Infrastructure developers build and maintain the foundation upon which software applications operate. This complex role demands both technical expertise and soft skills like communication collaboration and problem-solving abilities.
With infrastructure developer roles in high demand, standing out in the interview is critical. We’ve compiled the most common questions, practical strategies to answer them effectively, and additional tips to help you showcase your skills. Read on to learn what hiring managers look for and how to prepare for a successful interview.
Why Technical Skills Matter
Infrastructure developers need to master a vast array of technologies and protocols. Expect questions assessing your hands-on expertise with:
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Cloud platforms like AWS Azure and Google Cloud. Be ready to discuss provisioning resources, automation, security, cost optimization, and more. Knowing multiple platforms is a major plus.
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Configuration management tools like Ansible, Chef, Puppet, and SaltStack. Highlight experience with declarative vs procedural approaches and discuss benefits like automation and idempotence.
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Containerization using Docker and Kubernetes Share examples of how you’ve used containers to enhance application portability across environments,
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Infrastructure as code (IaC) tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, and Pulumi. Discuss how IaC improves consistency, collaboration, and version control.
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CI/CD pipelines, especially experience with CircleCI, Jenkins, TravisCI, etc. Share examples of implementing robust build, test, and deployment automation.
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Monitoring using tools like Datadog, New Relic, Nagios, etc. Discuss strategies for tracking performance metrics, getting visibility into issues, and setting proactive alerts.
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Networking and security protocols like VPN, TLS, firewalls, IDS/IPS, etc. Show your grasp of best practices for network architecture, segmentation, and threat detection/response.
The more hands-on experience you can demonstrate with these technologies, the better. Brush up by deploying tools in home labs to strengthen your practical knowledge.
Why Soft Skills Matter Too
Infrastructure developers don’t work in isolation – communication and collaboration are crucial. Expect questions assessing your:
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Teamwork and cross-functional coordination. Provide examples of smoothly partnering with app developers, security engineers, product managers, etc.
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Communication skills, especially translating complex technical concepts into easy-to-understand language for non-technical stakeholders.
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Time management and prioritization to balance urgent requests vs. important long-term projects. Share your process for this.
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Creativity and problem-solving to find solutions, even with limited time or resources. Discuss multiple approaches.
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Teaching and mentoring skills to help coworkers skill up. Briefly share a time you successfully trained someone new to a process or tool.
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Patience and empathy when dealing with stressed teammates. Give a brief example of maintaining calm and constructive interactions.
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Adaptability and flexibility to change, especially regarding new tools and processes. Provide examples of smoothly adopting changes.
Prove you not only have technical expertise, but also the human skills to collaborate, communicate, and innovate.
7 Common Infrastructure Developer Interview Questions
Here are some of the most frequently asked interview questions to expect:
1. How do you stay up-to-date on the latest infrastructure technologies?
Emphasize self-driven learning. Discuss tactics like:
- Reading industry publications, blogs, and documentation
- Attending conferences and online events like MeetUps
- Experimenting with new tools through home labs and side projects
- Participating in communities of practice to exchange knowledge
- Getting certified in new skills through vendor programs
Share 2-3 specific examples of a new technology you recently learned.
2. Tell me about a time you successfully migrated or integrated a new tool or platform.
Choose an example highlighting:
- Your process for evaluating solutions and planning the implementation
- Coordination across teams to handle integration points
- Strategies used to minimize downtime and other risks
- How you trained users and transitioned workflows
- Results delivered in terms of efficiency, cost savings, or other benefits
Avoid overly technical details. Focus on the process and communication involved.
3. How would you troubleshoot a performance problem with a web application?
Demonstrate a methodical approach. Cover key steps like:
- Reviewing metrics dashboards and logs to pinpoint abnormal patterns
- Working with developers to identify potential code bottlenecks
- Checking infrastructure health – capacity, traffic patterns, databases, etc.
- Comparing configurations to detect discrepancies between environments
- Tracing request flows end-to-end to isolate the problem source
- Updating monitoring to quickly detect recurrences
Emphasize collaboration with other teams to diagnose and address the root cause, not just treat surface symptoms.
