How to Be Principal DevOps Engineer - Job Description, Skills, and Interview Questions

Dec 20, 2022 / 6 Minutes Read / By Albert

How to Become

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The adoption of DevOps practices has led to an increase in the demand for Principal DevOps Engineers. This is due to the growing need for organizations to have expert personnel who can combine their technical knowledge with their understanding of the DevOps culture, to ensure smooth and efficient operations. By having a Principal DevOps Engineer on staff, organizations are able to identify and implement the latest DevOps tools and techniques, such as automation and continuous integration, which help to minimize deployment times and improve system reliability.

these engineers can provide guidance on security, scalability, and system performance, ensuring that the infrastructure is able to support the organizations business objectives. As a result, businesses are able to achieve greater agility and cost efficiency, while also improving quality and customer satisfaction.

Steps How to Become

Obtain a degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related field. It is essential to have a strong educational background in computer science or software engineering to become a Principal DevOps Engineer. A bachelor's degree is usually the minimum requirement for this role, but employers may prefer candidates with master's degrees or postgraduate qualifications.
Obtain relevant certifications. Obtaining certifications such as CompTIA Linux+, Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE), and AWS Certified DevOps Engineer can demonstrate your expertise and increase your job prospects.
Gain experience in DevOps. Employers often look for candidates with extensive experience in DevOps, so gaining experience in this field is essential for becoming a Principal DevOps Engineer. You can gain experience by working as a junior or senior DevOps Engineer, or by taking on freelance projects.
Develop skills in automation. Automation is an important skill for DevOps professionals, and it is essential for Principal DevOps Engineers. You should be familiar with automation tools such as Chef, Puppet, and Ansible, as well as scripting languages like Python and Ruby.
Stay up to date with the latest DevOps trends. As a Principal DevOps Engineer, you should have a good knowledge of the latest trends in DevOps. You should also be familiar with the different types of DevOps tools and technologies available and be able to advise on which ones are best suited to a particular project.
Network. Developing relationships with other DevOps professionals and attending industry events will help you to stay up to date with the latest developments in the industry and may even lead to job opportunities.

In order to stay updated and competent as a DevOps Engineer, it is essential to stay abreast of industry best practices and emerging technologies. Regularly attending conferences, reading industry publications, and participating in online communities are all effective methods of staying informed. it is important to experiment with new tools and techniques in a safe environment, allowing for hands-on experience with the newest technologies.

Finally, certifications can be useful in demonstrating knowledge in specific areas, such as cloud computing, automation, and security. By maintaining a comprehensive knowledge base and regularly honing skills, DevOps Engineers can ensure they remain up to date and competent in the ever-changing world of technology.

You may want to check Principal SAP Consultant, Principal Compliance Officer, and Principal Telecommunications Engineer for alternative.

Job Description

Design and implement DevOps solutions to automate and improve deployment processes
Develop and maintain software builds, deployments and automated testing processes
Monitor and maintain servers and infrastructure to ensure availability, scalability, and performance
Investigate, troubleshoot and resolve complex technical problems
Establish best practices for DevOps processes, such as CI/CD pipelines, version control and git workflows
Collaborate with developers and other stakeholders to ensure successful product delivery
Automate the deployment of applications in production and non-production environments
Design and implement tools for configuration management, deployment orchestration and release management
Identify areas for improvement and automation opportunities
Analyze system performance and recommend improvements

Skills and Competencies to Have

Expertise in DevOps principles, practices and processes
Working knowledge of cloud and virtualization technologies (e. g. AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Docker, Kubernetes)
Proficiency in scripting languages (e. g. Python, Ruby, PowerShell)
Proficiency in configuration management tools (e. g. Chef, Puppet, Ansible)
Understanding of infrastructure as code (IaC)
Ability to monitor and troubleshoot complex systems
Experience with continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines
Familiarity with logging, alerting and monitoring tools (e. g. Splunk, ELK Stack)
Knowledge of security best practices
Good communication skills and ability to work with stakeholders of all levels

The success of a DevOps Engineer is largely predicated on their ability to effectively bridge the gap between software development and IT operations. As such, the most important skill to have is strong communication skills. DevOps Engineers must be able to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical teams, in order to ensure that the product being developed meets the customers expectations.

having an understanding of both software development and IT operations, is essential for a successful DevOps Engineer. This includes having expertise in areas such as automation, security, cloud computing, and system administration. Furthermore, having a strong understanding of various development and operations tools and technologies, such as Jenkins, Chef, and Ansible, is essential for any DevOps Engineer.

