What Is a DevOps Engineer? Role, Skills and Career Path
A plain-English guide to what a DevOps engineer is, what the job involves day to day, the skills needed, and how it differs from cloud and SRE roles.
Last updated: 21 September 2026 · By the Asuraa Team
What is a DevOps engineer?
A DevOps engineer is a technology professional who connects software development with IT operations so that code can be built, tested, released and run reliably. Atlassian describes the role as "an IT generalist who should have a wide-ranging knowledge of both development and operations."
GitHub's explainer adds that the job bridges the gap between development and operations teams to enable collaboration. In short, a DevOps engineer helps a team ship changes faster without breaking things.
What does DevOps mean?
DevOps is a way of working, not only a job. AWS defines it as a combination of cultural philosophies, practices and tools that increases an organisation's ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity.
AWS names four practices that a DevOps engineer typically works with.
| Practice | What AWS says it means | Plain example |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) | Code changes are automatically built, tested and prepared for release | A pipeline runs tests every time a developer pushes code |
| Infrastructure as code | Infrastructure is provisioned using code and software development techniques | Servers are created from a file, not by clicking |
| Monitoring and logging | Data is captured to see how changes affect users and to find root causes | An alert fires when a page starts failing |
| Communication and collaboration | Tooling and automation create shared workflows | Developers and operations share one release process |
What does a DevOps engineer do day to day?
The day-to-day work is automation, infrastructure and release support. Atlassian lists release engineering, infrastructure management, system administration and DevOps advocacy as the main functions, and GitHub adds security (DevSecOps), monitoring and data management.
Here is an illustration, not a real company. A developer fixes a bug in a food-ordering app and wants it live today.
- The developer pushes the fix, and the pipeline automatically builds the code and runs the tests.
- If the tests pass, the pipeline deploys to a staging copy of the app for a quick check.
- The DevOps engineer has defined the servers and settings as code, so the staging copy matches production.
- The change is released to users in a controlled way, for example to a small share first.
- Monitoring watches error rates, and an alert tells the team if something goes wrong so they can roll back.
The engineer did not write the fix. They built and maintain the path that carries it safely to users.
What skills does a DevOps engineer need?
A DevOps engineer needs both technical skills and people skills. Atlassian's list includes communication and collaboration, system administration, DevOps tool proficiency, configuration management, container orchestration such as Docker and Kubernetes, CI/CD experience and scripting.
GitHub lists programming and scripting languages (Python, Java, Bash, PowerShell), containers, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and CI/CD tools.
For a step-by-step order in which to learn these, see our DevOps engineer roadmap for India.
Why do companies hire DevOps engineers?
Companies want to release software faster without losing reliability. AWS lists speed, rapid delivery, reliability, scale, improved collaboration and security as the benefits of DevOps.
These are the goals a DevOps engineer is hired to support, and they are claims about the approach and not guaranteed results. A team with slow, manual releases has the most to gain, while a team that already deploys safely many times a day may need something different.
How is a DevOps engineer different from a cloud engineer, SRE or software engineer?
The roles overlap, and companies use the titles differently. Use this table as a rough guide and always read the job description.
| Role | Centre of gravity | Question it asks |
|---|---|---|
| DevOps engineer | The delivery path from code to production | How do we ship changes safely and often? |
| Cloud engineer | Cloud infrastructure and services | How do we run this on the cloud securely and affordably? |
| Site reliability engineer (SRE) | System reliability, using software engineering | How do we keep this system available and self-managing? |
| Software engineer | Application features | What should the product do? |
Google's SRE book says SRE is "what happens when you ask a software engineer to design an operations team." It also says DevOps can be viewed as a generalisation of SRE principles, and SRE as a specific implementation of DevOps.
To compare the neighbouring roles, read what a cloud engineer is and what a software engineer is.
Is DevOps an entry-level job?
Often not on day one, and the sources hint at why. Atlassian calls the role a generalist across development and operations, and GitHub says most DevOps engineers start as software developers or IT operations specialists and add skills over time.
That does not close the door on freshers. It suggests that a realistic first step may be a developer, support, system administration or cloud-support role, or a junior or trainee DevOps position where one exists. Check current listings on the jobs page, and read our guide to getting your first IT job.
What do most guides on DevOps engineering get wrong?
Many guides treat DevOps as a tool list. These points are worth correcting.
- They confuse tools with the job. Knowing Jenkins or Kubernetes is not the same as improving how a team delivers software.
- They ignore culture. AWS defines DevOps as cultural philosophies as well as practices and tools, so communication and shared ownership are part of the work.
- They present it as a fresher shortcut. The role spans development and operations, so it usually helps to have experience on one side first.
- They blur DevOps and SRE. Google frames SRE as a specific implementation of DevOps with its own rules, so the titles are not interchangeable everywhere.
FAQ
What is a DevOps engineer in simple words?
A DevOps engineer is someone who helps developers and operations staff work together so software can be built, tested, released and monitored quickly and safely. They automate repeated tasks, manage infrastructure with code, and set up pipelines that carry code changes to users.
What does a DevOps engineer do?
Atlassian lists release engineering, infrastructure management, system administration and DevOps advocacy. In practice that means building CI/CD pipelines, provisioning servers with code, managing containers, adding monitoring and alerts, and helping teams fix delivery problems. The exact mix varies between companies.
Is a DevOps engineer a developer?
Not exactly. A DevOps engineer usually writes scripts and automation code but does not mainly build product features. GitHub notes many DevOps engineers begin as software developers, and Atlassian describes the role as a generalist who understands both development and operations.
What is the difference between DevOps and SRE?
Both aim at reliable, fast software delivery. Google presents SRE as a specific implementation of DevOps, where software engineers design operations work with measurable reliability targets. DevOps is a broader set of practices and culture, so companies define the two roles differently.
Do DevOps engineers need coding skills?
Yes, at a working level. GitHub lists Python, Java, Bash and PowerShell among common languages, and Atlassian includes scripting and configuration management. You mostly write automation, pipeline definitions and infrastructure code, not large user-facing applications.
Can a fresher become a DevOps engineer?
It is possible but often takes a step. GitHub says most DevOps engineers start as developers or IT operations specialists. A fresher can build Linux, scripting, CI/CD and cloud skills through projects, then apply for junior DevOps, cloud support, or developer roles.
Final thoughts
A DevOps engineer builds and maintains the path that carries code from a developer's machine to users. The work rewards curiosity about both development and operations, plus patience with automation.
If this role interests you, follow the DevOps engineer roadmap to plan your learning in order.
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