9 AWS DevOps Interview Questions + How to Prepare

AWS DevOps interviews: what to expect

An upcoming interview for an Amazon Web Services (AWS) DevOps position can be an exciting opportunity to advance your tech career. The exact format of an AWS DevOps interview may vary from one organization to the next, but there are several surefire ways you’ll need to prepare for an upcoming interview, including researching the potential employer, reflecting on the value you can offer the organization, and anticipating questions that a hiring manager may ask you.  

Keep in mind that interviewers may ask a variety of questions to gauge your technical proficiency, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit. 

Did you know? Amazon’s own hiring process for tech roles usually entails an online work style assessment and work style simulation, a behavioral interview by phone, and an additional series of interviews with leaders and topic experts. Amazon’s hiring process may provide some useful insights for your upcoming DevOps interview, whether it’s with Amazon itself or another company [1].  

Keep reading to review core concepts that you may be called upon to discuss, different types of questions to prepare for, and resources for your job search. 

9 AWS DevOps interview questions 

In the list below, we’ve included three categories of questions you might encounter in your upcoming interview: 

• Technical questions to test your AWS DevOps knowledge.

• Behavioral and situational questions to gauge your potential for success in the role you seek.

• Professional development questions to explore your long-term career plans.

While there are many general DevOps questions that may come up in your interview, we’ve focused this list specifically on AWS DevOps so that you can make the most of your experience with the Amazon cloud environment. 

According to Glassdoor’s compilation of over 6,000 general DevOps Engineer interview questions that candidates have shared from their experiences, the top three DevOps questions are: 

— What are the top DevOps tools and which ones have you worked with before?

—What is the need for DevOps?

—What are the most important things that DevOps hopes to achieve? [2]

Technical questions 

1. How can you use AWS to implement Infrastructure as Code? 

Employers ask this question to explore your knowledge and expertise of this AWS DevOps capability. 

Prepare your answer by reviewing the definition of Infrastructure as Code, its capabilities, and the tools, like AWS CloudFormation, that are used to create AWS resources. Also, prepare a few examples of how you can apply Infrastructure as Code to the company’s specific business needs. 

2. What are some of the challenges associated with DevOps CodePipeline in AWS?

Employers ask this question to assess your ability to identify and address obstacles with this AWS DevOps tool. 

Prepare your answer by reviewing AWS’s documentation on common issues with DevOps CodePipeline and how to address them. For example, you may find that some processes, like test actions or deployments, fail because of permission errors. By reviewing AWS’s documentation, you can explain how to correct these permission errors succinctly. 

3. Why use AWS for DevOps? What’s the advantage of adopting the AWS DevOps system? 

Employers ask this question to find out your knowledge of how AWS DevOps compares to other DevOps systems like Microsoft Azure or IBM.  

Prepare your answer by reviewing the differences among DevOps systems, what makes AWS unique, and the factors that would go into choosing AWS over others, such as the simplicity of using it, being able to automate the deployment of codes, and making processes more efficient while reducing costs. Come up with some specific examples of how AWS DevOps tools and processes can benefit the company you want to work for. 

Behavioral and situational questions

4. Tell me about something you achieved using the AWS DevOps model. 

Employers ask this question to get a sense of which of your successes stand out to you most and the extent of your AWS experience. 

Prepare your answer by making a list of your top AWS DevOps projects and accomplishments, particularly ones with quantifiable results and that demonstrate your skills. Recall details of these projects—their purpose, your role in each project, steps you took to complete it, and the outcomes. Be sure to highlight how these past accomplishments might translate to the role you seek.   

5. How would you describe the AWS DevOps model to people who don’t have this technical background? 

Employers ask this question to gauge your mastery of concepts and ability to break them down so that stakeholders in a given project—such as executives, business analysts, or clients—can understand regardless of their own technical knowledge. In addition, this question provides insight into your communication and collaboration skills and your ability to work with diverse teams, which are important for a role in AWS DevOps. 

Prepare your answer by reflecting on different AWS DevOps concepts, identifying technical terms and acronyms, and coming up with non-technical language to explain them. Then, practice explaining these concepts to friends or family members and ask them for feedback on the clarity of your explanations.  

Read more: DevOps Terms: A to Z Glossary

6. Give me an example of a real-life scenario in which you can implement AWS DevOps.  

Employers ask this question to observe how well you can think on your feet, pull from experience to solve problems, and offer practical applications of your AWS DevOps technical knowledge. 

Prepare your answer by making a list of scenarios calling for AWS DevOps and describing how you’d employ various tools to create solutions. For inspiration, you can refer to AWS’s list of top brands that use its DevOps tools. For example, the Toronto Star uses AWS OpsWorks to reduce deployment time for its content management system, while Zillow uses AWS Elastic Beanstalk for scalable image processing [3]. 

Tip: Answer behavioral and situational questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, and Result) to tell compelling stories about your experience and capabilities. 

