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Cloud Engineer

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March 29, 2024 Updated April 4, 2025 18 minute read

Cloud Engineer: Building the Future in the Cloud

A Cloud Engineer is a technology professional responsible for designing, implementing, managing, and maintaining an organization's cloud computing infrastructure. Think of them as the architects and builders of the digital world that exists not on a single computer, but across vast networks of servers known as "the cloud." They ensure that applications and data are accessible, secure, and performant, leveraging services from major cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Working as a Cloud Engineer can be incredibly engaging. You'll often find yourself solving complex technical puzzles, designing resilient systems that can handle massive scale, and automating tasks to make infrastructure management more efficient. It's a field where continuous learning is paramount, as the technology evolves rapidly, offering constant opportunities to master new tools and techniques. The direct impact you can have on an organization's ability to innovate and operate smoothly makes this a highly rewarding career path.

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Salaries for Cloud Engineer

City
Median
New York
$158,000
San Francisco
$178,000
Seattle
$158,000
See all salaries
City
Median
New York
$158,000
San Francisco
$178,000
Seattle
$158,000
Austin
$151,000
Toronto
$156,000
London
£88,000
Paris
€67,000
Berlin
€88,000
Tel Aviv
₪65,000
Singapore
S$135,000
Beijing
¥108,800
Shanghai
¥324,000
Shenzhen
¥726,000
Bengalaru
₹841,000
Delhi
₹1,485,000
Bars indicate relevance. All salaries presented are estimates. Completion of this course does not guarantee or imply job placement or career outcomes.

Path to Cloud Engineer

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We've curated 24 courses to help you on your path to Cloud Engineer. Use these to develop your skills, build background knowledge, and put what you learn to practice.
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Reading list

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Provides a comprehensive overview of building serverless applications specifically on the AWS platform. It covers key AWS services like Lambda, API Gateway, and Kinesis, offering practical insights and real-world use cases. It's valuable for understanding the practical application of serverless principles within a major cloud ecosystem and is suitable for those looking to implement serverless solutions on AWS.
A recent publication focusing on leveraging AWS Lambda for building scalable and cost-effective serverless solutions. It covers basics to advanced deployment, including event-driven design, hyper-scaling, and operational techniques. is highly relevant for those specifically focused on AWS Lambda and seeking to deepen their expertise.
Provides a deep dive into the internals of Ceph, covering its data structures, algorithms, and performance optimizations. It valuable resource for developers who want to contribute to Ceph or who want to learn more about how it works.
Focuses on building serverless applications with Azure Functions, providing a step-by-step guide to building and deploying serverless applications using the Azure Functions platform. It great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about using Azure Functions for serverless development.
Offers a vendor-agnostic view of serverless computing, covering AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, and open-source options. It provides a broad understanding of the serverless landscape and helps in selecting appropriate technologies. It's a good resource for gaining a wider perspective beyond a single cloud provider.
This handbook focuses on best practices and real-world applications of serverless architecture, particularly using the AWS Well-Architected Framework's Serverless Lens. It's designed for technology leaders and architects, offering insights into operational excellence, security, reliability, performance, cost optimization, and sustainability in a serverless context.
Provides a practical guide to designing and implementing serverless architectures. It covers topics such as selecting the right cloud provider, designing for scalability, and handling security. It valuable resource for anyone who wants to learn more about the practical aspects of serverless computing.
While not solely focused on serverless, this book foundational text for understanding microservices architecture, which is highly relevant to serverless computing. It covers design, testing, deployment, and operational concerns of microservices. It is essential background reading for anyone designing complex serverless systems and is widely regarded as a key resource in the field.
Focuses on the use of containers and Kubernetes for serverless computing. It provides a step-by-step guide to building and deploying serverless applications using Docker and Kubernetes. It great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about the use of containers for serverless development.
Provides a comprehensive overview of serverless architectures, including the benefits, challenges, and best practices for designing, developing, and deploying serverless applications. It great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about serverless computing.
An example-driven tutorial focusing on building event-driven serverless applications using AWS Lambda. It covers fundamental concepts, common patterns, and building larger applications by combining smaller examples. While published in 2016, it remains a useful resource for understanding the core mechanics of AWS Lambda and event-driven design, particularly for those new to the service.
Another valuable resource for understanding microservices patterns, which are highly applicable to serverless architectures. It explores various patterns for decomposing applications into smaller services, communication styles, and data management. provides architectural depth for designing serverless solutions.
A widely-used textbook on operating systems, covering topics such as process management, memory management, and file systems.
Serverless architectures often leverage event-driven patterns. provides a deep dive into designing and implementing event-driven systems, which is highly relevant for building reactive and scalable serverless applications. It offers valuable architectural knowledge that complements serverless-specific technical guides.
Delves into the fundamental concepts behind building scalable and reliable data systems, which are critical for serverless applications. It provides a deep understanding of data storage, processing, and communication, offering valuable insights for designing robust serverless architectures. It's a highly regarded book for anyone working with distributed systems.
Serverless computing key aspect of cloud-native development. explores various patterns for building cloud-native applications, including concepts relevant to serverless, microservices, and distributed systems. It helps in understanding how serverless fits within the broader cloud-native landscape.
Provides a practical approach to building Function as a Service (FaaS) solutions using Azure Functions with C#. It good resource for developers specifically working with Azure Functions and the C# language.
Targets developers looking to build full-stack applications using serverless technologies, specifically with React, AWS, and GraphQL. It provides a practical, hands-on approach to building modern applications leveraging serverless services. It's a good resource for those interested in the practical application of serverless in a full-stack context.
Offers a comprehensive guide to serverless computing, including a self-assessment tool. It covers integrating recent advances and process design strategies according to best practices. It can serve as a reference for understanding various aspects of serverless computing and identifying areas for improvement.
Discusses the shift to the 'Modern Cloud' and the principles behind it, with serverless being a significant component. It focuses on the socio-technical aspects and how organizations can leverage modern cloud technologies, including serverless, for business advantage. It's relevant for understanding the strategic importance of serverless.
Provides a detailed overview of how to use Ceph for high performance computing (HPC) applications. It covers topics such as storage performance, data protection, and management tools.
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