Don’t Just Hire DevOps Engineers: Hire Cloud-Native Experts
The term ‘cloud-native’ isn’t just marketing jargon, but a fundamentally new approach to building and managing software that demands a new breed of experts.
When you look to hire a Dev Ops engineer today, the old skills are no longer enough. Modern systems are built on microservices and containers. They require specialists who think in code, orchestrate with Kubernetes, and can diagnose problems across distributed systems.
Traditional DevOps engineers automate existing pipelines. Cloud-native DevOps engineers build resilient, scalable systems designed specifically for the cloud from scratch.
Companies that are adopting powerful cloud-native technologies need the latter when they hire Dev Ops engineer talent or outsource DevOps services. They need specialists who think, build, and breathe cloud-native. 69% of employers are looking for such cloud professionals. Most of them do not know what to look for during recruiting.
This guide breaks down what cloud-native qualities to look for the next time you seek out DevOps developers for hire.
Cloud-Native DevOps Competencies
A true cloud-native DevOps expert has three essential skills:
1. Kubernetes Mastery
Knowing basic Kubernetes commands is not enough. That’s table stakes. A real cloud-native expert understands Kubernetes at an architectural level.
They do not just deploy pods. They design and build self-healing, automated systems. This requires a deep understanding of advanced concepts. They need to be fluent in creating custom operators to automate application management.
They must have hands-on experience managing traffic and securing microservices with service meshes like Istio. And they need to live and breathe GitOps. They must also use tools like ArgoCD to manage infrastructure declaratively.
2. Observability Expertise
Simple monitoring is a thing of the past. A modern DevOps developer for hire must be an expert in observability. This is the ability to understand the internal state of a complex system just by observing its outputs. It’s built on three pillars:
- Metrics: Using tools like Prometheus to collect time-series data on the health and performance of the system
- Logs: Structuring and aggregating application logs for deep analysis with tools like the ELK stack
- Traces: Implementing distributed tracing with tools like Jaeger to follow a single request as it travels through multiple microservices
A cloud-native expert doesn’t just look at a Grafana dashboard. They can correlate signals across all three pillars to find the root cause of a complex failure in a distributed system.
3. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Fluency
In a cloud-native world, you do not build servers. You write code that builds them. Proficiency in an IaC tool like Terraform is absolutely essential. But true fluency goes beyond writing basic scripts. An expert writes modular, reusable, and secure Terraform code that other teams can use to provision their own infrastructure safely.
They have a deep understanding of state management, plan validation, and how to prevent configuration drift. The days of point-and-click infrastructure are over. When you outsource DevOps services, the quality of the team’s IaC practices is a direct indicator of their overall competence.
At Cerebraix, we ensure our talent understands these principles inside and out. That’s how we help countless companies cut costs and hire Dev Ops engineer talent in India without compromising on quality one bit.
Essential Skills and Certifications
On top of this trinity, there are other essential skills. Deep knowledge of a major cloud provider - AWS, Azure, or GCP - is a must. So is proficiency with Docker and CI/CD tools like Jenkins or GitLab CI.
But in today’s market, you should also look for certifications. They are a clear signal of a candidate’s commitment and validated knowledge. Key certifications to look for include:
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
- Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
- AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
- Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400)
- Google Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer
How Cerebraix Finds the Elite
Certifications are a great starting point. But they don’t tell the whole story.
That’s why we go deeper. We have developed a series of hands-on labs that simulate real-world production crises.
We give candidates a broken Kubernetes cluster and tell them to fix it. We present them with a performance bottleneck and ask them to find the root cause using observability tools. This process weeds out the pretenders fast.
It’s how we guarantee that when you hire Dev Ops engineer in India through our platform, you get true cloud-native specialists who can deliver from day one.
Don’t hire Dev Ops engineer talent with the skills of yesterday. Future-proof your infrastructure. Find elite, cloud-native DevOps talent on the Cerebraix Talent Cloud.
