Roles · Release Engineer · Mid-level
13 core skills, 51 in total. Expectations per skill, and what changes at the next level.
This page lists what a Mid-level } is expected to know and do, skill by skill. Core skills are the ones a manager and peers assess in a review cycle; the rest count only in self-assessment. Main areas: Cloud & Infrastructure, DevOps & CI/CD, Observability & Monitoring.
Grouped by area. The label on the right is the expected depth: Awareness, Working, Advanced or Expert.
Confidently applies Docker for release engineering in non-standard tasks. Independently selects the optimal approach and tools. Analyzes trade-offs and proposes improvements to existing solutions.
Confidently applies Helm charts for release engineering in non-standard tasks. Independently selects the optimal approach and tools. Analyzes trade-offs and proposes improvements to existing solutions.
Confidently applies Kubernetes core for release engineering in non-standard tasks. Independently selects the optimal approach and tools. Analyzes trade-offs and proposes improvements to existing solutions.
Confidently applies Terraform for release engineering in non-standard tasks. Independently selects the optimal approach and tools. Analyzes trade-offs and proposes improvements to existing solutions.
Independently configures ArgoCD Applications for multi-stage release pipelines with promotion gates and sync waves. Writes release-specific ApplicationSets with environment generators for consistent deployment across staging, canary, and production targets. Implements sync windows, manual approval hooks, and rollback strategies for controlled release delivery.
Configures blue-green deployment in Kubernetes with service switching. Automates smoke tests after traffic switching. Manages database migrations compatible with blue-green deployments.
Configures canary deployment with traffic splitting (Istio, Argo Rollouts). Defines success criteria and automated rollback triggers. Implements A/B testing within canary deployments.
Designs complex multi-job workflows with dependencies, matrix builds, and conditional steps. Optimizes cache strategies for pipeline acceleration. Creates reusable workflows and composite actions.
Confidently applies GitLab CI for release engineering in non-standard tasks. Independently selects the optimal approach and tools. Analyzes trade-offs and proposes improvements to existing solutions.
Confidently applies Jenkins for release engineering in non-standard tasks. Independently selects the optimal approach and tools. Analyzes trade-offs and proposes improvements to existing solutions.
Implements progressive delivery workflows with Argo Rollouts or Flagger. Configures metrics for automated promotion and rollback. Integrates feature flags into the deployment process.
Confidently applies SLI/SLO/SLA for release engineering in non-standard tasks. Independently selects the optimal approach and tools. Analyzes trade-offs and proposes improvements to existing solutions.
Configures branch protection rules, merge policies, and commit signing in GitHub/GitLab. Manages release branches and automates changelog generation. Implements GitOps workflow for configuration management.
Not assessed by the team, but part of the self-assessment and the development plan.
51 skills get a higher expectation or become core when moving from Mid-level to Senior. The biggest jumps first.
} in the open competency matrix: 51 skills across 5 levels. The matrix is free for individuals and stays free.