Prepare for your Site Reliability Engineer interview. Understand the required skills and qualifications, anticipate the questions you may be asked, and study well-prepared answers using our sample responses.
The OpenStack cloud computing platform is a popular tool among site reliability engineers. Employers ask this question to make sure you have the necessary skills to be successful in their company. If you have experience using OpenStack, share what you’ve done with it. If you don’t, explain that you are willing to learn.
Answer: “Yes, I am very familiar with the OpenStack cloud computing platform. I have been working with it for the past three years, during which time I have gained extensive experience in designing, maintaining, and troubleshooting its various components. In my previous role, I was responsible for managing the entire infrastructure of the cloud, including network, compute, storage, and orchestration.”
This question can help the interviewer determine if you have the skills necessary to succeed in this role. Use your answer to highlight some of the most important skills for a site reliability engineer and explain why they are so important.
Answer: “As a site reliability engineer, I believe the most important skills to have are problem-solving ability, communication skills and attention to detail. Problem-solving is essential for troubleshooting any issues that arise with the infrastructure or applications. It’s important to be able to quickly identify the root cause of the problem and develop a plan of action to resolve it.”
This question can help the interviewer determine your problem-solving skills and how you apply them to the role. Use examples from past experiences where you successfully solved a server problem and helped the company improve its overall IT infrastructure.
Answer: “I would first check the logs for any errors or warnings that might indicate a problem with the server. If there are no obvious issues, I would then run some diagnostic tests on the server to make sure all of its components are functioning properly. If the server still isn’t working as expected, I would look at other factors such as network connectivity or application configuration settings.”
The interviewer may ask you this question to learn about your experience with monitoring systems and how you use them in your work. Use examples from previous projects to explain what monitoring systems are, what they do and how you use them.
Answer: “I have extensive experience with monitoring systems. I have been working as a Site Reliability Engineer for the past five years, and during that time I have developed a deep understanding of the various tools and techniques used to monitor websites and applications.”
A bottleneck is a system restriction that causes a decrease in productivity. Employers ask this question to learn how you identify and resolve bottlenecks in a system. Use your answer to highlight your problem-solving skills, attention to detail and ability to work with other team members.
Answer: “In my last role as a site reliability engineer, I noticed that our website was experiencing slow load times. After investigating the issue, I discovered that the server was experiencing high CPU usage. To resolve the issue, I configured the server to use more resources and configured the application to use less resources. This allowed us to increase the capacity of the server without increasing its cost.”
This question allows you to show the interviewer what your priorities would be if hired. You can use this opportunity to highlight any skills or experiences that relate to the job description and how you would use them to benefit the company.
Answer: “My top priority as a site reliability engineer would be to ensure the stability of the infrastructure. I would do this by monitoring systems regularly, identifying any potential issues before they become major problems. I would also make sure that there is adequate redundancy in place so that if one part of the system fails, there are backups in place to ensure continuity.”
This question can help the interviewer understand how you react to challenges and whether you have experience solving them. Use examples from past projects to explain what steps you would take to identify the cause of the performance decrease and fix it.
Answer: “If I noticed a significant decrease in the performance of a system I was responsible for maintaining, my first step would be to investigate the root cause. This could involve using monitoring tools to identify any spikes in latency or error rates, reviewing log files for any unusual activity, and running diagnostics on the system to ensure there are no underlying issues.”
The interviewer may ask this question to assess your knowledge of how to build a site that can grow and change easily. Use examples from past projects where you implemented scalable architecture, or explain what it means and how it can benefit a company.
Answer: “I have a strong understanding of the concept of scalable architecture. I’ve worked on many projects where we needed to ensure that the architecture was able to scale as needed. For example, at my previous job, we had to build a new website that could handle increased traffic without any issues. To do this, we implemented a scalable architecture that allowed us to easily add more servers if needed.”
Amazon Web Services is one of the most popular cloud computing platforms available today. Employers may ask this question to see if you have experience working with their company’s products. If you do not have any experience working with AWS, consider mentioning another cloud computing platform that you’re familiar with.
