If you’re updating your CV for a DevOps job, focus on real abilities that show you can join development and operations, automate routine work, and keep services reliable. Below are 10 practical DevOps Engineer Skills to add to your resume in 2026. I’ve written this in simple English and kept it human — the kind of article you can read fast and then copy bits from for your resume.

Before we start: companies want people who can solve problems, not just name tools. If you can show results (time saved, fewer outages, faster deploys), that matters more than a long list of tools. Demand for strong DevOps skills keeps growing as teams move faster and rely more on automation.

How to read this article

For each skill you’ll get:

• A short explanation in plain English
  
• Why it matters to employers
  
• A ready-to-use resume line you can copy and tweak
  

If you are new, taking a hands-on DevOps Course helps you get examples to add to your resume. Practical projects make your claims real.

1. Linux & System Administration

Why it matters: Most servers and containers run on Linux. Knowing how to use the command line, read logs, manage services and users helps you fix problems fast.
Resume line: Daily Linux administration — systemd, log analysis, and Bash scripting.
(If you learned this in a DevOps Course, mention the lab or project.)

2. Scripting & Programming (Python, Bash)

Why it matters: Automation is the backbone of DevOps. Scripts remove boring manual work and make processes reliable. Even small scripts that automate deployment checks or rollbacks are valuable.
Resume line: Automated deployments and health checks using Python and Bash; eliminated repetitive manual steps.
Scripting is one of the core skills required for devops engineer roles because it directly reduces human error.

3. CI/CD Pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI)

CI/CD lets teams test and release code quickly and safely. Knowing how to design pipelines — with automated tests and staged deployments — stops bad code from reaching users.
Resume line: Built CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions and Jenkins with automated testing and canary/blue-green deployments.
CI/CD is a foundational DevOps Engineer Skill recruiters list in job ads.

4. Containerization (Docker) & Orchestration (Kubernetes)

Containers make apps portable; Kubernetes helps run them reliably at scale. These two are standard in modern infrastructure. Employers expect at least practical knowledge.
Resume line: Containerized microservices with Docker and deployed them on Kubernetes for scalable production workloads.
Adding specific metrics (for example, “improved deployment speed by X%” or “scaled to handle +10k requests/min”) makes this skill stronger.

5. Cloud Platforms (AWS / Azure / GCP)

Most teams run services in the cloud. Knowing one major provider (AWS, Azure or GCP) and core services (compute, storage, IAM, networking) is essential.
Resume line: Deployed fault-tolerant services on AWS and optimized cost using reserved instances and right-sizing.
Hands-on cloud work from a DevOps Course or a personal project is often more convincing than certificates alone.

6. Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible)

Why it matters: IaC makes environments repeatable and versioned. Teams want engineers who can treat infrastructure the same way they treat code.
Resume line: Provisioned environments using Terraform and automated configuration with Ansible to ensure consistency.

7. Monitoring, Logging & Alerting (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK)

You can’t fix what you can’t see. Monitoring helps you detect issues early; logs help you find root causes quickly. Good observability reduces downtime.
Resume line: Implemented Prometheus metrics and Grafana dashboards; reduced mean time to recovery (MTTR) by X%.

8. Security & Compliance Basics (Secrets, Scanning, Least Privilege)

DevSecOps means security must be part of pipelines. Knowing how to manage secrets, scan images and apply least-privilege policies is expected.
Resume line: Integrated container image scanning and static analysis into CI/CD; managed secrets with Vault.

9. Version Control & GitOps

Why it matters: Git is the single source of truth. GitOps extends Git to manage infrastructure and deployments, making changes auditable and reversible.
Resume line: Adopted GitOps workflows with GitHub and Flux to make deployments smaller and safer.
Version control skills are among the top DevOps Engineer Skills hiring managers list.

10. Communication & Collaboration (Soft Skills)

Why it matters: DevOps is a team game. You must explain incidents, write runbooks, and work with developers, QA, and product teams. Technical skills alone are not enough.
Resume line: Led postmortems, wrote runbooks, and coordinated cross-team releases.
Industry leaders now stress soft skills as a major differentiator for candidates.

Final tips to make your skills stand out

• Be specific. Mention tools, versions, and numbers (time saved, incident reduction).
  
• Use project lines. “Built X using Y — result Z.” Recruiters love measurable outcomes.
  
• Link proofs. Add GitHub repos or demo links from a DevOps Course project.
  
• Match words. If the job asks for “skills required for devops engineer” like Terraform or Kubernetes, use the same terms in your resume.
  

Closing (short resume summary you can copy)

Resume summary example:
Practical DevOps engineer with hands-on experience in Linux, CI/CD, Docker & Kubernetes, Terraform, and cloud platforms. Strong focus on automation, monitoring, and secure deployments. Passionate about improving reliability and speed through measurable DevOps Engineer Skills.