Interview Denis, DevOps
What is the job of DevOps?
The DevOps engineer is halfway between the giant and l'ops and therefore inherits a double hat.
Difficult to summarize, its role is mainly to set up a work philosophy that aims to stabilize systems and developments.
For this he automate processing as much as possible (deployment, installation, maintenance, etc.) in order to minimize human intervention and the time spent on each of them.
DevOps must therefore have a good understanding of the system as well as infrastructure as well as a good developer background.
What was your background in doing this job?
Coming from a rather generic training in computer sciences, I started my professional career as a python/matlab developer to then transit to the world of système.
During a mission, where I was in the Datacenter team, I found myself doing DevOps without really knowing it and we therefore naturally decided to open a DevOps sub-section, which I was able to manage, at the within the team.
I was thus able to immerse myself completely in the business and build my skills on many new technologies, by setting up good DevOps practices and implementing the most suitable tools to support our vision.
Why is your DevOps role important?
It is important because it is a link between the dev and the ops. It brings peace of mind to teams by eliminating repetitive and delicate tasks as much as possible.
It is also a transversal work which is not limited to a single part of the Informatic service but touches the chain from beginning to end. He is therefore extremely well placed to take a critical look at the processes and tools in place.
It also forces you to generalize as much as possible the code provided in order to be able to apply it to as many projects and situations as possible.
Why do you like your job?
Compared to a more traditional position, this work requires a lot of flexibility but offers in exchange a nice variety of subjects and projects.
As the profession is still relatively young and the tools are recent, there is a multitude of things to discover, to learn and above all many challenges.
It also brings a significant social link. In a field that is sometimes too marked by the isolation of people and teams, it's a breath of fresh air.
An anecdote to share, a nice memory at Peaks?
Confinement has made teleworking massively part of everyday life and for all the advantages that this brings, we must not forget that human contact remains important. For some it can be overwhelming and I think that's something that Peaks has captured really well. There are now days that are organized at the agency so that employees come to work together in small groups and share a meal. Today was my turn and how good did it feel!
