Skills you need to be a devops engineer
8 skills a hiring manager would actually test for, each with the level this role expects and what it is used for. Not a syllabus — the shape of the job.
Build my path to this roleUpskili checks what you can already do, then sequences only what is missing. No account needed.
What the role requires
Ordered by how much the job depends on it. The bar is the proficiency expected of a competent devops engineer — not mastery, and not a passing acquaintance.
-
CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI)
Essential
Automates build, test, and deployment workflows across all environments.
Strong -
Docker
Essential
Packages and ships every service the team runs.
Deep -
Kubernetes
Essential
Orchestrates containerized workloads and manages service scaling.
Strong -
Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform)
Essential
Provisions and manages cloud infrastructure declaratively.
Strong -
Cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
Important
Runs core infrastructure, storage, and managed services.
Strong -
Monitoring and observability (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana)
Important
Tracks system health, alerts on issues, and visualizes metrics.
Strong -
Scripting (e.g., Bash, Python)
Important
Automates operational tasks and glues tooling together.
Working -
Git
Useful
Manages all infrastructure and application code versions.
Strong
An order worth learning it in
A list of ten skills is the same unhelpful answer a catalogue gives, just sorted. This is where to actually start.
Start here
Essential to the role, and reachable from a standing start. Everything below rests on these.
- Kubernetes
- Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform)
- Cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
- Monitoring and observability (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana)
- Scripting (e.g., Bash, Python)
Then this
The rest of what the role is assessed on. Harder, and it builds on the foundation above.
- CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI)
- Docker
What sets you apart
Not what gets you hired, but what separates doing the job from being trusted with it.
- Git
You almost certainly have some of this already.
That is the point of starting from the role rather than a course. Upskili checks what you can do, then builds a path across only the gap.
See my path to devops engineer