Answer: “I have extensive experience working with Amazon Web Services. I have worked on several projects where we used AWS for hosting and storage. My team and I have developed processes and procedures for managing and maintaining the AWS infrastructure. We have also implemented security measures to ensure the safety of our data.”
This question can help the interviewer understand your level of experience with disaster recovery plans and how you decide when to use them. Use examples from past experiences to explain when you would escalate a problem to the level of a disaster recovery plan, and what steps you would take in that situation.
Answer: “When it comes to disaster recovery, it’s important to have a clear understanding of when it’s appropriate to escalate a problem. For me, it’s when I feel that the issue is beyond my control or ability to solve it. For example, I once had a client who was experiencing severe latency issues with their application. After investigating the issue, I determined that it was due to an increase in traffic. However, I knew that there was no way we could increase our capacity fast enough to meet demand. In this case, I felt it was best to implement a disaster recovery plan so we could scale down the application until we could increase capacity.”
This question is an opportunity to show your knowledge of the company’s systems and processes. It also allows you to explain how you would improve them, which can show your ability to think critically and creatively.
Answer: “I believe that improving system deployment processes starts with understanding the current state of the system. This includes knowing what tools are being used, how they’re being used and any potential issues that may arise during deployment. Once I have an understanding of the current situation, I can create a plan for improvement.”
The interviewer may ask this question to assess your experience with scripting languages. Scripting languages are computer languages that allow you to write code more quickly than with other languages. They are often used in software development, so it’s important to show that you have experience working with them.
Answer: “I have extensive experience with scripting languages. I have been working as a Site Reliability Engineer for the past five years, and during that time I have developed a deep understanding of how to use scripting languages effectively.”
Employers ask this question to learn more about your qualifications and how you feel you are qualified for their role. Before your interview, make a list of all of your skills and experiences that relate to this job. Focus on highlighting the most relevant ones while also including any additional skills that might be helpful in the role.
Answer: “I am an experienced Site Reliability Engineer with a proven track record of success. I have worked with many different types of software and technology platforms, including Linux, Windows, Java, Python, and Ruby on Rails. My experience and knowledge of these technologies make me an ideal candidate for this position.”
This question can help the interviewer determine your experience level with version control systems. If you have previous experience using a specific version control system, share that information with the interviewer. If you’ve used multiple version control systems, list all of them and explain how you learned how to use them.
Answer: “I’ve used both Git and Subversion in my past roles as a site reliability engineer. I find that both systems are useful for different purposes. For example, I find Git helpful for its ability to track changes and revert back to older versions if necessary. On the other hand, Subversion is useful for its ability to manage large projects with many developers.”
This question can help the interviewer understand how you prioritize communication and collaboration between teams. Your answer should show that you value communication and collaboration, which are important skills for a site reliability engineer.
Answer: “I believe that open and honest communication between engineering teams is the most important aspect of communication. I have found that when teams are transparent about their progress and challenges, it allows for better understanding and collaboration. This leads to more effective solutions being developed faster.”
This question can help the interviewer understand your audit process and how often you perform them. System audits are important for ensuring that a company’s infrastructure is running smoothly, so it’s important that the person in this role has a regular system audit process in place.
Answer: “I perform system audits at least once a month, but I also make sure to do them more often if there’s a change in the infrastructure or if I notice any issues. I find that doing monthly audits allows me to catch any major issues before they become too big to fix. In my last role, I noticed that our server was running out of memory space, so I did a monthly audit and discovered the issue before it became too problematic.”
This question can help the interviewer understand how you handle conflict and whether you have any strategies for resolving it. Use examples from your past experiences to explain how you would approach this situation and try to resolve it as quickly as possible.
Answer: “I would first try to understand what caused the conflict between the two team members. I would then speak with each person separately to get their perspectives on the situation and determine if there is anything I can do to help them work together more effectively. If not, I may need to take disciplinary action against one of them depending on the severity of the situation.”
