What is a DevOps Engineer at Baker Hughes?

As a DevOps Engineer at Baker Hughes, you are at the forefront of digital transformation in the energy technology sector. Baker Hughes relies on robust, scalable, and secure cloud infrastructure to power its industrial software, data analytics, and global operations. In this role, you are not just maintaining servers; you are building the automated, highly available pipelines that allow engineering teams to deliver critical energy solutions safely and efficiently.

Your impact spans across multiple product teams and engineering disciplines. You will be responsible for bridging the gap between development and operations, ensuring that deployments are seamless, infrastructure is resilient, and systems are fully observable. Given the massive scale of industrial data processed by Baker Hughes, the reliability of your infrastructure directly affects the company’s ability to deliver real-time insights to customers worldwide.

Expect a challenging, high-impact environment where modern cloud-native technologies are the standard. You will work extensively with Microsoft Azure, orchestrate complex microservices using Kubernetes, and drive continuous delivery through modern GitOps practices. If you thrive on solving complex scaling challenges and automating away operational toil, this role offers a unique opportunity to apply cutting-edge DevOps practices to the global energy industry.

Common Interview Questions

The questions below represent the types of technical and architectural challenges you will face during your interviews at Baker Hughes. While you should not memorize answers, use these to test your depth of knowledge and practice structuring your responses.

Kubernetes & Containerization

Expect a heavy concentration of questions in this category. Interviewers will push past the basics to test your operational experience with K8s.

• How do you troubleshoot a pod that is stuck in a CrashLoopBackOff state?
• Explain the difference between a Deployment and a StatefulSet, and when you would use each.
• How does Kubernetes handle service discovery and internal DNS?
• Describe the process of setting up role-based access control (RBAC) for a new development team in a shared cluster.
• What are Kubernetes operators, and have you ever implemented or managed one?

Azure & Cloud Infrastructure

These questions test your ability to design secure and scalable environments specifically within the Azure cloud.

• How do you secure an AKS cluster using Azure native tools?
• Explain the difference between Azure Application Gateway and Azure Load Balancer.
• Walk me through how you structure your Terraform state files for a multi-environment Azure deployment.
• What strategies do you use to optimize cloud infrastructure costs on Azure?
• What do you know about infrastructure, and how do you design for high availability across regions?

CI/CD, GitOps & Observability

This category evaluates your ability to automate software delivery and maintain system visibility.

• Explain the concept of GitOps and how ArgoCD implements it compared to traditional push-based CI/CD.
• How do you handle database schema migrations within an automated CI/CD pipeline?
• What metrics do you consider most critical when monitoring a Kubernetes cluster with Prometheus?
• How do you securely inject secrets into applications deployed via ArgoCD?
• Tell me about a time you used monitoring data to identify and resolve a critical production bottleneck.

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

To succeed in the Baker Hughes interview process, you must approach your preparation strategically. Interviewers are looking for candidates who possess deep technical expertise but can also communicate complex concepts clearly. Focus your preparation on the following key evaluation criteria:

Cloud-Native Expertise At Baker Hughes, modern infrastructure means containers and orchestration. You will be evaluated heavily on your depth of knowledge in Kubernetes and container lifecycle management. Strong candidates do not just know how to deploy a pod; they understand cluster architecture, networking, and troubleshooting at a granular level.

Infrastructure and Automation You must demonstrate a strong command of infrastructure as code (IaC) and cloud-provider specifics, particularly within Azure. Interviewers will assess your ability to design, provision, and secure cloud environments autonomously, looking for hands-on experience rather than theoretical knowledge.

Continuous Delivery and Observability Modern DevOps relies on seamless deployments and proactive monitoring. You will be tested on your experience with CI/CD pipelines, specifically GitOps methodologies using tools like ArgoCD, as well as your ability to implement comprehensive monitoring solutions using Prometheus.

Navigating Ambiguity and Communication Interview styles can vary, and you may encounter broad, open-ended questions. Your ability to take a vague prompt, structure a logical response, and drive the technical conversation is critical. Interviewers evaluate how confidently you can articulate your thought process under pressure.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process for a DevOps Engineer at Baker Hughes is technically rigorous and typically consists of three to four rounds. Your journey will begin with initial technical screening rounds that dive immediately into your core competencies. You should expect an intense focus on container orchestration and cloud infrastructure right from the start. Some candidates report facing an "avalanche" of specialized technical questions, so be prepared for a rapid-fire pace.

Following the initial technical screens, you will likely face additional technical deep dives. These rounds may skip standard introductions and jump straight into architectural scenarios, troubleshooting exercises, and tool-specific trivia. The process culminates in a final interview with the Hiring Manager. This final round is designed to assess your high-level understanding of infrastructure, your past experiences, and your cultural fit within the team.

