Hiring A DevOps Engineer: Challenges And Pitfalls To Be Aware Of

DevOps has quickly become an integral aspect of software development at companies of all sizes, from small businesses to multinational conglomerates.

Eighty-three percent of IT decision-makers, as reported in Puppet’s 2021 State of DevOps Report, claimed that companies are implementing DevOps approaches to increase business value via higher-quality software, faster delivery timeframes, more stable systems, and the codification of standards.

However, not every business within that 83% could claim complete success in using DevOps techniques. The largest challenges to the DevOps transformation may come from cultural roadblocks, DevOps strategy mistakes, or a lack of proper planning.

Are you a hiring manager? We’ll list the most common mistakes businesses make while hiring a DevOps engineer and how to prevent them. First, let’s take a quick look at what DevOps engineers do and how it might improve product delivery.

Additionally, testing tools can be standardized and applied to each stage of a development process to reduce the number of defects. Learn about how Duplocloud’s platform can help.

Exactly What Problems Do You Expect to Solve by Employing DevOps Engineers?

Let’s discuss why you should hire a DevOps engineer for your business.

DevOps engineers, or DevOps teams more generally, do a variety of responsibilities that supplement the work of engineers who focus on developing an application. Below are further reasons to hire a DevOps developer:

1. Ability to Improve Network Infrastructure

Software developers can maintain and continue developing an application more effectively. By developing new command-line utilities for managing particular activities, such as data processing, cleaning, restructuring, and code optimization, DevOps can further streamline internal software (debugging error code, bundling, and transpiring).

2. Inspection and Planning on How to Fix Technical Problems

A DevOps engineer can take on technical issues with a codebase as a priority, which can be a time-consuming and difficult chore for app developers who are already preoccupied with generating app features.

Today, its standard procedure is to use GitHub’s framework, Milestones, and Project capabilities to handle technical difficulties. The CI/CD process stated earlier, which can proactively verify code each time a new version is made to a repository, heavily relies on GitHub presently.

3. Creating Test and Analysis Software Tools

Today, most development pipelines include testing tools. The DevOps engineer is frequently in charge of implementing such tools to address system flaws. Additionally, testing tools can be standardized and applied to each stage of a development process to reduce the number of defects.

4. Provision of Technical Assistance

A DevOps engineer can also serve as the team’s primary point of contact in times of crisis.

Once the cause of the problem has been identified, the DevOps team is tasked with fixing it and making any necessary adjustments to the testing process to account for any edge situations that may have been missed.

Challenges and Pitfalls to Be Aware of Planning to Hire a DevOps Engineer

DevOps has several dangers and issues that might undermine an institution’s security posture if security is not shifted to its best position. These are among the most typical security problems encountered in DevOps:

1. People in This Community Do At Times Deliberately Create Unsafe Code  

Cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injections are two problems that can affect developed and deployed code if security checks aren’t performed as part of the development process.

2. Using Compromised or Malicious Container Images and Repositories

You can find many helpful container images and packages in public container registries like Docker Hub and Linux repositories like the Arch User Repository (AUR). Nonetheless, they pose a threat to safety. Publicly available container images often have exploitable flaws, and packages from untrusted sources like registries and reports can often be harmful.

3. The Security Challenges With Containers and Kubernetes

Traditional security appliances cannot address the large range of threat vectors and security threats associated with containers and continuous integration systems like Kubernetes.

For instance, containers’ ephemeral nature renders standard IP-based security measures useless. Furthermore, many of Kubernetes default settings don’t provide the highest level of protection, forcing administrators to deliberately choose stronger security.

4. Security Concepts Brought on By Manual Procedures

Personnel must frequently manually identify, prioritize, and address security vulnerabilities when security is not integrated into the CI/CD pipeline. These configuration mistakes, oversights, and mistakes can result in a breach.

For instance, manually evaluating a structure to ensure it complies with the CIS Kubernetes benchmark requirements might require much effort. The same is true for examinations of compliance with regulations like SOX, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. A manual audit only captures a single point in time; therefore, configuration drift could result in new weaknesses that are missed between human audits.

How to Find and Hire the Best DevOps Engineers

1. Find Developers Who Have a Lot of Drive and Interest in What They Do

Look for DevOps coders who have a genuine interest in helping you address the issues you’re facing. When planning to hire a DevOps programmer(s), anyone enthusiastic about a task is more likely to complete it and do a good job than those who view it as a chore.

2. Pay Close Attention to What It Is That You Require Specifically

DevOps is more of a buzzword than a real set of skills. Therefore, it is crucial to hire DevOps freelancers with technical backgrounds to identify the precise function of their desired DevOps position.

3. Verify the Applicant’s Level of Experience

Review the candidate’s academic history in addition to their resume and samples of their recent work. Making an effort in college will show that you want to learn and that you care about the subject matter.

Master’s degree holders in computer science are highly desirable for DevOps roles due to their breadth of knowledge in the IT industry. Inquire about the candidate’s use of online learning resources like Coursera and their stated areas of interest and degree level.

4. Be Well-versed in What It Is You Need

Be sure to provide the hiring managers with comprehensive requirements for the DevOps role you need to fill so they can attract the right candidate. If you aren’t technically savvy, your company’s other employees may be able to shed light on how a DevOps engineer may enhance your software architecture.

Conclusion

Finding and retaining a talented DevOps engineer might be difficult if you don’t have extensive knowledge about the technical needs of your business and the obstacles that impede your software infrastructure from improving in efficiency and effectiveness.

Gaining benefits like fewer bugs, increased automation, and a more robust vulnerability management pipeline may be achieved quickly when you hire a DevOps engineer whose skill set is a good fit for your needs.

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