Follow our guide to writing your DevOps engineer resume, including finding the best format, details on which sections to include, and examples and resources to use.
DevOps engineers are in high demand, with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimating a job growth of 25 percent between 2022 and 2032 for related occupations, a rate well above the national average [1]. DevOps engineering is a growing career option with lots of opportunities, so it’s important that your resume highlights your most valuable experience, skills, and education.
Use this step-by-step guide to put together a resume that stands out to DevOps employers.
Read more: What Does a DevOps Engineer Do? A Career Guide
The template you choose for your resume is very important because how your information is presented affects the likelihood of a recruiter reading it. It needs to be clear, concise, and easy to follow. The template you choose ultimately depends on what you want to highlight most.
You may consider any of the following templates:
Chronological: Chronological resume templates list your education and professional experience in reverse chronological order, with your most recent at the top. This option is great for seeing your progression and to quickly view your latest credentials. A chronological resume is a good choice if you have lots of experience, with the most recent being the most important.
Functional: Functional, or skills-based, resumes highlight your skills and achievements rather than focusing on a clear line of progression or individual employers. It’s a useful template if you are changing careers and your strengths and skills are more relevant than your most recent experience.
Combination: A combination resume is a hybrid of the two above. It has a skills section and also delves into your career history. This is a great option for highlighting relevant skills you’ve gained outside of traditional education and employment.
Read more: 16 Resume Tips for Your Job Search
A number of resume template options are available online, or you can create your own. Google Docs has simple and effective templates to choose from. If you decide to choose from this platform, you’ll need an account if you don’t already have one. Once on Google Docs, you’ll select “Template gallery” when creating a new document to see available templates. All you need to do is fill in your details on the existing template.
Start your DevOps resume by including your contact information. Include a full address or city and state as well as a mobile number, email address, and links to any portfolios or your LinkedIn profile. Here's an example:
Judith Gonzales
New York, NY
(212) 555-1212
myname@email.com
linkedin.com/in/myprofile
myname.portfolio.com
Your summary is the first part of your resume after your contact details. It should only be a few sentences, highlighting your most relevant and impressive experience, skills, and anything that sets you apart from other candidates.
Senior DevOps engineer with over 15 years of expertise in infrastructure management. Highly adept at leading, developing, and implementing complex infrastructure, including automation activities, software development, and IT operations. Winner of “Employee of the Year” at a leading tech company.
Showing off your relevant DevOps engineering skills is an essential part of your resume. You can do this throughout the resume in the summary and experience sections. It’s important that you tailor this to the role you’re applying for. Look at job adverts to see what skills DevOps employers want and feature these in your resume.
Some DevOps engineer skills examples include:
Technical skills
Configuration management
Automation integration
Programming and coding
Systems administration
Networking
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Google Cloud
Linux
Workplace skills
Communication
Collaboration
Detail-oriented
Problem-solving
Organization
Read more: Resume Keywords: How to Find the Right Words to Beat the ATS
Professional experience is vital to being a qualified candidate. You can find employer expectations in the job description, so it’s important to highlight that you meet the requirements.
First include your recent employment in the experience section if you’re using a chronological or combination resume template. Include details of the employer, job title, dates, as well as bullet points showcasing your responsibilities and achievements.
Remember, experience isn’t only paid work. Include volunteer work, personal projects, and anything else that demonstrates your relevant experience and expertise.
Here’s an example of a professional experience section entry:
Hanson and Vaughen
DevOps engineer
January 2020-July 2023
Improved development process time through automation technologies by 53 percent
Consulted with clients and management to design and implement procedures for disaster recovery
Optimized 20 websites using JavaScript
Designed and managed software applications for multiple clients
Migrated customer database of 50,000 to central customer relationship management (CRM) system
Lead monitoring for the DevOps team, including testing systems and networks
DevOps engineering is a technical role, so it’s likely you have some training, certifications, and professional affiliations to include. This warrants its own section, or you can add it to your education section. Make sure to include details of the course/certification and the dates you completed it.
Here is an example of a certification and professional affiliation section:
Certifications and affiliations
AWS DevOps Engineer Professional Certification - Issued by Amazon AWS in March 2023
Certified Jenkins Engineer (CJE) Certification - Held since December 2022
Docker Certified Associate (DCA) - Held since October 2020
Member - DevOps Institute
A bachelor’s degree is usually the minimum requirement for a DevOps engineer, so it’s important to include it, along with any other formal education, such as a master’s degree. Include any relevant projects or minors if it makes you stand out for the position you're applying for. List your education in reverse chronological order.
Choose a resume template that suits your experience level and career history.
Use Google Docs to simplify the process of formatting your resume.
Tailor your resume to the role you’re applying for.
Use your summary to highlight all your top selling points briefly.
Use keywords from job ads when listing your skills.
Add voluntary work and personal projects when relevant.
You can gain in-demand DevOps skills from an industry leader in technology with IBM's Introduction to DevOps. In this beginner-friendly online course, you'll learn about essential DevOps concepts like continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), automation, and test-driven development (TDD). Upon completion, gain a certificate to include in your resume, CV, or LinkedIn profile.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Occupational Outlook Handbook: Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analyst, and Testers, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm.” Accessed October 16, 2023.
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