Be aware that the structure and tone of the interviews can vary significantly depending on the specific team and interviewer. While many rounds are highly structured and professional, others might feel less formal or require you to take the lead in guiding the conversation.

This visual timeline outlines the typical sequence of your interview stages, from the initial technical screens through to the final Hiring Manager round. Use this map to pace your preparation, focusing heavily on deep technical review for the early stages, and transitioning to high-level system design and behavioral narratives as you approach the final round. Keep in mind that the exact number of technical rounds may fluctuate based on the specific team's requirements.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To excel in your interviews, you must master several core technical domains. Interviewers at Baker Hughes rely heavily on these areas to gauge your readiness for the role.

Kubernetes & Container Orchestration

This is arguably the most critical evaluation area. Baker Hughes relies heavily on Kubernetes, particularly on Azure (AKS), to run its workloads. You must be prepared for an extensive, deep dive into K8s concepts. Strong performance here means demonstrating hands-on experience with cluster administration, not just basic user-level commands.

Be ready to go over:

• Cluster Architecture – Understanding the control plane, worker nodes, etcd, and kubelet interactions.
• Networking and Security – Ingress controllers, network policies, CNI plugins, and RBAC configurations.
• Workload Management – Deployments, StatefulSets, DaemonSets, and handling persistent volumes.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs), operators, and complex scheduling constraints (taints, tolerations, affinity).

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through the exact steps of what happens inside the cluster when a pod crashes."
• "How do you secure communication between microservices across different namespaces?"
• "Explain how you would upgrade a production Kubernetes cluster with zero downtime."

Cloud Infrastructure (Azure Focus)

While general cloud knowledge is valuable, Baker Hughes heavily utilizes Microsoft Azure. You will be evaluated on your ability to design, deploy, and manage scalable infrastructure within the Azure ecosystem.

Be ready to go over:

• Compute and Managed Services – Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Virtual Machine Scale Sets, and App Services.
• Networking – VNet peering, Azure Load Balancers, Application Gateways, and ExpressRoute.
• Identity and Access – Azure Active Directory (Entra ID), Managed Identities, and integrating IAM with Kubernetes RBAC.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Multi-region disaster recovery architectures and Azure Policy enforcement.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you design a highly available, cross-region infrastructure on Azure?"
• "What do you know about infrastructure?" (Be prepared to take this broad question and break it down into compute, network, storage, and security layers).
• "Explain how you manage state securely when using Terraform to provision Azure resources."

CI/CD and GitOps

Automating the path to production is a core responsibility. Interviewers will look for your expertise in modern deployment methodologies, specifically focusing on GitOps patterns.

Be ready to go over:

• GitOps Principles – Understanding pull vs. push deployment models and declarative infrastructure.
• Tooling – Deep dive into ArgoCD for continuous delivery, alongside standard CI tools (e.g., GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or Azure DevOps).
• Pipeline Security – Integrating vulnerability scanning, secret management, and compliance checks into the pipeline.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Progressive delivery mechanisms like Canary deployments or Blue/Green deployments using Argo Rollouts.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How does ArgoCD detect and handle configuration drift in a Kubernetes cluster?"
• "Design a CI/CD pipeline for a containerized application from code commit to production deployment."
• "How do you securely manage secrets in a GitOps workflow?"

Observability and Monitoring

Deploying infrastructure is only half the job; you must also ensure it remains healthy. Baker Hughes utilizes tools like Prometheus to maintain system visibility.

Be ready to go over:

• Metrics Collection – Setting up and configuring Prometheus to scrape metrics from applications and infrastructure.
• Alerting – Configuring Alertmanager, defining meaningful SLIs/SLOs, and avoiding alert fatigue.
• Visualization – Building effective Grafana dashboards to monitor cluster health and application performance.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Distributed tracing (e.g., Jaeger) and centralized logging architectures (e.g., ELK/EFK stack).

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Write a PromQL query to find the rate of HTTP 500 errors over the last 5 minutes."
• "How do you monitor the health of the Kubernetes control plane?"
• "What is your strategy for handling sudden spikes in log volume that threaten to overwhelm your logging cluster?"

Key Responsibilities

As a DevOps Engineer at Baker Hughes, your day-to-day work will revolve around building and maintaining the backbone of the company's software delivery systems. You will spend a significant portion of your time managing and scaling Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) clusters, ensuring they are secure, cost-optimized, and highly available.

You will act as a crucial partner to software engineering teams. This involves collaborating closely with developers to containerize applications, optimize Dockerfiles, and troubleshoot complex deployment issues in lower environments before they reach production. You will be the subject matter expert on how applications behave in the cloud, guiding development teams on best practices for cloud-native architecture.

