Friday, December 8, 2017

Word of the Day: DevOps engineer

Word of the Day WhatIs.com
Daily updates on the latest technology terms |December 8, 2017
DevOps engineer

A DevOps engineer is an information technology (IT) professional who works with software developers, system operators (SysOps) and other production IT staff to oversee code releases. The role calls for someone who has the necessary hard and soft skills that are required to overcome the traditional barriers between software development, testing and operations teams.

A DevOps engineer must know how to manage the IT infrastructure that's needed to support software code in dedicated, multi-tenant or hybrid cloud environments. He or she may be required to provision required resources, select an appropriate deployment model, direct the testing protocol to validate release and monitor performance after release. Tasks may include preparing test data, analyzing results, troubleshooting problems and communicating issues back to development.

The DevOps approach to software development requires frequent, incremental changes to code versions, which means frequent deployment and testing regimens. Although DevOp engineers rarely code from scratch, they must understand the basics of software development languages and be familiar with the development tools used to create new code or update existing code. A DevOps engineer will work with development staff to tackle the coding and scripting needed to connect elements of code, such as libraries or software development kits (SDKs), and integrate other components such as SQL data management or messaging tools that are needed to run the software release on operating systems and production infrastructure.

The role of DevOps engineer does not fall along one career track; professionals evolve into the position from a variety of backgrounds. For example, a DevOps engineer may start as a software developer that oversees aspects of operations. Conversely, a DevOps engineer may move up from a system administrator role because he or she has gained knowledge about coding, scripting, integration and testing. There can be some overlap between DevOps and SysOps engineering roles depending on the individual organization and its technical needs, but it's the DevOps engineer whose responsibilities include changing business processes as needed to solve organizational problems and improve business outcomes.

Quote of the Day

"The ideal DevOps engineer is able to communicate well and focuses on collaboration with other members of the organization, no matter what team they're on." - Grant Hatchimonji

 

Trending Terms

DevOps
SysOps
soft skills
software developers kit
SQL
business process improvement
DevOps certification

 
Learning Center

Discovering what DevOps means through help wanted ads
Confusion abounds over exactly what DevOps means, as illustrated by different job postings touting technical know-how, DevOps culture and even utopia.

ATTN hiring managers: Your DevOps engineer job description is wrong
A common DevOps engineer job description outlines skills merging ops with programming. Too bad those aren't the only skills a true 'DevOps engineer' needs.

DevOps engineer skills needed for continuous deployment
There is no formal training path, but DevOps engineer skills come from someone experienced in IT with capabilities beyond her expertise.

Devops principles and practices define engineer
Engineer and evangelist share important DevOps principles and practices. This skill set is based on high-minded principles, as well as technical acumen.

DevOps engineers and open source: Culturally connected
DevOps pros love open source tools for many technical reasons, and a closer look reveals a strong cultural connection between the two.

Writing for Business

Successfully _______ a DevOps culture in a data center isn't easy, but it brings great rewards.
a. adapting
b. adopting
Answer

 

Stay In Touch
For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com

 

Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed!

 

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