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Today, the cost of hiring a DevOps engineer is what startups and large corporations are concerned about. The thing is, these specialists qualitatively change the development process and the finished product. It becomes possible with automation, increased security, creating a modular architecture, migration to the cloud, and other functions. That's why most companies want such experts on their in-house staff. Demand outweighs supply, affecting the level of salaries.
As a DevOps services & consulting partner with more than nine years of experience, Softermii has much to say. In this article, you'll learn what influences DevOps engineer salaries, how they vary by region and position, and what additional costs you should be prepared for when hiring.
Market Trends and Insights
DevOps for business combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops), focusing on communication between teams and process automation. Such engineers build and manage tools to enable continuous integration and improvement. It helps companies coordinate communication between developers and operations staff, quickly responding to market demands and improving customer satisfaction.
Let's look at the main trends and insights in the DevOps market.
Demand for DevOps Engineers
The DevOps market is expected to grow rapidly and reach an estimated value of US$3.0 billion by 2029, showing a CAGR of 22.16% annually.
What causes such expansion? The growing need for increased productivity, simplified processes, and rapid delivery of quality applications. Also, companies are escalating technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain to improve product quality and efficiency.
The more complex projects become, the more critical it is to bridge the gap between programmers and specifications. On the other hand, startups need solutions that help them minimize the number of personnel. And therefore, the demand for DevOps engineers is growing.
Emerging Skills and Technologies
The development landscape is constantly evolving. To remain effective, DevOps must focus on the following technologies and skills:
- Serverless computing (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) allows developers to build and deploy applications cheaper and faster. DevOps engineers can optimize platforms, integrate them into larger systems, and manage features.
- A microservices architecture divides applications into independent units that can be flexibly managed, optimized, and changed without breaking the entire code base.
- DevSecOps is a collaboration between technical teams and security experts. DevOps must ensure the security of sensitive data at all stages of the product development life cycle.
- Container technologies like Kubernetes are widely used for websites, databases, and other infrastructure elements. DevOps must have the right skills to easily deploy, scale, and manage containerized applications.
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence will also be useful for DevOps engineers. For example, they can detect anomalies, respond to incidents, and predict events more effectively.
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) enables DevOps to automate infrastructure management, deployment, and continuous operation.
Geographic and Industry-Specific Trends
By 2029, we are expected to see North America dominate the DevOps market. This is caused by the widespread adoption of cloud technologies and the presence of leading players like AWS, Microsoft, and IBM.
The Asia Pacific region will also grow due to the increase in small and medium-sized IT companies. They will rely on DevOps to streamline business operations.
And industries most affected by DevOps include IT, fintech, retail, government and public sector, manufacturing, healthcare, etc.
Remote Work Trends
According to Gartner, 58% of companies have some completely remote workers, double the number of 3 years ago. At the same time, such businesses have about 19% of remote IT talent.
How does this affect the cost of DevOps professionals? The companies can access a wider talent pool, including more cost-effective regions like Eastern Europe or Asia. However, remote work increases the high competition for good specialists, increasing their salary expectations.
DevOps Software Engineer Salary Ranges and Compensation
According to Glassdoor, the average cost of hiring a DevOps engineer in the US is $123,503, ranging from $98K to $156K. Let's compare the compensation in different countries, turning the numbers to US dollars per year.
|
DevOps Engineer Salary |
Senior DevOps Engineer Salary |
DevOps Lead Salary |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
$123,503 |
$178,349 |
$172,184 |
|
|
$78,700 |
$99,183 |
$97,159 |
|
|
$72,091 |
$93,002 |
$88,856 |
|
|
$69,317 |
$95,086 |
$105,216 |
|
|
$66,096 |
$92,520 |
$80,664 |
|
|
$55,800 |
$72,000 |
— |
|
|
|||
Factors Influencing DevOps Engineer Salary
What makes an individual DevOps engineer hiring cost? Let's consider the key influencing factors:
Market Demand and Supply Dynamics
DevOps engineers are in high demand across industries, while the number of skilled professionals is limited. Increased competition between companies leads to higher salaries and big compensation packages.
Globalization encourages DevOps engineers to look for better deals worldwide, not limited to their home countries. Therefore, a junior DevOps engineer salary can be higher than a senior's compensation in their current company.
Experience Level and Seniority
Engineers with more extensive knowledge and experience command higher salaries. DevOps engineer salary entry level typically includes understanding version control, cloud concepts, and basic scripting skills. Senior specialists are advanced in multiple programming languages, cloud infrastructure, containerization, orchestration, and security. They also have experience in designing and managing complex CI/CD pipelines.
Geographic Location and Cost of Living
The cost of living in a particular city or country greatly affects local salaries. If you live in a large tech city with high rents and prices and are looking for an office specialist, prepare competitive compensation. At the same time, a remote vacancy allows you to be more flexible and cost-effective.
For this reason, American and Western European companies increasingly choose DevOps engineers from Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, etc.).
Industry-Specific Requirements and Specialized Skills
There are industries with strict compliance and security regulations, such as fintech, healthcare, or government. DevOps engineers with similar work experience are more valuable and can claim higher compensation.
Skills that meet these technical requirements would also be a good advantage. They include experience with a specific cloud technology provider (AWS, Azure, etc.), automation, or containerization platforms (Kubernetes, Docker).
The experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain also leads to a higher DevOps engineer hourly rate.
Scope of Work and Project Difficulty
Enterprises have enough resources to offer stability and competitive salaries. At the same time, startups initially have fewer opportunities to attract highly qualified specialists but can offer rapid career growth and a share of equity capital.
Qualified engineers undertake various functional responsibilities — design, infrastructure optimization, implementation of complex CI/CD pipelines, and security. They can also take on the role of leader, managing the team. This accordingly increases DevOps engineer salary appetites.
Additional Costs and Considerations
If you think that the average salary DevOps engineer is the only thing you should care about, you risk missing out on many great candidates. Also, you should plan for the costs associated with hiring and technical support.
Benefits and Perks
So what perks and benefits can you apply to attract top talent?
- Health insurance, including dental and vision services
- Vacation leave that helps maintain work-life balance
- Sick days that allow the employee to recover and keep productivity in the future
- Retirement plans like 401(k) for financial security
- Wellness programs, including mental health support or gym memberships
- Company stock options can be an additional incentive for a DevOps engineer.
As for non-material bonuses, we may allow flexible hours, remote or hybrid work to improve specialist job satisfaction.
Training and Upskilling Expenses
The DevOps field constantly evolves, so your full-time engineers must stay up-to-date on new technologies and techniques. Support their development to retain valuable staff and improve your business prospects.
- Online courses will help experts learn new skills
- Financial support for certification (Kubernetes, AWS Certified DevOps Engineer, etc.) increases qualifications
- Seminars and conferences keep the engineer with the latest industry trends
- Allocating time for self-study contributes to expert development and their loyalty to your company
Onboarding Costs
Don't ignore the costs associated with recruiting and hiring DevOps engineers. This can include recruiter and HR specialist time, paid job postings, background checks, moving expenses, etc.
If this is an offline job, you must prepare a workspace in the office, including a desk, chair, and computer.
An important point is the training and adaptation of new specialists. You can conduct introductory sessions, training seminars, and team meetings. Also, be prepared that, at this time, the employee does not give an instant result.
Tools and Software Investments
DevOps engineers need various software for the optimization, testing, deployment, and monitoring of processes and products. Consider the following licensing costs:
- Version control systems or hosted repositories
- Continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) platforms
- Containerization platforms and orchestration tools
- Infrastructure costs
Potential Team or Infrastructure Adjustments
The appearance of a DevOps engineer in your company can lead to changes in the software development team structure (and therefore additional training), as well as their closer cooperation. You will also need to reconfigure your infrastructure to implement new processes or technologies.
Softermii as Your DevOps Consulting Partner
Softermii is your reliable partner in DevOps services & consulting. Our team improves software productivity and automates the process of developing web and mobile applications, including MVPs and finished products.
We will help you reduce costs by automating routine processes and increase quality through continuous integration. To make it real, we implement IT infrastructure optimization, cloud migration, microservice architecture, and continuous testing. As for security, we work in accordance with the latest protocols and regulatory standards related to your industry.
Why choose Softermii? Our team consists of experienced, qualified specialists who are used to working on tight deadlines. Therefore, you can expect that the deviation from the delivery time will be no more than 15%. We can also halve the timeline by using off-the-shelf engines.
Conclusion
Hiring a qualified DevOps engineer will help you increase the speed, efficiency, and reliability of both the development processes and the product. However, the high demand for these specialists creates high salary expectations. The final amount depends on a number of factors, from geographic location to qualifications and industry. In the US, a DevOps engineer will cost you $123,503 a year, not including bonuses, onboarding costs, software investment, and other related expenses.
To optimize costs and guarantee work quality, you can try DevOps or DataOps outsourcing. The Softermii team will help you with all the nuances of effective development and IT processes. Contact us to discuss your project.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can organizations allocate an appropriate budget for hiring a DevOps engineer?
To create a budget for hiring a DevOps engineer, you should analyze the market offers, paying attention to the desired experience and skills. It is also essential to take into account the specifics of your industry, as for healthcare, fintech, and government, you need specialists who are familiar with these regulatory norms. Work with HR to address other important details and not only attract but then retain the best talent.
Should organizations consider outsourcing DevOps tasks to control expenses?
Yes, outsourcing DevOps will help you better control costs and get the expertise of skilled, niche engineers. Thus, you can achieve your goals faster, organize the process more efficiently and focus on other business tasks. The outsourced team has all the necessary technical resources and does not need additional costs such as sick leave, vacations, insurance, and professional development.
What is the cost of hiring a DevOps engineer?
The cost of hiring a DevOps engineer is not constant and varies based on geographic location, experience, skills, industry, and other factors. On average, a mid-level DevOps engineer salary in the US is $123,503, ranging from $98K to $156K. At the same time, the Senior can claim $178,349, and the Team Lead is about $172,184.
Why is Softermii the best choice for hiring a DevOps engineer?
Softermii provides a full cycle of DevOps services & consulting, including continuous testing and management, automated operations, CI/CD, building microservice architecture, cloud migration, security management, etc. Our team consists of qualified specialists experienced in highly regulated industries. Established processes allow us to deliver results with a delay of no more than 15%, and we can also reduce time with the help of pre-made engines.
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