Platform Engineering vs DevOps: Understanding the Difference Between DevOps and Platform Engineer Roles

Educational

May 23

In the rapidly evolving world of technology, the roles within software development and IT operations are continually adapting to meet the demands of modern businesses.

Two of the most prominent roles that often come up in discussions are DevOps and Platform Engineering. While these roles share some similarities, they are distinct in their focus, responsibilities, and the value they bring to an organization.

This article will explore the differences between DevOps and Platform Engineer roles, delve into their unique responsibilities, and highlight the benefits of integrating platform engineering within a DevOps environment.

What is DevOps and Platform Engineering?

Definition and Overview

DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten the development lifecycle and deliver high-quality software continuously. It emphasizes collaboration, communication, and integration between developers and IT operations professionals, aiming to automate and streamline the software delivery process.

Platform Engineering, on the other hand, involves building and maintaining the underlying infrastructure and tools that support the entire software development lifecycle. Platform engineers focus on creating scalable, reliable, and efficient platforms that development and operations teams can use to build, test, deploy, and monitor applications.

Main Responsibilities

DevOps Engineers typically focus on:

Automating software delivery and infrastructure changes
Implementing and managing CI/CD pipelines
Monitoring and maintaining system performance
Ensuring security and compliance
Facilitating collaboration between development and operations teams

Platform Engineers are responsible for:

Designing and maintaining the core infrastructure
Developing and managing internal tools and platforms
Implementing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices
Ensuring system reliability and scalability
Providing support and guidance to development and operations teams

Key Differences Between DevOps and Platform Engineering

Team Structure and Collaboration

In a DevOps environment, the team structure is highly collaborative, with developers and operations working closely together throughout the software development lifecycle. This close collaboration aims to break down silos and foster a culture of shared responsibility for the success of the software.

Platform engineering teams, however, are often more specialized and may work somewhat independently from the development and operations teams. Their primary focus is on creating and maintaining the platforms and tools that these teams use, ensuring they have the infrastructure needed to work efficiently and effectively.

Focus Areas in Software Development

DevOps engineers primarily focus on the software development process, including code integration, testing, deployment, and monitoring. Their goal is to streamline and automate these processes to enable continuous delivery and quick feedback loops.

Platform engineers, on the other hand, concentrate on the broader infrastructure and tooling that support the software development lifecycle. This includes everything from cloud infrastructure and container orchestration to internal developer tools and services that make it easier for development and operations teams to do their jobs.

Infrastructure Management Approach

DevOps engineers often take a more hands-on approach to infrastructure management, leveraging tools like Terraform, Ansible, and Kubernetes to automate and manage infrastructure as part of the CI/CD pipeline. Their focus is on ensuring that the infrastructure can support continuous delivery and deployment processes.

Platform engineers take a broader view of infrastructure management, focusing on designing and maintaining robust, scalable, and reliable platforms. They implement best practices for infrastructure as code (IaC) and often work on building custom tools and solutions to meet the specific needs of their organization.

Benefits of Platform Engineering in DevOps Environment

Enhancing System Reliability

One of the primary benefits of integrating platform engineering into a DevOps environment is the enhanced reliability it brings to the system. Platform engineers focus on building resilient and scalable infrastructure, ensuring that the platforms used by development and operations teams are robust and can handle the demands of modern software development.

Implementing Continuous Integration and Deployment

Platform engineering plays a crucial role in supporting continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) practices. By developing and maintaining the tools and platforms that automate these processes, platform engineers enable DevOps teams to deploy code changes more frequently and with greater confidence. This leads to faster delivery times, improved software quality, and more efficient feedback loops.

Benefits of DevOps

The benefits of DevOps are numerous and can significantly impact an organization’s efficiency and software quality. Some of the key benefits include:

Faster Delivery Times: By automating and streamlining the software development lifecycle, DevOps practices enable quicker release cycles and more frequent updates, ensuring that new features and bug fixes reach users faster.
Improved Collaboration: DevOps fosters a culture of collaboration between development and operations teams, breaking down silos and promoting shared responsibility for the success of the software.
Higher Quality Software: Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices ensure that code changes are tested and deployed quickly, reducing the risk of bugs and improving overall software quality.
Enhanced Security: DevOps practices integrate security into the development process, ensuring that security measures are implemented early and continuously throughout the lifecycle. A DevSecOps approach can extend this to integrate security early into the development process.
Greater Efficiency: Automation of repetitive tasks and infrastructure management frees up time for engineers to focus on more strategic work, improving overall efficiency.
Scalability and Reliability: By implementing robust infrastructure and monitoring practices, DevOps teams can ensure that systems are scalable and reliable, capable of handling increased loads and maintaining high performance.

Understanding the Role of a Platform Engineer

Development and Operations Team Collaboration

Platform engineers work closely with both development and operations teams to understand their needs and provide the tools and infrastructure necessary for them to succeed. This collaboration ensures that the platforms and tools developed are aligned with the requirements of the teams that use them, fostering a more efficient and effective software development lifecycle.

Implementing Infrastructure as Code Practices

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a key practice within platform engineering, allowing infrastructure to be managed and provisioned through code rather than manual processes. Platform engineers implement IaC practices to ensure that infrastructure is consistent, repeatable, and easily scalable. This approach not only improves efficiency but also reduces the risk of human error and enhances the overall reliability of the system.

DevOps Vs Platform Engineering: Which is Right for Your Career?

Which DevOps Career is Right for Me?

