Skip to content

DevOps Interview Questions

Comprehensive interview preparation guide for DevOps roles

๐Ÿ“š Overview

This folder contains curated interview questions and answers for DevOps Engineer positions, covering all essential topics from fundamentals to advanced concepts.

๐Ÿ“– Contents

Interview Question Files

  1. 01-DevOps-Fundamentals.md
  2. DevOps culture and principles
  3. CI/CD concepts
  4. Version control
  5. Agile methodologies

  6. 30+ questions

  7. 02-Linux-System-Administration.md

  8. Linux commands and administration
  9. File systems and permissions
  10. Process management
  11. Shell scripting

  12. 40+ questions

  13. 03-Docker-Containers.md

  14. Docker fundamentals
  15. Container lifecycle
  16. Dockerfile best practices
  17. Docker Compose

  18. 35+ questions

  19. 04-Kubernetes.md

  20. Kubernetes architecture
  21. Pods, Services, Deployments
  22. ConfigMaps and Secrets
  23. Networking and storage

  24. 50+ questions

  25. 05-CI-CD-Tools.md

  26. Jenkins pipelines
  27. GitHub Actions
  28. GitLab CI
  29. ArgoCD

  30. 30+ questions

  31. 06-Infrastructure-as-Code.md

  32. Terraform
  33. Ansible
  34. CloudFormation

  35. 25+ questions

  36. 07-Cloud-Platforms.md

  37. AWS services
  38. Azure services
  39. GCP services

  40. 40+ questions

  41. 08-Monitoring-Observability.md

  42. Prometheus
  43. Grafana
  44. ELK Stack
  45. Distributed tracing

  46. 25+ questions

  47. 09-Security-Best-Practices.md

  48. DevSecOps
  49. Secrets management
  50. Security scanning

  51. 20+ questions

  52. 10-Scenario-Based-Questions.md

    • Real-world scenarios
    • Troubleshooting
    • System design
    • 30+ questions

๐ŸŽฏ Interview Preparation Strategy

Week 1-2: Fundamentals

  • DevOps principles and culture
  • Linux system administration
  • Git and version control
  • Basic networking

Week 3-4: Containerization

  • Docker fundamentals
  • Container orchestration basics
  • Kubernetes architecture
  • Pod management

Week 5-6: Automation

  • CI/CD pipelines
  • Infrastructure as Code
  • Configuration management
  • Deployment strategies

Week 7-8: Advanced Topics

  • Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)
  • Monitoring and observability
  • Security best practices
  • System design

Week 9-10: Practice

  • Scenario-based questions
  • Mock interviews
  • Hands-on labs
  • Review weak areas

๐Ÿ’ก Interview Tips

Before the Interview

โœ… Review job description thoroughly
โœ… Research the company's tech stack
โœ… Prepare questions to ask
โœ… Set up your environment for technical tests
โœ… Review your resume and projects

During the Interview

โœ… Think out loud - explain your reasoning
โœ… Ask clarifying questions
โœ… Use the STAR method for behavioral questions
โœ… Draw diagrams when explaining architecture
โœ… Admit when you don't know something

Technical Interview

โœ… Start with high-level overview
โœ… Break down complex problems
โœ… Consider trade-offs
โœ… Discuss scalability and reliability
โœ… Mention monitoring and alerting

Behavioral Interview

โœ… Prepare STAR stories (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
โœ… Show leadership and collaboration
โœ… Discuss challenges and learnings
โœ… Demonstrate problem-solving skills
โœ… Show passion for DevOps

๐Ÿ“Š Question Difficulty Levels

Junior DevOps Engineer (0-2 years)

Focus Areas: - Linux basics - Git fundamentals - Docker basics - CI/CD concepts - Basic scripting

Sample Questions: - What is DevOps? - Explain Git workflow - What is a Docker container? - How does CI/CD work?

Mid-Level DevOps Engineer (2-5 years)

Focus Areas: - Kubernetes - Infrastructure as Code - Cloud platforms - Monitoring - Security basics

Sample Questions: - Design a CI/CD pipeline - Explain Kubernetes architecture - How do you manage secrets? - Troubleshoot production issues

Senior DevOps Engineer (5+ years)

Focus Areas: - System design - Architecture patterns - Performance optimization - Team leadership - Strategic planning

Sample Questions: - Design a highly available system - Implement disaster recovery - Optimize cloud costs - Lead DevOps transformation

๐Ÿ” Common Interview Topics

Technical Skills

  1. Linux/Unix (90% of interviews)
  2. Docker (85% of interviews)
  3. Kubernetes (80% of interviews)
  4. CI/CD (90% of interviews)
  5. Cloud Platforms (75% of interviews)
  6. Infrastructure as Code (70% of interviews)
  7. Monitoring (65% of interviews)
  8. Scripting (80% of interviews)

