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Code that runs on a developer's laptop is only half the job. The other half is getting it to customers quickly, safely and without night-time outages. That is the work of a DevOps engineer, one of the most sought-after and best-paid roles in Polish IT.
This guide explains what a DevOps engineer is, what the job looks like day to day, which tools it uses, what on-call really means, how much DevOps engineers earn in Poland and how to get into the field. If you are looking for a project now, see our current jobs. ITDS also builds nearshore teams from Poland and Portugal for companies across Europe and the US, and DevOps and cloud specialists are among the roles they ask for most.
| In this guide | |
| What is a DevOps engineer What they do Tools On-call: the reality |
Salaries How to become a DevOps engineer DevOps at ITDS FAQ |
What is a DevOps engineer?
DevOps is a way of working in which the teams that build software and the teams that run it work together, instead of passing responsibility back and forth. A DevOps engineer puts that way of working into practice: automating how applications are built, tested and deployed, and looking after the infrastructure they run on.
In practice, a DevOps engineer sits between development and operations. They write code, but mostly code that manages other systems: pipelines, scripts and infrastructure configuration. Related job titles include platform engineer, cloud engineer and site reliability engineer (SRE), and the lines between them are often blurred.
What does a DevOps engineer do day to day?
The scope depends on the company, but most tasks come up in every team:
- CI/CD pipelines. Automatically building, testing and deploying code so developers can release often and without stress.
- Infrastructure as code. Describing servers, networks and cloud services in configuration files instead of clicking through a console.
- Containers and orchestration. Packaging applications into containers and running them at scale.
- Monitoring and alerting. Tracking whether systems work, and reacting before users notice a problem.
- Security and cost. Managing permissions, updates and sensible cloud spending.
On projects ITDS recruits for, DevOps and SRE engineers build cloud platforms, monitoring systems and deployment automation, often for financial services clients.
Tools and technologies in DevOps work
| Area | Typical tools |
|---|---|
| Cloud | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud |
| Containers | Docker, Kubernetes, Helm |
| Infrastructure as code | Terraform, Ansible, Pulumi |
| CI/CD | GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Argo CD |
| Monitoring | Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Datadog |
| Languages and scripting | Bash, Python, sometimes Go |
Nobody knows all of these tools inside out. What counts is a solid foundation, meaning Linux, networking and one cloud, plus the ability to learn new tools quickly. Tools change every few years; the principles of automation and reliability stay.
On-call: what it really looks like
Job ads say least about this, yet it shapes a DevOps engineer's daily life more than anything else. In many companies, systems must run around the clock, so someone has to be reachable at night and at weekends.
Teams usually share on-call on a rota, for example one week every few weeks. In a well-run company, on-call is paid extra, alerts are well tuned and every common problem has a runbook. After a serious incident, the team reviews what happened without looking for someone to blame, and improves the system so it doesn't happen again.
In a poorly run company, it looks different: alerts fire for no reason, one person fights every fire, and on-call isn't paid. So it is worth asking in the interview:
- How often does on-call come round, and how many people share it?
- How is on-call paid, on an employment contract and on B2B?
- How many night-time alerts were there last month?
- Does the team review incidents and follow up with fixes?
On an employment contract, on-call rules come from the Polish Labour Code; on B2B, they depend only on the contract. This is general information, so check the details in your own contract.
| A good DevOps engineer has boring on-call shifts. Every night-time alert is a sign that something needs automating. |
How much does a DevOps engineer earn in Poland?
DevOps is one of the best-paid specialisations in Polish IT. Infrastructure and cloud specialists are scarce across the EU: according to Eurostat, more than half of EU companies that tried to hire ICT specialists in 2023 struggled to fill those roles.
| Level | Experience | Employment contract, gross per month (approximate) |
|---|---|---|
| Junior | 0–2 years | about PLN 8,000–12,000 |
| Mid | 2–5 years | about PLN 15,000–22,000 |
| Senior | 5+ years | about PLN 22,000–32,000 |
These ranges are approximate and based on public summaries of 2026 job offers. Compare current offers before you decide, because figures change quickly.
At mid and senior level, most DevOps engineers work on B2B, which usually pays more net at higher rates. The highest rates go to people with deep Kubernetes, cloud and security experience. If you are weighing contract types, read our guide to B2B vs employment in Polish IT.
| Looking for a DevOps or cloud project? We recruit specialists for long-term projects with international clients. See jobs |
How to become a DevOps engineer
People rarely move into DevOps straight from university. Most arrive from system administration, having learned to code, or from development, having been drawn into infrastructure. Whatever your starting point, a few steps work best:
- Master Linux and networking. It is the foundation everything else rests on.
- Learn scripting. Bash and Python are enough to automate most tasks.
- Learn one cloud. An AWS, Azure or Google Cloud certificate helps you through the first screening.
- Build your own project. An application in a container, deployed by a CI/CD pipeline onto infrastructure described in Terraform. Publish all of it.
- Add Kubernetes. It is the skill most often required at mid and senior level today.
Recruitment: what to expect
DevOps interviews are usually very practical. Expect questions such as what you would do when an application suddenly stops responding, how you would design a pipeline for a new service or how you would cut cloud costs. A hands-on task with Terraform or Kubernetes is common too.
The strongest candidates can talk through a real incident: what happened, how they solved it and what they changed so it wouldn't happen again. That shows experience better than a list of certificates.
DevOps engineer at ITDS: projects and collaboration
ITDS is an IT staffing and nearshore company with teams in Poland and Portugal, part of House of HR. We recruit DevOps, SRE and cloud engineers for projects with international clients, mainly in financial services.
The process is short: application, recruiter call, technical interview with a specialist, meeting the client team and a clear offer with the contract type and rate. You can also ask openly about the on-call rules on each project.
DevOps engineer: frequently asked questions
A DevOps engineer automates how applications are built, tested and deployed, and looks after the infrastructure they run on. They create CI/CD pipelines, manage cloud and containers, and handle monitoring and security.
As a rough guide, a junior earns about PLN 8,000–12,000 gross a month on an employment contract, a mid about PLN 15,000–22,000 and a senior about PLN 22,000–32,000. Most mid and senior engineers work on B2B. Pay depends on experience, cloud skills and industry.
Start with Linux, networking and scripting, learn one cloud and build your own project with a container, a CI/CD pipeline and Terraform. Many people move into DevOps from system administration or development.
In many companies, yes, because systems run around the clock. In well-run teams, on-call is shared on a rota, paid extra and rarely ends in a night-time wake-up. It is worth asking about it in the interview.
Both roles care about reliable systems. DevOps focuses more on automating deployments and infrastructure, while SRE focuses on reliability, performance and measuring service quality. In many companies, the roles overlap.
Find your next DevOps projectWe recruit DevOps, SRE and cloud engineers for long-term projects with international clients, with a clear contract from day one. See current offers and apply in a few minutes. Companies looking for specialists can learn about our nearshore teams. |