A major part of your role involves eliminating manual work through automation. You will design, implement, and maintain GitOps workflows using ArgoCD, ensuring that all infrastructure and application states are version-controlled and declaratively managed. Additionally, you will be responsible for the observability stack, fine-tuning Prometheus alerts, and building dashboards that provide real-time insights into system health, allowing the team to preemptively address issues before they impact end-users.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

To be a competitive candidate for the DevOps Engineer position at Baker Hughes, you need a solid foundation in cloud engineering and a proven track record of managing production-grade containerized environments.

• Must-have technical skills – Deep, hands-on expertise with Kubernetes is non-negotiable. You must also have strong experience with Microsoft Azure (specifically AKS, networking, and IAM), continuous delivery tools like ArgoCD, and monitoring stacks featuring Prometheus. Proficiency in Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) is expected.
• Experience level – Typically, successful candidates have 4+ years of dedicated DevOps, Cloud Engineering, or Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) experience, with a significant portion of that time spent managing high-traffic, distributed systems in an enterprise environment.
• Soft skills – You must possess strong analytical problem-solving skills and the ability to remain calm under pressure during system outages. Clear communication is vital, as you will need to explain complex infrastructure constraints to non-infrastructure teams and stakeholders.
• Nice-to-have skills – While Azure is the primary focus, experience with AWS or GCP is beneficial. Strong scripting skills in Python, Go, or Bash will set you apart, as will experience with service meshes (like Istio) or advanced security and compliance automation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How difficult are the technical rounds? The technical rounds, particularly those focusing on Kubernetes, are frequently described by candidates as difficult and intense. You should expect an "avalanche" of specific, scenario-based questions that require hands-on experience to answer correctly.

Q: What if the interviewer skips introductions and jumps straight into questions? Do not be thrown off. Some interviewers at Baker Hughes prefer to maximize the time spent on technical evaluation and may start abruptly. Stay calm, be professional, and dive straight into the technical discussion with confidence.

Q: How should I handle very broad or vague questions from a Hiring Manager? If asked a question like "What do you know about infra?", recognize that the interviewer is testing your ability to structure ambiguity. Take a breath, categorize your answer (e.g., compute, network, storage, automation), and proactively guide the conversation toward your strongest areas of expertise.

Q: Do I need to know AWS or GCP if the stack is mostly Azure? While general cloud concepts transfer well, Baker Hughes heavily relies on Azure and AKS. Your preparation should prioritize Azure-specific services and networking concepts over AWS or GCP.

Q: How long does the entire interview process usually take? The process typically spans 2 to 4 weeks from the initial recruiter screen to the final Hiring Manager round, though scheduling can vary based on team availability.

Other General Tips

• Drive the Conversation: If you encounter an interviewer who seems disorganized or asks poorly articulated questions, take the initiative. Politely clarify the question, state your assumptions, and guide the technical narrative. This demonstrates strong leadership and communication skills.
• Master the "Why" Behind the Tool: It is not enough to know how to deploy ArgoCD or Prometheus. You must be able to explain why GitOps is beneficial or why pull-based monitoring is preferred in dynamic container environments.
• Expect Deep Dives on Resumes: Anything listed on your resume is fair game. If you mention a specific Azure service or Kubernetes integration, be prepared to discuss its architecture and troubleshooting steps in detail.
• Practice Whiteboarding Mentally: Even if you are not physically whiteboarding, practice verbalizing system architecture. When asked to design a pipeline or infrastructure setup, clearly describe the flow of data or code from left to right.

Summary & Next Steps

Securing a DevOps Engineer role at Baker Hughes places you at the intersection of advanced cloud-native technology and the critical global energy sector. The work you do will directly enable engineering teams to innovate faster, scale more reliably, and operate securely. This role demands a high level of technical rigor, but it also offers the reward of solving complex, massive-scale infrastructure challenges using modern tools like Azure, Kubernetes, ArgoCD, and Prometheus.

This compensation data provides a baseline expectation for the role. Keep in mind that actual offers will vary based on your specific location, years of specialized experience, and performance during the technical deep dives. Use this information to anchor your expectations and inform any future offer negotiations.

To succeed, focus your preparation on mastering container orchestration and cloud infrastructure. Be ready for intense technical scrutiny, but also prepare to navigate unstructured conversations with confidence and clarity. Remember that the interview is as much about how you handle pressure and ambiguity as it is about your technical knowledge. Continue exploring resources and peer experiences on Dataford to refine your strategy. Trust in your experience, structure your responses carefully, and step into your interviews ready to demonstrate the value you can bring to Baker Hughes.