4. Tell me about a time you made a mistake during a critical production incident. How did you handle it?
Briefly explain the mistake and highlight actions like:
- Quickly alerting the team about the problem
- Mitigating risks by containing the incident’s impact
- Explaining what happened and how you would correct processes to prevent it in the future
- Focusing efforts on fixing the issue before investigating the cause
- Following up post-incident to implement preventative measures
Demonstrate accountability, transparency, and commitment to continuous improvement.
5. How would you explain a complex technology like Kubernetes to a non-technical executive or coworker?
Prove your ability to translate complexity into simplicity. Discuss tactics like:
- Using analogies and relatable examples the audience understands
- Breaking down concepts into smaller pieces that are easier to grasp
- Using visual aids like diagrams to illustrate relationships and workflows
- Encouraging questions and feedback to gauge understanding
- Adjusting the level of detail and technicality based on the audience
Emphasize clarity, patience, and understanding the perspectives of non-technical colleagues.
6. Imagine you have 5 key tasks to complete today but get bombarded with urgent (but less important) requests. How do you prioritize your time?
Show you can balance competing priorities intelligently. Share your process for:
- Making a list of all tasks and requests
- Identifying which are truly urgent vs just loud
- Mapping which tasks align with KPIs and long-term goals
- Communicating with stakeholders to negotiate adjustments if needed
- Blocking focused time on your calendar to make progress on key tasks
- Managing expectations transparently while saying no politely but firmly
Strike a balance between diplomacy and conviction in serving the company’s best interests.
7. How have you maintained and strengthened your skills during your career?
This shows commitment to continuous learning. Discuss tactics like:
- Taking online courses and getting new certifications
- Reading books, blogs, and documentation on emerging tools
- Building side projects to experiment with new technologies
- Participating in hackathons and coding challenges
- Contributing to open-source communities
- Attending tech conferences and Meetups
- Serving as a mentor to help others skill up
Share 2-3 specific skills you’ve built recently. Demonstrate curiosity and passion.
Advanced Infrastructure Developer Interview Questions
For more senior roles, expect questions assessing your architecture, leadership and coaching abilities:
1. How would you design the infrastructure for a highly available web application?
Demonstrate your experience designing robust architectures. Cover topics like:
- Redundancy and high availability utilizing load balancing, auto-scaling, etc.
- Disaster recovery preparations like backup systems and geo-distributed deployments
- Monitoring, logging, and alerting to rapidly detect and respond to issues
- Security protections like encryption, access controls, and vulnerability scanning
- Optimization for performance, scalability, and efficiency
Discuss the rationale behind your choices to show in-depth understanding.
2. How would you convince decision makers to invest in infrastructure modernization initiatives?
Prove you can build strong business cases. Highlight benefits like:
- Increased agility to bring new products/features to market faster
- Improved resilience and availability of systems
- Enhanced security and regulatory compliance
- Greater efficiency and cost optimization
- Leveraging automation to boost productivity and quality
Tailor your arguments to address the specific priorities, pain points, and budget realities.
3. Tell me about a time you provided effective coaching to help a coworker improve their skills.
Briefly share an example highlighting your approach to:
- Understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and technical goals
- Creating a structured yet customized learning plan
- Balancing instruction, resources, and hands-on practice
- Providing positive and constructive feedback
- Setting milestones and checking on progress
- Fostering their growth to become more independent over time
Emphasize patience, partnership, and commitment to nurturing talent.
4. Imagine you need to migrate a monolithic legacy system to a cloud-native microservices architecture. How would you approach this?
