6 Essential DevOps Roles and Responsibilities Hiring Companies are Looking for
- Introduction : Jack of all Trades, Master of some.
- Building and Implementing New Development Tools and Infrastructure
- Understanding Stakeholder Needs and Conveying Them to Developers
- Automating and Improving Development and Release Processes
- Identifying Technical Problems and Developing Solutions
- Collaborating with Teams Across the Organization
- Ensuring Systems are Safe and Secure Against Cybersecurity Threats
- Conclusion – A takeaway for DevOps
Introduction : Jack of all Trades, Master of some.
The field of DevOps has seen a significant surge in demand for professionals with specialized skills and expertise. As companies continue to adopt DevOps practices, they are looking for individuals who can help them streamline their processes and improve their overall efficiency in implementing modern tech stack catering to AI/ML use cases. In this post, we will delve into the top six roles and responsibilities that companies are seeking in DevOps professionals in 2023. Our analysis is based on an extensive review of hundreds of job descriptions posted across various job portals. By sharing our key findings, we hope to provide valuable insights into the trending roles and responsibilities for DevOps professionals in the current and future job market.
Building and Implementing New Development Tools and Infrastructure
The importance of building and implementing new development tools and infrastructure cannot be overstated. This role is critical to ensuring that software development teams have access to the necessary tools and resources to create high-quality products. Examples of development tools and infrastructure include Docker, Kubernetes, and Openshift. Skills required for building and implementing new development tools and infrastructure include knowledge of cloud computing, programming languages, scripting and automation tools like Jenkins, TerraForm etc.
When it comes to implementing modern data-driven products, the build vs buy challenge is a common hurdle faced by most organizations. To effectively prioritize what needs to be built and what needs to be purchased, business stakeholders and tech managers must carefully consider the capabilities of their in-house talent. Having the right talent on board is crucial for success in this space.
In today’s increasingly complex technology landscape, companies are turning to their DevOps teams to integrate various platforms and services, such as building or integrating an MLOps platform. As such, businesses are seeking out DevOps professionals with specific experience in ML use cases, particularly when it comes to model deployment and monitoring services.
Understanding Stakeholder Needs and Conveying Them to Developers
DevOps professionals must have a deep understanding of stakeholder needs and be able to effectively communicate these needs to developers. This role is critical to ensuring that software development teams are creating products that meet the needs of their customers. Ways to understand stakeholder needs include conducting customer surveys and focus groups. Skills required for conveying stakeholder needs to developers include excellent communication and collaboration skills.
One way to improve communication and collaboration is to adopt a stakeholder engagement plan (SEP) that documents the involvement and influence of your project stakeholders. By adopting a stakeholder engagement plan, DevOps professionals can tailor their communication style based on the needs of each stakeholder, ensuring that they are effectively managing stakeholder relationships. This approach prioritizes the most influential stakeholders, allowing DevOps professionals to focus their efforts where they will have the greatest impact.
Automating and Improving Development and Release Processes
Automating and improving development and release processes is essential to ensuring that software development teams can work efficiently and effectively. This role involves identifying areas for improvement and implementing solutions to streamline processes.
Examples of development and release processes include code testing, deployment, and monitoring. Skills required for automating and improving development and release processes include knowledge of automation tools, programming languages, and project management methodologies.
The rapid progress of AI has prompted organizations to incorporate it into every aspect of their software development lifecycle. In order to stay ahead of the competition, companies are prioritizing the upgrade and automation of their existing systems. DevOps teams are now recognizing the value of implementing AIOps in order to gain a critical advantage. In 2023, it is expected that DevOps teams will have fully embraced AI for Ops, freeing up valuable resources that were previously tied up in manual tasks. This shift will enable teams to focus on other areas of the Ops cycle, resulting in more efficient and effective operations overall. It is imperative for DevOps professionals to invest time and effort into learning, implementing, and adopting AI technology to remain competitive in the market.
Identifying Technical Problems and Developing Solutions
DevOps professionals must be able to identify technical problems and develop solutions to address them. As such, it is imperative that DevOps professionals possess the necessary skills to identify and develop solutions to address these issues. This role plays a critical part in ensuring that software development teams can work without interruption and that products are of high quality.
One of the key skills required for identifying technical problems and developing solutions is knowledge of troubleshooting techniques. This includes the ability to diagnose issues quickly and accurately, as well as the ability to determine the root cause of the problem. In addition, proficiency in programming languages is essential, as it allows DevOps professionals to understand the underlying code and identify potential issues. Knowledge of cloud computing is also crucial, as many modern applications are built on cloud infrastructure. By possessing these skills, DevOps professionals can effectively manage incidents and perform root cause analysis, ultimately leading to faster resolution times and improved product quality.
Collaborating with Teams Across the Organization
DevOps professionals must be able to collaborate effectively with teams across the organization to ensure that software development projects are successful. This role involves working closely with developers, project managers, and other stakeholders to ensure that everyone is aligned and working toward a common goal.
Examples of teams that DevOps professionals may also need to collaborate with are marketing, sales, and customer support teams. Devops teams play a crucial role in providing the most crucial info for a sales pitch or marketing pitch, providing details such as infrastructure load, security aspects, throughput etc. for particular digital products or services.
Another crucial aspect which companies are looking forward to and relying on their DevOps team is to help and maintain company tech branding by publishing papers,patents, speaking in conferences, attending workshops, organising knowledge sharing sessions or tech talks. This usually gets further extended to open source contributions under the organization’s public repo, publishing articles, blogs, research reports and whitepapers under company domain.
Ensuring Systems are Safe and Secure Against Cybersecurity Threats
As a DevOps professional, it is crucial to understand why ensuring system security is of utmost importance for companies that are hiring DevOps teams. In today’s digital world, data breaches and unauthorised access can lead to severe damage to an organisation’s brand value overnight. Therefore, implementing a security-first mindset is essential to overcome the main DevOps security challenges.
To ensure system security, DevOps teams must integrate security tools and compliance checks into their CI/CD pipelines. This includes automating security tests, considering insider threats, and tracking security features and incidents. The software supply chain should not be neglected, and collaboration between DevOps and InfoSec is vital. By adopting a DevSecOps model, security checks, practices, and tests occur continuously throughout the CI/CD pipelines, ensuring optimal collaboration between development and security teams.
Implementing fundamental practices such as using security tools like Snyk and Checkmarx in the development integration pipeline, evaluating all automated tests by security experts, and creating threat models through collaboration between development and security teams are some of the latest industry practices for ensuring system security. As a DevOps professional, it is imperative to prioritise system security to protect against cybersecurity threats and maintain the trust of customers and stakeholders.
Conclusion – A takeaway for DevOps
In conclusion, the field of DevOps is rapidly evolving, and companies are seeking professionals with the latest tools and skills to help them streamline their processes and improve overall efficiency. The top four roles and responsibilities that companies are seeking in DevOps professionals in 2023 include building and implementing new development tools and infrastructure, understanding stakeholder needs and conveying them to developers, automating and improving development and release processes, identifying technical problems and developing solutions, and collaborating effectively with teams across the organization. Additionally, ensuring system security against cybersecurity threats has become a crucial responsibility for DevOps professionals. By possessing these skills and staying updated with the latest industry practices, DevOps professionals can remain competitive in the job market and contribute to the success of their organizations.