The Role of a Cloud Engineer - in conversation with Haije

It's a profession you're hearing more and more about in the IT sector: cloud engineer. A cloud engineer designs, implements and manages cloud-based systems and infrastructures. They make sure applications and services run smoothly in cloud environments and ensure security. But what does a Cloud Engineer's workday look like, and what do they get up to? In this blog post, we talk to Haije, Cloud Engineer at Warpnet, who tells us more about his work and experiences.

Why did you become a Cloud Engineer

'After completing my mbo education, I was a system administrator, but I soon found that I wanted more. I continued my studies at HBO and discovered the power of Linux and Kubernetes. I found the idea that with a piece of programming, you can automate a large infrastructure and complex systems very fascinating.

As a Linux engineer, I experienced the impact of automation: I could streamline processes and minimize errors. My first job confirmed my passion for cloud engineering.

What does your workday look like?

'I start my day by reading my mail and then look at our Jira board, this is where all the tickets are deployed. I prioritize these and this is how I decide what to do for the rest of the day. Next, my morning often consists of two standups, one short meeting to catch up and one longer one where we go in depth about certain problems and outstanding work. By engaging with the client and the teams doing the executive work, I can respond to their needs and make their jobs easier. I spend the rest of the morning working on key tickets.

The afternoons vary. Sometimes you're interacting with people a lot, other times you're doing a lot of programming. On a typical Monday, for example, we have an hour set aside for discussion. For this discussion we collect questions and ideas, we go through that on Monday afternoons. Actually, there is almost no moment in the day when I don't talk to anyone. In fact, we often work in pairs on tickets, so you're talking to each other a lot online or in the office.'

What is a Cloud Engineer involved in?

'The work I mainly do is often about automating various processes that the team facilitates. I do this mainly in Ansible, a playbook needs to be created or a playbook needs to be modified. However, it does not stop at creating or modifying a playbook, it often happens that no existing modules are provided by the community, so I have to create this myself. Creating custom Ansible code I do in Python. In addition to Ansible, I also work a lot with tools such as Helm, ArgoCD, Gitlab and Kubernetes, all tools that make it possible to automate various components, applications and processes.'

Why do you like your work so much?

'The variety plays a big role, you are in a position where you are constantly setting up new technology. This often involves complex problems, which gives me the opportunity to constantly gain new knowledge. Also, solving those complex problems in a team creates a group dynamic because we dive into deeper issues together.

Also, I'm not sitting at my laptop entering code 24/7. I work a lot with teams to discuss strategic issues. Changes within an organization are often accompanied by resistance; you can play a role in that organization as well. So it's not just about the technology, but also about the people who work with it. That's what I like about my profession.

Did you get excited by Haije's story? At Warpnet, we offer the opportunity to grow as a Cloud Engineer with our traineeship. Click below to read more about the traineeship!

Traineeship Cloud Engineer (SRE)