Demonstrate experience modernizing systems. Cover key steps like:
- Assessing integration points and data flows to map service boundaries
- Implementing strangler patterns
Top 25 interview questions for a System and Infrastructure Engineer
What is your experience with managing and administering server infrastructure? What is your experience with configuring and managing networking infrastructure? What is your experience with designing and implementing high-availability systems? What is your experience with monitoring and troubleshooting system and network issues? What is your experience with managing and deploying system and application updates? What is your experience with managing storage infrastructure? What is your experience with backing up and restoring data? What is your experience with managing security policy and controls? What is your experience with disaster recovery planning and execution? What tools and technologies are you familiar with that are used to manage server infrastructure? What tools and technologies are you familiar with that are used to manage networking infrastructure? What tools and technologies are you familiar with that are used to monitor system and network activity? What tools and technologies are you familiar with that are used to deploy system and application updates? What tools and technologies are you familiar with that are used to manage storage infrastructure? What tools and technologies are you familiar with that are used to backup and restore data? What tools and technologies are you familiar with that are used to manage security policy and controls? What tools and technologies are you familiar with that are used to plan for and execute disaster recovery procedures? How do you stay up-to-date on the latest trends in system and network administration? How do you evaluate new tools and technologies for use in managing server infrastructure? How do you evaluate new tools and technologies for use in managing networking infrastructure? How do you evaluate new tools and technologies for use in monitoring system and network activity? How do you evaluate new tools and technologies for use in deploying system and application updates? How do you evaluate new tools and technologies for use in managing storage infrastructure? How do you evaluate new tools and technologies for use in backing up and restoring data? How do you evaluate new tools and technologies for use in managing security policy and controls? How do you evaluate new tools and technologies for use in disaster recovery planning? What challenges have you faced in your current role with regards to managing server infrastructure? What challenges have you faced in your current role with regards to managing networking infrastructure? What challenges have you faced in your current role with regards to monitoring system and network activity? What challenges have you faced in your current role with regards to deploying system and application updates? What challenges have you faced in your current role with regards to managing storage infrastructure? What challenges have you faced in your current role with regards to backing up and restoring data? What challenges have you faced in your current role with regards to managing security policy and controls? What challenges have you faced in your current role with regards to disaster recovery planning? Can you share a successful project implementation that you were responsible for from start to finish? Can you share a lessons learned from a failed project implementation that you were involved in? Can you share a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty to solve a problem or meet a deadline? Can you share a time when you had to rapidly adapt to changes beyond your control? Can you share a time when you had to troubleshoot a complex issue under high pressure situations? Can you share a time when you had to manage competing priorities effectively? Can you share a time when you took initiative to improve a process or solve a problem? Can you share a time when you had to effectively communicate technical information to non-technical staff or stakeholders?
Top 25 technical interview questions for a System and Infrastructure Engineer
What is a typical day like for you as a systems or infrastructure engineer? What is your experience with designing, building, and maintaining large-scale infrastructure? What is your experience with automation and orchestration tools? What is your experience with monitoring and logging tools? What is your experience with cloud infrastructure? What is your experience with networking? What is your experience with storage? What is your experience with security? What challenges have you faced while working as a systems or infrastructure engineer? How did you overcome those challenges? What are some of the best practices you follow when working with infrastructure? What do you think is the most important skill for a successful systems or infrastructure engineer? What makes you a good fit for this role? What do you think sets your experience apart from other candidates? Why are you interested in this position? What do you think are the biggest challenges that the company will face in the next few years? How do you think you can help to overcome those challenges? What do you think are the biggest challenges that the team will face in the next few years? How do you think you can help to overcome those challenges? What do you think are the biggest challenges that the department will face in the next few years? How do you think you can help to overcome those challenges? Have you ever had to deal with a difficult customer or user? If so, how did you handle the situation? Have you ever had to deal with a difficult co-worker or team member? If so, how did you handle the situation? Have you ever had to deal with a difficult system or piece of infrastructure? If so, how did you handle the situation? Have you ever had to deal with a difficult problem or issue? If so, how did you handle the situation?
Top 25 Infrastructure Engineer Interview Questions and Answers
What questions are asked in an infrastructure engineer interview?
Here’s an overview of the types of questions you can expect. Technical questions form the backbone of an Infrastructure Engineer interview. These questions assess your understanding of systems, networks, hardware, and software. You may be asked about specific technologies, such as cloud services, server configurations, or network protocols.
How do you write an IT infrastructure interview?
To answer this question, you should discuss your experience with designing, implementing, and managing IT infrastructure. Talk about the projects you’ve worked on in the past, any challenges that you faced, and how you overcame them. You can also mention any certifications or training courses you have taken to further develop your skills.
What do interviewers want to know about infrastructure?
Decisions about infrastructure are critical to a company’s overall performance and success. Interviewers want to know if you have the knowledge and experience to make informed choices between on-premises, hybrid, or cloud-based solutions, considering factors like cost, scalability, security, compliance, and performance.
How do I prepare for an infrastructure engineer job?
The job requires a mixture of technical skills, maths knowledge and attention to detail to create serviceable systems that are secure and functional. If you’re applying for infrastructure engineer jobs, you may benefit from preparing for the interview by reviewing some potential questions.
