7 real-life DevOps Engineer interview questions
A DevOps Engineer bridges the gap between software development and IT operations, ensuring streamlined processes, continuous integration, and efficient deployment of software applications.
These DevOps Engineer interview questions are directly sourced from real hiring managers and they are ready to use.
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7 good DevOps engineer interview questions
- What are the components of continuous integration and DevOps? How do you approach each of them?
- Describe your ideal cloud infrastructure (compute instances, databases, load balancers, CDN, etc) and cloud logging setup.
- Describe your approach to code reviews. What do you think are the most important aspects to pay attention to when reviewing another team member’s code?
- What is the last security mistake you made? What did you learn from it?
- Why does using a platform as a service (like Heroku, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Google App Engine, etc) scale easier than hosting code on a single compute instance?
- Why is it important to have configuration management in DevOps?
- Why do people use SSH?
Here are 7 essential interview questions with sample answers to help you identify the best candidates for this role.
1. What are the components of continuous integration and DevOps? How do you approach each of them?
Continuous integration and DevOps revolve around automating the software delivery process.
Sample answer
“Continuous integration involves automated testing and code integration, while DevOps encompasses the entire delivery pipeline. I approach CI by setting up automated build and test pipelines, and for DevOps, I focus on collaboration, monitoring, and feedback loops.”
2. Describe your ideal cloud infrastructure and cloud logging setup.
Cloud infrastructure is pivotal for scalable applications.
Sample answer:
“I prefer a combination of compute instances for processing, managed databases for data storage, load balancers for traffic distribution, and a CDN for content delivery. For logging, I use centralized logging solutions like ELK Stack to monitor and analyze system behavior.”
3. Describe your approach to code reviews.
Code reviews ensure code quality and team collaboration.
Sample answer: “I focus on code clarity, efficiency, and adherence to best practices. It’s essential to ensure the code is maintainable, performs well, and aligns with our coding standards.”
4. What is the last security mistake you made? What did you learn from it?
Understanding past mistakes helps in future prevention.
Sample answer
“I once overlooked a security patch update, leading to a minor vulnerability. I learned the importance of regular patching and now have automated alerts set up.”
5. Why does using a platform as a service scale easier than hosting code on a single compute instance?
Scalability is crucial for growing applications.
Sample answer
“PaaS solutions abstract infrastructure management, allowing developers to focus on code. They auto-scale based on demand, whereas a single compute instance has limitations and requires manual scaling.”
6. Why is it important to have configuration management in DevOps?
Configuration management ensures consistency.
Sample answer
“It ensures that an application’s configurations are consistent across different environments, reducing errors during deployment and ensuring that applications behave as expected.”
7. Why do people use SSH?
SSH is vital for secure communications.
Sample answer
“SSH, or Secure Shell, is used to establish a secure connection between a client and a server. It’s essential for tasks like remote server management, ensuring encrypted and authenticated communication.”
What does a good DevOps Engineer candidate look like?
A competent DevOps Engineer should possess a deep understanding of CI/CD pipelines, be proficient in cloud services, and have a proactive approach to problem-solving. They should demonstrate a keen eye for security, be adept at collaboration, and have a continuous learning mindset.
Red flags
Be cautious of candidates who lack hands-on experience with popular DevOps tools or are unfamiliar with basic cloud services. A reluctance to collaborate or an inability to articulate the importance of security in DevOps can also be concerning.