DevOps is one of those terms that means something different everywhere. at some companies, it's about managing infrastructure. at others, it's about CI/CD pipelines. some places expect DevOps engineers to also write application code. this lack of clarity makes hiring difficult.
the first step is figuring out what you actually need. don't just post a generic DevOps job description. think about your specific pain points. are deployments slow? is your infrastructure unreliable? do you need better monitoring? the answers will tell you what skills to prioritize.
DevOps sits at the intersection of development and operations, which means you're looking for people with broad knowledge rather than deep expertise in one area. they need to understand code well enough to review it and automate things, but also understand systems, networking, and infrastructure.
experience with specific tools matters, but adaptability matters more. the tools change constantly. kubernetes is everywhere now, but it wasn't five years ago. someone who learned docker and can pick up kubernetes quickly is more valuable than someone who only knows kubernetes but struggles to learn new technologies.
cloud experience is pretty much mandatory at this point. whether it's AWS, Azure, or GCP, most infrastructure lives in the cloud now. but cloud certifications alone don't tell you much. you need people who've actually built and maintained production systems in the cloud, not just passed an exam.
automation skills are critical. good DevOps engineers think about how to eliminate repetitive work. if they're doing something manually more than once, they should be automating it. ask candidates about things they've automated and how they approached those problems.
incident response experience is underrated. production systems break. when they do, you need someone who can troubleshoot under pressure, diagnose root causes, and implement fixes without making things worse. ask about incidents they've handled and how they approached them.
communication skills are more important than for traditional ops roles. DevOps engineers work with everyone: developers, product managers, executives. they need to explain technical issues to non-technical people and translate business requirements into technical solutions. poor communicators struggle in these roles.
the seniority level you need depends on your situation. if you're building your first DevOps practice, you need someone senior who can design systems and mentor others. if you have an established team, mid-level engineers who can execute well might be a better fit.
salary expectations for DevOps engineers are high and getting higher. the skills are in demand across industries. be prepared to pay competitive rates. trying to lowball offers will just waste everyone's time.
remote work has become standard for DevOps roles. the nature of the work - managing cloud infrastructure, reviewing code, automating deployments - doesn't require being in an office. expect candidates to ask for remote options or at least flexibility.
cultural fit matters more than you might think. DevOps is about breaking down silos between teams. someone who prefers working in isolation or doesn't handle collaboration well will struggle, no matter how technically skilled they are.
technical interviews for DevOps should be practical. forget whiteboard coding. give them actual problems they'd face on the job: troubleshoot a deployment issue, review some infrastructure code, design a monitoring setup. their approach to solving real problems tells you more than abstract algorithm questions.
don't expect to find someone who knows everything in your stack. the field is too broad. instead, look for people who know some of your stack well and can learn the rest. someone who's worked with terraform on AWS can learn to use it on GCP. someone who's strong with jenkins can pick up github actions.
finally, be honest about your infrastructure's current state. if your systems are messy and need fixing, say so. many DevOps engineers find that more appealing than maintaining something perfect. they like solving problems and building better systems. selling a false picture just leads to disappointment later.