Platform Engineer
Build internal developer platforms that enable engineering teams to ship faster and safer.
Platform Engineer
Platform Engineering is the hottest specialization in infrastructure. It focuses on building internal developer platforms (IDPs) that abstract away infrastructure complexity and enable developers to ship faster. With companies like Spotify, Uber, and Netflix pioneering the practice, platform teams have become a critical investment. Platform Engineers who can improve developer velocity while maintaining security and compliance are in extremely high demand.
Skills
LinkedIn Optimization
- 1
Share about internal developer platform strategies
- 2
Post about developer experience improvements
- 3
Highlight self-service platform metrics
- 4
Connect with Platform Engineering leaders
- 5
Contribute to CNCF and platform engineering communities
CV & Resume
- 1
Quantify: "Built IDP reducing deployment time from 2 hours to 5 minutes"
- 2
Show developer adoption metrics for platforms you built
- 3
Detail self-service capabilities created
- 4
Include developer satisfaction improvements
- 5
Highlight golden path and standardization work
Outreach Strategy
- 1
Research their developer tooling and pain points
- 2
Share insights on platform engineering best practices
- 3
Mention experience with their cloud and tooling stack
- 4
Connect with infrastructure and platform teams
- 5
Demonstrate understanding of developer experience
Interview Prep
- 1
Prepare examples of platforms that improved developer velocity
- 2
Review Kubernetes and cloud-native patterns
- 3
Show understanding of golden paths and guardrails
- 4
Demonstrate empathy for developer experience
A day as Platform Engineer
Build and maintain internal developer platform, improve CI/CD pipelines, create self-service infrastructure tools, gather developer feedback, implement golden paths, maintain service catalogs.
Career Path
Common mistakes
Only showing infrastructure skills without developer empathy
Not measuring developer experience and adoption
Ignoring self-service and golden path concepts
Not showing platform product thinking
Focusing only on tooling without showing strategy
Essential tools
FAQ
Average salary for a Platform Engineer?
The average salary for a Platform Engineer in Europe ranges between 60K - 115K EUR. This varies by experience, location, and company type.
Key skills for a Platform Engineer?
Main technical skills: Kubernetes, CI/CD, IaC, Developer Experience, Service Mesh. Soft skills like communication and teamwork are equally important.
Career path for a Platform Engineer?
Typical path: DevOps Engineer > Platform Engineer > Senior Platform Engineer > Staff Platform Engineer > Platform Lead > Head of Platform > VP of Developer Experience.