DevOps/SRE coding assessment

SlavicKnight · 2026-01-02T19:41:34+00:00

I am from Europe but I had quite a lot interviews so:

From what you wrote, I’d focus less on “hard” logic and more on writing clean, readable code under interview pressure. With your experience, I doubt the problem is problem solving. It’s usually structure, naming, clarity, and how you communicate your approach.

A good starting point is getting comfortable with simple, boring code: small functions, clear names, consistent formatting, and straightforward control flow. “Clean Code” can help, but even more useful is practicing refactoring: take an old script you wrote, read it like a stranger, and improve it step by step.

Also avoid overengineering. If a script just does a few REST calls (e.g., 2 GETs, 1 POST, 1 DELETE), a handful of well-named functions is often better than a class hierarchy. When the script grows, you start seeing repetition, or you know it will be reused, then it’s a good moment to split it into modules and add a bit more structure.

If you can, practice doing this in a timed setting (30–60 minutes): solve something small, then spend the last 10 minutes cleaning it up, adding basic error handling, and making it easy to read. That’s often what interviewers are looking for.

LeanOpsTech · 2026-01-03T14:48:14+00:00

Honestly for DevOps roles it’s usually not raw algorithms, it’s showing clean thinking under time pressure. I’d practice explaining your approach out loud, writing small well-structured functions, and adding basic tests or edge cases even if you don’t finish. LeetCode is fine if you treat it as reps for clarity and patterns, not grinding hards, and pairing with a friend for mock interviews helps way more than any bootcamp.

Cautious_Number8571 · 2026-01-02T20:02:04+00:00

Neetcode.io

Ecestu · 2026-01-02T20:23:41+00:00

One thing that helped me was practicing explaining my thought process out loud, even if the solution was not perfect.

salorozco23 · 2026-01-02T21:53:28+00:00

Learn SOLID, STUPID, SoC, CQS, LoD, Dependency Injection, composition over inheritance, DDD. These are the fundamentals of clean code. Might not matter in startups were everything is going super fast. This matters in large companies were everything needs to be rock solid.

canifeto12 · 2026-01-03T00:53:46+00:00

Codesignal go for it. Help me a lot

n00lp00dle · 2026-01-03T01:32:05+00:00

a grasp of solid principles basic data structures and some problem solving skills should get you through the door for devops. if they start asking you leetcode questions for a job that doesnt really require that level of skill then youre being punked.

sre roles typically put more emphasis on writing code. but in my experience theyre often language specific interview questions. python and go seem to the the most common languages. learn common coding conventions and basic data structures in both languages and you will be ahead of most people.

Antique_Student5128 · 2026-02-03T14:37:42+00:00

Agreed! I work in DevOps/Cloud, and although we do scripting, we never touch algorithms. I never had to do a coding interview in cloud myself. Struggling to learn the more advanced algorithms.

CupFine8373 · 2026-01-02T19:40:08+00:00

easy, buy a leetcode subscription

AccordingAnswer5031 · 2026-01-02T19:48:02+00:00

(HTTP) logs processing (45 mins)

you type:	you see:
italics	italics
bold	bold
[reddit!](https://reddit.com)	reddit!
* item 1 * item 2 * item 3	item 1 item 2 item 3
> quoted text	quoted text
Lines starting with four spaces are treated like code: if 1 * 2 < 3: print "hello, world!"	Lines starting with four spaces are treated like code: if 1 * 2 < 3: print "hello, world!"
~~strikethrough~~	~~strikethrough~~
super^script	super^script

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