Hiring DevSecOps Engineers: The Complete Guide

What DevSecOps Engineers Actually Do

DevSecOps engineers automate security throughout the development lifecycle.

Pipeline Security

Securing CI/CD:

• SAST integration — Static analysis in build pipelines
• DAST automation — Dynamic scanning of deployed applications
• Dependency scanning — Vulnerable library detection
• Container scanning — Image vulnerability assessment
• Secrets detection — Preventing credential leaks in code

Infrastructure Security

Securing cloud and infrastructure:

• IaC security — Terraform, CloudFormation scanning
• Cloud security posture — AWS/GCP/Azure misconfigurations
• Kubernetes security — Pod security, RBAC, network policies
• Secrets management — Vault, AWS Secrets Manager
• Network security — Security groups, WAF configuration

Security Automation

Making security scalable:

• Policy as code — Automated compliance enforcement
• Security guardrails — Preventing insecure configurations
• Self-service security — Tools developers can use directly
• Vulnerability management — Automated triage and remediation
• Incident response automation — Playbooks, automated containment

Developer Enablement

Helping developers build securely:

• Security training — Secure coding education
• Documentation — Security guidelines and patterns
• Tooling — IDE integrations, pre-commit hooks
• Consultation — Threat modeling, architecture review
• Metrics — Security posture dashboards

DevSecOps vs. Related Roles

DevSecOps vs. Security Engineer

DevSecOps vs. DevOps Engineer

When You Need Each

• DevSecOps — Security needs to be automated into development
• Security Engineer — Broader security program beyond automation
• DevOps Engineer — Infrastructure and deployment without security focus

Skills by Experience Level

Junior DevSecOps Engineer (0-2 years)

Capabilities:

• Configure security scanning tools
• Integrate scanners into CI/CD
• Triage vulnerability reports
• Write basic security policies
• Understand common vulnerabilities (OWASP Top 10)

Learning areas:

• Threat modeling
• Cloud security architecture
• Advanced automation
• Security program development

Mid-Level DevSecOps Engineer (2-5 years)

Capabilities:

• Design security automation strategies
• Implement secrets management
• Secure cloud infrastructure
• Build developer security tooling
• Conduct threat modeling
• Handle incidents

Growing toward:

• Security architecture
• Program leadership
• Strategic planning

Senior DevSecOps Engineer (5+ years)

Capabilities:

• Architect security automation programs
• Set security standards across organization
• Lead incident response
• Drive security culture change
• Make build vs. buy decisions
• Mentor team members

Interview Focus Areas

Security Knowledge

Core security understanding:

• "Walk me through the OWASP Top 10. Which are most relevant to your experience?"
• "How would you threat model a web application?"
• "Explain how SQL injection works and how to prevent it"
• "What's the principle of least privilege and how do you implement it?"

Automation Skills

DevOps capabilities:

• "How do you integrate SAST into a CI/CD pipeline?"
• "Design a secrets management solution for a Kubernetes environment"
• "How do you handle false positives in security scanning?"
• "What's your approach to infrastructure as code security?"

Developer Enablement

Working with developers:

• "How do you get developers to care about security?"
• "Describe a time you made security easier for developers"
• "How do you handle pushback on security requirements?"
• "What's your approach to security training?"

Incident Response

Handling security events:

• "Walk me through how you'd respond to a credential leak"
• "How do you prioritize vulnerabilities?"
• "Describe a security incident you handled"
• "What's your approach to security monitoring?"

Common Hiring Mistakes

Hiring Pure Security Without DevOps

Security experts who can't automate or integrate with development workflows won't succeed in DevSecOps. They need CI/CD experience, scripting skills, and understanding of developer experience. Audit-focused security professionals may struggle.

Hiring DevOps Without Security Depth

DevOps engineers who can "add security scanning" but don't understand threats, vulnerabilities, or security architecture provide shallow coverage. They need real security knowledge, not just tool operation.

Expecting Security Gatekeeping

DevSecOps enables secure development, not blocks deployment. Candidates who want to be the "security police" may create friction. Look for enablement mindset: making security easy, not just compliant.

Ignoring Developer Experience

The best DevSecOps engineers think about developer experience. Security tools that create noise, slow pipelines, or require manual steps will be bypassed. Evaluate how they balance security with developer productivity.

Where to Find DevSecOps Engineers

High-Signal Sources

• Security communities — OWASP, DEF CON, security conferences
• DevOps communities — DevOpsDays, platform engineering meetups
• Cloud certifications — AWS Security Specialty, GCP Security
• GitHub — Contributors to security tooling
• daily.dev — Security-focused developers

Background Transitions

Recruiter's Cheat Sheet

Resume Green Flags

• Security scanning tool experience (SAST, DAST, SCA)
• CI/CD pipeline security implementation
• Cloud security (AWS/GCP/Azure security services)
• Secrets management experience
• Kubernetes security
• Security certifications (OSCP, Security+, cloud security)
• Developer enablement examples

Resume Yellow Flags

• Only audit or compliance focus
• No automation experience
• No DevOps/CI/CD background
• Purely theoretical security knowledge

Technical Terms to Know