Soft Skills

  1. Communication - Explain technical concepts clearly
  2. Problem-Solving - Troubleshooting approach
  3. Collaboration - Working with teams
  4. Learning - Staying updated with technology
  5. Leadership - Mentoring and guiding

๐Ÿ“ Question Categories

Conceptual Questions

  • What is DevOps?
  • Explain CI/CD
  • What is Infrastructure as Code?
  • Describe microservices architecture

Technical Questions

  • How do you create a Docker image?
  • Write a Kubernetes deployment YAML
  • Create a Jenkins pipeline
  • Write a Terraform module

Scenario-Based Questions

  • Application is slow in production
  • Deployment failed in production
  • High CPU usage on servers
  • Database connection issues

Troubleshooting Questions

  • Pod is in CrashLoopBackOff
  • Jenkins build is failing
  • Terraform apply errors
  • Docker container won't start

๐ŸŽ“ Study Resources

Official Documentation

Practice Platforms

Books

  • "The Phoenix Project" - Gene Kim
  • "The DevOps Handbook" - Gene Kim
  • "Site Reliability Engineering" - Google
  • "Kubernetes in Action" - Marko Lukลกa

๐Ÿš€ Quick Reference

Most Asked Questions

Top 10 DevOps Questions: 1. What is DevOps and why is it important? 2. Explain CI/CD pipeline 3. What is Docker and how does it work? 4. Explain Kubernetes architecture 5. What is Infrastructure as Code? 6. How do you handle secrets in production? 7. Explain blue-green deployment 8. What is monitoring and observability? 9. How do you troubleshoot production issues? 10. Describe your ideal DevOps workflow

Top 10 Kubernetes Questions: 1. What is a Pod? 2. Difference between Deployment and StatefulSet 3. How does Service discovery work? 4. Explain ConfigMaps and Secrets 5. What is an Ingress? 6. How do you debug a failing Pod? 7. Explain resource requests and limits 8. What is a DaemonSet? 9. How does Kubernetes networking work? 10. Explain persistent volumes

๐Ÿ“ˆ Statistics

Question Coverage

  • Total Questions: 300+
  • DevOps Fundamentals: 30+ questions
  • Linux Administration: 40+ questions
  • Docker: 35+ questions
  • Kubernetes: 50+ questions
  • CI/CD: 30+ questions
  • IaC: 25+ questions
  • Cloud Platforms: 40+ questions
  • Monitoring: 25+ questions
  • Security: 20+ questions
  • Scenarios: 30+ questions

Difficulty Distribution

  • Easy: 40% (Fundamentals, basic concepts)
  • Medium: 40% (Implementation, troubleshooting)
  • Hard: 20% (System design, optimization)

External Resources

๐Ÿ’ผ Interview Process

Typical DevOps Interview Stages

Stage 1: Phone Screen (30 min) - Background and experience - Basic technical questions - Salary expectations - Availability

Stage 2: Technical Interview (60-90 min) - Deep dive into technical skills - Hands-on coding/scripting - System design - Troubleshooting scenarios

Stage 3: Practical Assessment (2-4 hours) - Take-home assignment - Build CI/CD pipeline - Deploy application - Write IaC code

Stage 4: Cultural Fit (30-60 min) - Team collaboration - Communication skills - Problem-solving approach - Company values alignment

Stage 5: Final Round (30-60 min) - Meet with leadership - Discuss role expectations - Career growth - Offer discussion

โœ… Preparation Checklist

Technical Preparation

  • [ ] Review Linux commands
  • [ ] Practice Docker commands
  • [ ] Deploy apps on Kubernetes
  • [ ] Write CI/CD pipelines
  • [ ] Create Terraform modules
  • [ ] Set up monitoring
  • [ ] Practice scripting (Bash/Python)
  • [ ] Review cloud services

Hands-On Practice

  • [ ] Build a complete CI/CD pipeline
  • [ ] Deploy microservices on Kubernetes
  • [ ] Create infrastructure with Terraform
  • [ ] Set up monitoring with Prometheus
  • [ ] Implement blue-green deployment
  • [ ] Configure auto-scaling
  • [ ] Set up logging with ELK
  • [ ] Practice troubleshooting

Soft Skills

  • [ ] Prepare STAR stories
  • [ ] Practice explaining technical concepts
  • [ ] Prepare questions to ask
  • [ ] Review resume and projects
  • [ ] Mock interviews with peers

Last Updated: January 5, 2026
Status: โœ… Complete interview preparation guide
Total Questions: 300+
Coverage: Junior to Senior level