Best Interview Questions to Ask Cloud Engineers

According to Gartner, cloud computing is one of the most continually disruptive forces in IT markets since the early days of the digital age.

And with predictions of every-growing spend on cloud-based system infrastructure, infrastructure software and application software it’s no wonder demand for Cloud Engineers is steadily increasing.

These professionals, responsible for designing, building, and maintaining the infrastructure and applications that run on cloud platforms, play a critical role in helping organisations take advantage of the benefits of the cloud.

Interviewing Cloud Engineers can be a challenging process, as it requires identifying candidates with the right combination of technical expertise and soft skills. So how do you find the best person for the job? To help, we’ve put together a list of the best Cloud Engineer interview questions.

Technical Questions

When recruiting for tech jobs like Cloud Engineers, questions about technical knowledge and skills are likely at the forefront of your mind. Here are a few ideas:

• Describe your experience with different cloud platforms, such as AWS, Azure and GCP.

Whether it’s Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services, the right match will have extensive knowledge of your preferred cloud computing platform(s). This question will help you get a sense of their familiarity with these platforms and their ability to effectively use them in order to meet your organisation’s needs. In turn, you’ll be able to determine whether the candidate has the necessary skills and experience to be successful in the role.

• What programming languages and technologies are you most familiar with?

If you’d like to get a more general idea of the candidate’s technical background, this question will give them the scope to broadly discuss their experience. Although you may not be looking for skills with a certain language or technology a candidate mentions, you’ll be to see where their other technical interests may lie.

Some other questions you may want to ask, depending on your organisation’s technical requirements, include:

• Tell me about your experience with containerisation and container orchestration technologies like Docker and Kubernetes?
• How have you implemented security and compliance in the cloud?
• Have you worked with serverless technologies like AWS Lambda or Azure Functions? If so, can you discuss your experience with them?

Behavioural and Situational Questions

Behavioral and situational questions are designed to evaluate the way candidates have handled specific situations in the past. Asking these types of questions can help you better understand how a candidate thinks and how they deal with problems, as well as how they interact with others.

It is important to ask Cloud Engineers behavioral and situational questions in a job interview because their performance in the role will depend not only on their technical skills, but also on their ability to work effectively with others, communicate clearly and handle challenges as they arise.

• Can you describe a time when you had to troubleshoot an issue in a cloud environment, and how you went about resolving it?

Troubleshooting can be an almost daily occurrence for Cloud Engineers – it can also require a deep understanding of the underlying technology and systems. By asking the candidate to describe a specific instance in which they had to troubleshoot an issue, you can get a sense of their approach to problem-solving and their capacity to think critically and analytically.

• Can you discuss a situation where you had to communicate technical information to a non-technical audience? How did you adapt your communication style to meet their needs?

The ideal Cloud Engineer will be able to effectively communicate with a variety of stakeholders, including technical and non-technical colleagues, clients and management. The capability to communicate clearly and convey complex technical information to non-technical audiences is essential for building trust, establishing credibility and ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

Identifying Soft Skills

Following on from the suggested behavioural and situational questions, you may also want to include some questions that specifically target the soft skills that are most valuable to your organisation. For example, these might include teamwork, leadership and adaptability.

• Teamwork: Can you describe a time when you had to collaborate with a team to solve a complex problem in the cloud? How did you contribute to the team’s efforts?

Solving complex problems in the cloud often requires the efforts and expertise of multiple team members. This question allows you to evaluate the candidate’s ability to work effectively with others, which is an essential skill for any cloud engineer.

• Leadership: Can you share an example of a time when you took on a leadership role as a Cloud Engineer? How did you motivate and manage your team and what was the result?

This lets the candidate demonstrate their leadership skills. It also helps you to assess their ability to take initiative and assume a role of authority, if necessary.

• Adaptability: Discuss an instance when you had to adapt to a new technology or approach on a project. How did you learn and incorporate this new information?

Cloud engineering jobs often require candidates to work with a variety of software, technologies and approaches. Given the everchanging nature of these technologies, they’ll sometimes need to learn and incorporate new information quickly. Through a specific example, this question will help you assess a candidate’s adaptability and willingness to learn.

Motivational Questions

Additionally, you may want to consider a candidate’s motivations for pursuing the job. A highly motivated Cloud Engineer is likely to be more productive, take initiative and be more invested in their work. They may also be more likely to continue learning and staying current with the latest developments in cloud technology, which is essential in a field that is constantly evolving. Asking about motivation can also give you insight into whether the candidate is a good fit for your company culture and values.

• What attracted you to the field of cloud computing and what about it do you find most interesting or rewarding?

This question is open enough to give you insight into the candidate’s values and passions, as well as their long-term goals and career aspirations. This may help you gauge how well their goals align with the organisation and future prospects of the role.

• What are the major benefits of cloud computing practices for modern systems?

Whilst this may not seem like a motivational question on the surface, it’s a great way for interviewers to determine the candidate’s passion for the job, and in turn their motivations for applying. It may also start to give you a sense of the candidate’s knowledge of current trends in the field.

• How do you stay up to date on the latest trends and best practices in cloud computing?

Similarly, this question will more specifically give you insight into the candidate’s dedication to staying current and continuing to learn and grow in their career.

Summary

That covers some of the best technical, behavioural and motivational questions that might be useful to ask when recruiting for a Cloud Engineer position. Of course, you’ll likely need to include others that may better suit your organisation and job.

As cloud engineering recruitment specialists in the UK, we are experts in supporting employers to find their perfect candidates. Whether we can support you in compiling a list of interview questions to meet your organisation’s needs or more broadly assist with tech recruitment, please reach out.

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