Professional development questions

7. How do you stay up-to-date on AWS DevOps trends? 

Employers ask this question to discover the extent to which you continue learning about this field to enhance your performance in a DevOps role. 

Prepare your answer by making a list of courses you’ve completed or are currently taking, communities you’re a part of, and industry resources you subscribe to. Industry resources examples might include the AWS DevOps Blog or DevOps.com. Once you have your list, identify the trends you’ve learned about and specific ways you've applied learnings from these resources to actual DevOps projects.  

8. What are some AWS DevOps trends you’re excited about?

Employers ask this question to discover more about your passion for this field, which aspect of AWS DevOps catches your attention, and how you might pursue particular trends as a way to develop your career. 

Prepare your answer by reflecting on the trends you discover through industry research and what they might mean for organizations. For example, you might be interested in AIOps, using artificial intelligence to reduce human intervention in IT operations, and MLOps, automating machine learning in IT operations. You can review tools for these processes, like Amazon CloudWatch for and Amazon SageMaker, to form your answer. 

9. What ideas do you have for succeeding in this AWS DevOps role with our company? 

Employers ask this question to learn more about your strategic thinking, alignment with company values, and your long-term potential to contribute to the company’s DevOps goals. 

Prepare your answer by researching the company thoroughly from a DevOps frame of mind. What kind of technology stack has the company invested in? What is the company’s engineering approach? What other job openings in DevOps are listed on the company’s career page? Can you find case studies on how the company has implemented DevOps practices? If this is the company’s first DevOps hire, how can you use AWS’s DevOps tools to improve the company’s accomplishments? 

Core AWS DevOps concepts to know

Reviewing concepts that are essential to AWS DevOps can make it easier to form effective answers to basic technical questions like “What are the different phases in DevOps?”

The following list is adapted from AWS’s DevOps best practices page [4]. 

CI/CD 

Continuous Integration (CI) refers to the practice of merging code changes into a central repository to address bugs quickly, improve software quality, and release validated updates quickly. 

Continuous Development (CD) refers to the practice of automatic building, testing, and releasing code changes. CD passes build artifacts through a standardized test process so they can be deployed. 

Microservices

Microservices refers to building a single application that contains a set of small, independent services. Each individual service has its own purpose and communicates with the other services through an API. 

Infrastructure as Code

With this practice, developers use version control, continuous integration, and other software development techniques to manage infrastructure. The infrastructure is defined by code, and thus engineers can deploy, update, or duplicate the infrastructure at scale rather than manually configuring systems or policies.   

Monitoring and Logging 

This practice enables organizations to stay vigilant about how applications and infrastructures are performing and affecting the end user. Logs are generated by the applications and infrastructures themselves, enabling organizations to find problems and address them proactively. 

Communication and Collaboration

Tools and automation enable better collaboration among teams, so they can complete projects and reach goals with greater ease.  

Prepare to discuss your knowledge of the DevOps tools used in the AWS cloud environment, such as AWS Systems Manager and AWS CodePipeline, and how they correspond to the best practices. 

Read more: 11 DevOps Tools for 2023

Tips to prepare for an AWS DevOps interview

In addition to anticipating AWS DevOps interview questions, you’ll also need to prepare for the interview experience as a whole. Follow these tips to boost your confidence and enhance your performance: 

Get details about the entire recruitment process.

In the days before your interview, you’ll need to learn as much as you can about getting hired, including:

• Going through multiple rounds of interviews

• Completing work assessments

• Doing live coding demonstrations 

• When to expect getting an offer

• The onboarding process 

Ask the recruiter or hiring manager to give you the full run-down before your first interview so that you can prepare accordingly. 

Read more: 23 Questions You Can Expect in a Final Interview

Prepare to answer general interview questions.

At some point in the recruitment process, a hiring manager may ask you general questions about your salary expectations, your overall work experience, what inspires you to pursue a career in technology, and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Reflect on answers to these general questions, alongside preparing to discuss AWS DevOps specifically. 

Read more: 10 Good Questions to Ask a Recruiter

Improve your resume and other job search materials. 

Even with an interview already lined up, spend a few minutes refreshing your resume. Doing so can make it easier to discuss your career goals and qualifications during the interview. For example, you can clarify and strengthen the verbiage with action words, quantify your achievements, and even add an objectives section. 

Here are some additional resources to use as you continue your job search: 

• How to List Certifications on Your Resume: Guide + Examples

• 16 Resume Tips for Your 2023 Job Search

• Job Search Guide: Resources for Your Next Career Move

• Cover Letter Writing Guide 2023: Examples and Tips

Build AWS DevOps skills with Coursera

Taking online courses can be a great way to review the skills you need for a successful AWS DevOps career and prepare for an upcoming interview. Consider the exam prep course for the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional credential, offered by WhizLabs, or the DevOps on AWS Specialization, offered by AWS.