Lastly, collaboration is key for any DevOps Engineer. Working closely with developers and operations teams helps to ensure that project goals are achieved with efficiency and accuracy. By possessing all of these skills, a DevOps Engineer can ensure that the product they are working on is reliable and efficient.

Principal Service Delivery Manager, Principal Accountant, and Principal Information Security Officer are related jobs you may like.

Frequent Interview Questions

What experience do you have in developing DevOps strategies?
How would you go about automating the processes and tools used in a DevOps workflow?
How do you ensure that the cloud infrastructure is secure and reliable?
What challenges have you faced while setting up and managing DevOps environments?
How do you stay up to date with the latest trends in DevOps?
What techniques have you employed to maximize the efficiency of the DevOps process?
How do you handle change management in a DevOps environment?
How do you ensure that the DevOps teams are working together effectively?
What tools have you used to monitor the performance of DevOps systems?
How do you keep stakeholders informed about the progress of DevOps projects?

Common Tools in Industry

Configuration Management Tools. Tools used to manage and maintain the configuration of systems, such as Puppet, Chef, and Ansible (eg: Puppet: A configuration management tool used to automate the deployment of applications).
Monitoring Tools. Tools used to monitor the performance and uptime of systems, such as Nagios, Datadog and New Relic (eg: Nagios: A monitoring tool used to detect problems in IT infrastructure).
Version Control Tools. Tools used to track changes to software over time, such as Git, Subversion (SVN) and Mercurial (eg: Git: A version control tool used to manage source code).
Containerization Tools. Tools used to create and manage containers, such as Docker, Kubernetes and LXC (eg: Docker: A containerization tool used to create isolated environments for applications).
Automation Tools. Tools used to automate repetitive tasks, such as Jenkins and TeamCity (eg: Jenkins: An automation tool used to automate the building, testing, and deployment of software).
Logging Tools. Tools used to collect and analyze log data from applications and systems, such as Splunk and ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) (eg: Splunk: A logging tool used to search, monitor and analyze machine-generated data).

Professional Organizations to Know

Cloud Native Computing Foundation
DevOps Institute
DevOps Exchange
Open Source Initiative
Cloud Foundry
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional
Puppet
Chef
Ansible
Jenkins
Kubernetes
CloudBees
Google Cloud Platform
Docker
Microsoft Azure
Splunk
Grafana
Terraform
New Relic
Nagios

We also have Principal Network Engineer, Principal Database Administrator, and Principal Quality Assurance Engineer jobs reports.

Common Important Terms

Continuous Integration (CI). a software development practice in which code is regularly integrated into a shared repository, and automated tests are run to ensure the code is in a working state.
Continuous Delivery (CD). a software development practice in which software is continuously delivered to a production environment, with the aim of improving reliability and reducing the time to market.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC). an approach to managing infrastructure in which configuration and provisioning are done with code. This helps reduce manual errors, improve consistency, and enable automation.
Cloud Computing. the delivery of computing services such as storage, networking, and processing power over the internet.
Automation. the use of technology to automate manual tasks, such as testing, deployment, and infrastructure management.
Configuration Management. the process of managing and maintaining consistent configurations across multiple systems.
Containerization. the use of container technologies, such as Docker, to package and deploy applications in a platform-agnostic way.
Security. the practice of protecting systems from unauthorized access or malicious activities.
Monitoring. the process of collecting data from systems and services to identify and diagnose performance issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Principal DevOps Engineer?

A Principal DevOps Engineer is a senior technical role responsible for guiding the design, implementation and maintenance of DevOps processes and tools to ensure continuous delivery, scalability, and optimal performance of an organization's IT systems.

What skills are required to succeed as a Principal DevOps Engineer?

To succeed as a Principal DevOps Engineer, you need to have strong experience with software engineering and systems engineering, as well as expertise in cloud technologies, automation, scripting, monitoring, and configuration management. Additionally, knowledge of DevOps best practices and principles is essential.

What responsibilities does a Principal DevOps Engineer have?

The primary responsibilities of a Principal DevOps Engineer include designing, developing, and implementing DevOps strategies; managing and troubleshooting complex distributed systems; developing automation processes and tools; maintaining system performance and scalability; and providing technical guidance to other IT professionals.

What is the average salary for a Principal DevOps Engineer?

According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a Principal DevOps Engineer is $147,867 per year.

How many years of experience do you need to become a Principal DevOps Engineer?

Generally speaking, most employers require at least 5 years of experience in software engineering and/or systems engineering to become a Principal DevOps Engineer.

Web Resources

Devops Engineer | NC State Online and Distance Education online-distance.ncsu.edu
DevOps Engineer | U-M Careers careers.umich.edu
What is a DevOps Engineer? - Kenzie Academy kenzie.snhu.edu