Technology · Level IC2
DevOps Engineer
Builds and runs CI/CD, cloud infrastructure, and containers. Scripting automates, but reliability judgement and incident response stay human.
Indicative, sourced ranges — not a guarantee. Glassdoor/KORE1 2026 DevOps base $130-143k avg; Levels.fyi DevOps median total ~$154k; maps loosely to BLS 15-1252 (May 2025) band
Career Score
79/100 · ExceptionalIndicative role rating — same inputs give the same score. It rates the role, not you, and never predicts an outcome.
Strong pay headroom above this role — the ladder keeps climbing.
Hiring demand is high.
Scripting/config automatable, but reliability judgement and incident response remain; AIOps augments rather than replaces. These tasks are automating — move up the scope ladder.
Moderate barrier to enter.
Long-term headroom above is high.
Work–life sustainability is moderate.
Explore & decide
The pay-vs-effort call, the routes in, and how it stacks up.
At a glance
AI & this role: Scripting/config automatable, but reliability judgement and incident response remain; AIOps augments rather than replaces. The move is to climb the scope ladder, not to fear the tool.
What differentiates you at this level
- CI/CD + infrastructure-as-code
- Cloud platform fundamentals (AWS/GCP/Azure)
- Containers + Kubernetes
Where this leads — your highest-value routes
Ranked by pay ceiling. Progression is driven by scope and level transitions, not tenure.
Credentials that help
Credentials help entry and specialisation; they don't gate senior or leadership roles — scope does.
- CS / related bachelor's degree · $10k-$40k+/yr public in-state to private; highly variable
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) · ~$150
- Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer · ~$125
- Microsoft Azure role-based cert (AZ-104/204/305) · ~$165
See current US DevOps Engineer listings mapped to your level, in your metro.
Browse DevOps Engineer jobs →FAQ
Typical US total compensation is $143,000–$190,000 (median $163,000), indicative and metro-dependent — see the pay breakdown.
Scripting/config automatable, but reliability judgement and incident response remain; AIOps augments rather than replaces. The move is up the scope ladder, not away from AI.
The highest-value route is toward Staff Platform Engineer (up to $433,000).