Deciding between a career in DevOps and platform engineering depends on your interests, skills, and career goals. If you enjoy working closely with both development and operations teams, focusing on automating processes, and improving the overall software development lifecycle, a career in DevOps might be the right fit for you.

DevOps roles require strong problem-solving skills, a deep understanding of CI/CD processes, and the ability to collaborate effectively across teams.

On the other hand, if you have a passion for infrastructure, enjoy building and maintaining tools and platforms, and prefer a more specialized role focused on system reliability and scalability, platform engineering could be a better match.

Platform engineers need to have a strong background in infrastructure as code (IaC), cloud technologies, and system architecture, as well as the ability to work independently and provide support to other teams.

DevOps and Platform Engineer Salaries

When considering a career in DevOps or platform engineering, salary is an important factor. Generally, both roles offer competitive salaries, reflecting their critical importance in modern IT environments.

DevOps engineers typically command salaries that range from $90,000 to $140,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and the specific technologies they work with. Senior DevOps roles, especially those involving leadership or extensive cloud experience, can reach upwards of $160,000.

Platform engineers, given their specialized focus on infrastructure and internal tooling, often have similar salary ranges. Entry-level platform engineers might start at around $80,000, but with experience, salaries can quickly rise to between $120,000 and $150,000. Senior platform engineers, particularly those with expertise in cloud architecture or large-scale system design, can earn $160,000 or more.

Platform Engineering vs DevOps: Which is Right for Your Team?

When You Need Platform Engineering and DevOps for Your Site

Deciding whether your team needs DevOps engineers, platform engineers, or both depends on your organization’s specific needs and goals.

If your primary objective is to improve the efficiency of your software development lifecycle, streamline deployments, and ensure quick feedback loops, DevOps engineers are essential. They will help automate processes, manage CI/CD pipelines, and foster a collaborative culture.

However, if your organization requires robust, scalable infrastructure and specialized tools to support the development and operations teams, platform engineers are crucial. They focus on building and maintaining the platforms that underpin your software development efforts, ensuring reliability and scalability.

In many cases, having both DevOps and platform engineers can provide the best of both worlds: streamlined software delivery and a strong, reliable infrastructure foundation.

How to Hire DevOps and Platform Engineers

Hiring DevOps and platform engineers involves looking for specific skills and experiences that match your organization’s needs. For DevOps engineers, key skills include:

Proficiency in CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI)
Experience with configuration management tools (e.g., Ansible, Puppet, Chef)
Knowledge of containerization and orchestration (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes)
Strong scripting and automation skills (e.g., Python, Bash)

For platform engineers, important skills include:

Expertise in cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP)
Proficiency in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation)
Experience with monitoring and logging tools (e.g., Prometheus, ELK stack)
Strong understanding of system architecture and scalability

In addition to technical skills, look for candidates who demonstrate strong problem-solving abilities, effective communication skills, and a collaborative mindset. To qualify candidates, we recommend using live DevOps Assessments to ensure you'll hire the right talent.

Other Roles for Your Team: Software Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), and Developers

While DevOps and platform engineering are critical, other roles also play essential parts in a well-rounded IT team:

Software Engineers focus on designing, developing, and maintaining software applications. They work closely with DevOps and platform engineers to ensure their code integrates seamlessly with the infrastructure and deployment pipelines.

Site Reliability Engineers (SRE) bridge the gap between development and operations, much like DevOps engineers, but with a stronger emphasis on maintaining service reliability and performance. SREs use software engineering approaches to solve operational problems, often working with monitoring, alerting, and incident response systems.

Developers are primarily responsible for writing code and building features for applications. While they might not be directly involved in infrastructure management, their work is crucial for creating the software that DevOps and platform engineers deploy and support. There is a key ratio of DevOps to Developer ratio to consider for most teams as well.

Final Word

Understanding the differences between DevOps and Platform Engineering roles is crucial for organizations looking to optimize their software development and IT operations.

While DevOps engineers focus on automating and streamlining the software delivery process, platform engineers concentrate on building and maintaining the robust infrastructure and tools that support these processes.

By integrating platform engineering into a DevOps environment, organizations can achieve greater system reliability, faster delivery times, and a more efficient software development lifecycle.

FAQs

Q: What is the difference between Platform Engineering and DevOps?

A: Platform Engineering focuses on building and maintaining the internal developer platform, while DevOps is more about the culture, tools, and practices that enable collaboration and automation in software development and deployment.

Q: How do DevOps tools differ from Platform Engineering tools?

A: DevOps tools like CI/CD pipelines are used to automate the software delivery process, while Platform Engineering tools are designed to create and manage the infrastructure that supports software systems.

Q: Can you give an example of a developer platform?

A: An internal developer platform could be a shared platform where software engineering teams can collaborate, manage and deliver software efficiently.

Q: How does Platform Engineering contribute to the developer experience?

A: Platform Engineering plays a key role in creating a smooth developer experience by providing the necessary tools and infrastructure for software development and deployment.

Q: What is the goal of Platform Engineering within an organization?

A: The goal of Platform Engineering is to build a platform that enables developers to focus on writing code and delivering software, without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure and operational aspects.

Q: How has DevOps evolved over time?

A: DevOps has evolved from the introduction of practices that promote collaboration between development and operations teams to a culture that emphasizes automation, continuous integration, and continuous delivery.

Q: Why is the concept of an internal developer platform important in the realm of software development?

A: An internal developer platform is crucial as it provides a shared platform where software engineering teams can work together efficiently, enabling them to deliver high-quality software at a faster pace.

Insights for Talent AcquisitionInsights for Technical Teams

Meghan Neville