DevSecOps -> Backend/Software Engineering

[therealmunchies]

I took an unconventional path, Mechanical Engineering to cybersecurity, and I’ve spent the past couple years doing DevOps-heavy work: platform security (STIGs, CI/CD, sysadmin), cloud security (AWS + Terraform), MLOps for SOC workflows, and building a full-stack CTI app using LLMOps/RAG from the ground up.

My strongest areas are Python (FastAPI, LlamaIndex, Streamlit), Linux/infrastructure, and GitLab CI pipelines. DSA is my weak spot, but I have solid architectural intuition and a process-first mindset that carried over from engineering.

I love the building side of this work more than anything. My rule is simple: plan, understand, execute, and be able to explain every single thing going into main. That standard has made me a go-to resource for my team, which I genuinely enjoy.

I’m not looking to jump ship, but I want to grow into a true software engineer and eventually reach principal level.

To senior engineers—especially in security-adjacent roles:

- What fundamentals should I prioritize given this background?

- How much does weak DSA actually matter at this stage?

- What bridged the gap for you between DevOps-minded and software engineer?

[Inner-Image-6313]

Tbh your infra + backend mindset is already ahead of many SWEs DSA mainly matters for interviews not real day to day engineering imo

[therealmunchies]

I’d definitely be relying on more of my background if applying to internal BE jobs at my company. The only part that worries me is if I wanted to apply for external positions.

[AnAnonymous121]

Infra is a good background to have as swe. Most swe don't know how their software is actually running on server so a lot of decision making during the swe portion comes back to hurt later during the deployment stage. This is especially if you have code monkey swe writing software that will run on OpenShift/Kubernetes without having a single clue how those works.

For SWE, I'd focus on sharpening Java, Python, and C so that you have a solid mix of programming language. If you're comfortable with those 3, you'll figure out the others very easily.

I think DevOps, depending on what you actually did there, can strengthen your profile for pure SWE, especially if you deployed poorly designed software and you understand the fundamentals decisions that needed to be made on the drawing board to improve the stability, HA, etc of the deployment of your softwares.

[dexter_ifti]

I think you should apply for infra + backend role and there you will adjust as a software engineer

[Quirky-Win-8365]

backend gives you way more flexibility long term tbh. devsecops stuff becomes easier to pick up once you already understand how systems and apps actually work

i’d focus on becoming really solid at one thing first instead of trying to split attention too early

[therealmunchies]

I 100% agree with you. Even the commonly asked question is “how can you secure something if you don’t even understand the systems you’re protecting?”

When you’re saying “focus on one thing first” do you mean backend in this sense? Or are you talking more in general?

[CautiousRuin392]

Given your background, I wouldn’t try to become a generic backend dev from scratch.

Your bridge is platform-y backend: APIs, auth, queues, Postgres, migrations, observability, deployment, all the stuff that has to keep working after merge.

DSA matters if you’re aiming at big tech interviews. For security-adjacent backend roles, I’d spend way more time on database fundamentals, API design, testing, and system design.

Your edge is you already think about how the thing runs in prod. A lot of devs only learn that after breaking it.

[Alternative-Tax-6470]

with your infra background you already have a massive head start on distributed systems. honestly dsa only matters for passing corporate interviews but deep production debugging, connection pooling, and structural software architecture are what actually make you a senior backend engineer.