD (Continuous Integration and Development), so you want someone who can manage your pipeline and accelerate the process between development and deployment. The trick here is determining how this can be accomplished.
Do you need to plan the entire CD/CI cycle? Do you already have an effective cycle in place and just need someone with management experience to make it work? Or are you looking for someone who can incorporate new technologies? Do you see what we are saying here?
No two DevOps are alike, therefore you must begin your search with a clear vision of what you expect from your DevOps Engineer.
The 4 competencies of a DevOps Engineer
Almost every team expects a DevOps engineer to possess a core set of competencies. When assessing your candidates, seek for evidence that they have at least some knowledge of the following skills:
Application and Infrastructure planning and development
To ensure ongoing development, a DevOps professional must scale projects on the fly, making adjustments as new demands occur. As a result, they must be able to swiftly write code in a few different languages (the ones chosen depend on the nature of the project) or understand the changes that must be made to the code.
Also, scalability must be combined with planning. This includes comprehending the long-term effects of changes, as well as the ability to plan large-scale integrations across multiple systems.
Automation
Nothing is more efficient than technology, and one of the most important skills for a DevOps Engineer is the ability to automate procedures.
In other words, they should be able to create and implement easily adaptable automation systems that can be quickly deployed or changed as the company’s strategies evolve.
Monitoring
Decisions are only as good as the data used to make them, which is why DevOps engineers must constantly monitor their apps and infrastructure for faults and troubleshoot them as soon as possible.
Security management
The development of safe code and infrastructure is critical to a project’s long-term success. Thus, DevOps engineers are responsible for ensuring that their data is secure from invasions, as well as having the ability to recognize possible security problems and patch them in a timely manner.
Soft Skills Required for a DevOps Engineer
A DevOps engineer collaborates with multiple teams, each with unique responsibilities. That is why, when recruiting a DevOps engineer, you should look for a variety of soft talents. Communication is one of the most important soft skill for a DevOps engineer.
Working with several teams and managing the dev-ops disaster necessitates exceptional communication skills. A DevOps engineer must be able to interact effectively with people of various skill levels while also understanding the project and resource requirements.
It’s also vital to know how to use online communication tools like JIRA, Slack and Zoom. A DevOps engineer must also have strong teamwork abilities. Collaboration is impossible without teamwork, and a DevOps engineer will be responsible for creating a climate of trust and cooperation.
A DevOps Engineer Vs. a DevOps Team
The four basic competences are extremely broad, and they only scratch the surface of the talents that DevOps engineers may require.
We may confidently add project management, communication skills, awareness of agile and waterfall processes, and familiarity with industry-standard tools to this list.
If it appears to be a lot, it is because it is, which is why organizations must evaluate whether the project is best suited for a single engineer or a full team.
Hiring a few experts can overburden your personnel; hiring too many will leave your workforce with little to do. Finding the right balance might be difficult, especially if this is your first time looking for DevOps engineers for DevOps Services.
If you’re not sure about the workload, you can always ask a consultant. You can also grow the team as time passes. If you are already working with a DevOps team or starting one from scratch, always look for common ground among applicants. Teams perform better when members share knowledge about specific approaches and technologies.
Having said that, a varied group has a lot to give. For example, having numerous people with diverse experiences in computer languages allows for additional tools and a larger knowledge pool when producing code.
Get help from an expert
It goes without saying, but if you are a startup or are confused about the type of DevOps engineer you are looking for hire, you should consider outsourcing your recruitment process to a specialized business.
An expert recruiter will assist you in developing a profile for the position you are attempting to fill, and most of them already have access to a pool of specialists to cross-reference and help you discover the appropriate applicant in record time.
Many businesses have integrated artificial intelligence into their recruitment processes, utilizing deep learning to identify keywords and skill sets in candidate resumes that are likely to lead to job success.
In essence, it means that you can delegate the time-consuming process of screening, achieve a speedier result, and concentrate on other areas of your project.
A DevOps Engineer is a role that evolved from the necessity for faster deployment and continuous development, but if your applicant lacks the necessary capabilities for your project, it will have the opposite impact, generating roadblocks and delays in what should be a smooth sail. Make sure you follow the advice in this post to avoid this from occurring to you!