What Does a DevOps Engineer Do?
DevOps Engineers bridge the gap between software development and IT operations by building and maintaining the tools and processes that enable rapid, reliable software delivery. They automate infrastructure provisioning, deployment pipelines, and monitoring systems. This role is essential for organizations practicing continuous integration and continuous delivery.
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Infrastructure Engineer, IT Architect (Information Technology Architect), IT Engineer (Information Technology Engineer), Network and Infrastructure Engineer, Solutions Architect, Systems Application Engineer, Systems Architect, Systems Consultant.
DevOps Engineer Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a devops engineer include:
- Design and maintain CI/CD pipelines for automated building, testing, and deployment of software.
- Manage containerized applications using Docker and orchestrate them with Kubernetes.
- Implement infrastructure as code to provision and manage cloud resources consistently.
- Monitor application and infrastructure health using logging, metrics, and alerting tools.
- Automate routine operations tasks to reduce manual effort and human error.
- Collaborate with development teams to improve build processes and deployment strategies.
- Manage configuration management tools such as Ansible, Chef, or Puppet.
- Implement security best practices throughout the CI/CD pipeline and infrastructure.
- Troubleshoot production issues and participate in incident response and post-mortems.
- Evaluate and adopt new tools and technologies to improve development velocity and reliability.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a devops engineer, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Strong proficiency in CI/CD tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions
- Experience with containerization and Kubernetes orchestration
- Infrastructure as code expertise with Terraform or CloudFormation
- Proficiency in scripting languages including Python and Bash
- Deep knowledge of Linux systems administration
- Experience with monitoring tools like Prometheus, Grafana, or Datadog
- Understanding of networking, security, and cloud architecture
- Strong collaboration and communication skills across teams
Education and Training
DevOps Engineer roles typically require a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or Information Technology. The interdisciplinary nature of this role means that practical experience often carries significant weight alongside formal education. Relevant certifications include AWS Certified DevOps Engineer, Docker Certified Associate, Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), and HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate. Many DevOps Engineers come from either software development or systems administration backgrounds and develop cross-functional skills over time. The DevOps field values hands-on experience with real production systems and a strong understanding of software delivery best practices.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: varies widely for this role, and BLS does not publish pay for it separately. In the wider BLS group it belongs to (Computer Systems Engineers/Architects), the middle half of earners made $79,370 to $157,500 a year, and the median was $116,580.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Computer Systems Engineers/Architects.
DevOps engineering is one of the most in-demand specializations in the technology industry. As organizations recognize that faster, more reliable software delivery is a competitive advantage, investment in DevOps practices and talent continues to grow. The adoption of microservices architectures, cloud-native development, and site reliability engineering (SRE) principles expands the scope and importance of this role. DevOps Engineers who develop platform engineering skills and can build internal developer platforms are especially well positioned for the next phase of this field's evolution.
DevOps Engineer Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $55,940 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $79,370 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $116,580 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $157,500 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $188,470 |
Highest-Paying States for DevOps Engineers
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are District of Columbia ($156,590), Maryland ($144,680), Colorado ($139,580), Virginia ($139,030), Delaware ($137,470). Pay is lowest in North Dakota ($78,330), Louisiana ($77,000), Tennessee ($76,470).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $106,330 |
| Alaska | $105,960 |
| Arizona | $105,240 |
| Arkansas | $86,940 |
| California | $134,440 |
| Colorado | $139,580 |
| Connecticut | $127,720 |
| Delaware | $137,470 |
| District of Columbia | $156,590 |
| Florida | $105,370 |
| Georgia | $104,610 |
| Hawaii | $120,100 |
| Idaho | $98,700 |
| Illinois | $99,360 |
| Indiana | $93,540 |
| Iowa | $107,340 |
| Kansas | $103,380 |
| Kentucky | $89,420 |
| Louisiana | $77,000 |
| Maine | $107,990 |
| Maryland | $144,680 |
| Massachusetts | $109,590 |
| Michigan | $105,680 |
| Minnesota | $91,750 |
| Mississippi | $86,940 |
| Missouri | $101,040 |
| Montana | $81,970 |
| Nebraska | $92,480 |
| Nevada | $100,220 |
| New Hampshire | $91,720 |
| New Jersey | $108,310 |
| New Mexico | $127,090 |
| New York | $116,990 |
| North Carolina | $104,850 |
| North Dakota | $78,330 |
| Ohio | $109,780 |
| Oklahoma | $102,520 |
| Oregon | $97,350 |
| Pennsylvania | $107,230 |
| Rhode Island | $102,210 |
| South Carolina | $112,260 |
| South Dakota | $105,370 |
| Tennessee | $76,470 |
| Texas | $111,530 |
| Utah | $97,470 |
| Vermont | $111,530 |
| Virginia | $139,030 |
| Washington | $128,940 |
| West Virginia | $107,140 |
| Wisconsin | $88,130 |
| Wyoming | $94,520 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as computer systems engineers/architects about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 91% use email every day
- 86% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 81% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 73% spend more than half the workday sitting
- 70% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 60% are on the phone every day
- 43% use their hands on tools, objects or controls for more than half the day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Post-secondary certificate | 41% |
| Associate's degree | 27% |
| Bachelor's degree | 23% |
Tools and Software DevOps Engineers Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy analyzing problems and working with ideas as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Writing, Speaking, Systems Analysis.
Knowledge areas used most: Computers and Electronics, English Language, Telecommunications, Customer and Personal Service, Engineering and Technology.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 3 of 5, which means medium preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 15-1299.08 (Computer Systems Engineers/Architects). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.