ING DevOps Engineer interview questions & guide 2026

The following questions are representative of the patterns observed in recent ING interview cycles. While specific technical stacks may vary by team, these categories reflect the core competencies the hiring committee prioritizes.

Technical & Process Proficiency

These questions test your practical experience with automation, cloud platforms, and your ability to apply DevOps principles to real-world scenarios.

• How do you manage infrastructure as code, specifically when handling access control across cloud environments?
• Can you describe a scenario where you had to troubleshoot a failing CI/CD pipeline in a production environment?

Preparation at ING should be structured around demonstrating both deep technical expertise and a "customer-first" mindset. You should be prepared to articulate not just how you use a tool, but why you chose it to solve a specific business problem.

Role-Related Knowledge – You must demonstrate mastery over modern infrastructure tools like Terraform, Kubernetes, and cloud providers. Interviewers will look for your ability to explain complex technical trade-offs clearly.

Problem-Solving Ability – ING interviewers often use scenario-based questions to see how you troubleshoot under pressure. Focus on your methodology: define the problem, analyze the impact, identify potential solutions, and justify your final decision.

Collaboration & Communication – Because DevOps is a highly collaborative function, you will be evaluated on your ability to work with other engineers and stakeholders. Be ready to discuss how you document your work and evangelize best practices within a team.

The interview process at ING is rigorous and designed to assess both your technical baseline and your ability to fit into a highly collaborative, international environment. While the exact number of rounds can fluctuate based on the specific team and seniority level, you should expect a multi-stage process that typically begins with an initial screening and progresses through technical assessments and leadership interviews.

The process is designed to be comprehensive. You will likely face a mix of "quiz-style" technical evaluations, deep-dive discussions on your past project history, and final interviews focused on your alignment with ING’s engineering culture. Patience is advised, as the feedback loop in a large organization can occasionally be longer than in smaller firms.

This timeline illustrates the logical progression from initial contact to final decision. Use this to pace your preparation; ensure you are technically sharp for the middle rounds, while preparing to discuss your long-term career goals and team fit in the final leadership sessions.

Cloud Infrastructure & Automation

This is the heart of the DevOps role. You will be evaluated on your hands-on experience with cloud platforms and your ability to automate repetitive tasks.

Be ready to go over:

• IaC best practices – Focus on modularity, state management, and security.
• CI/CD pipeline optimization – Discussing how to reduce build times and increase deployment frequency.

As a DevOps Engineer, your daily routine will revolve around the lifecycle of the services you support. You will spend significant time writing and maintaining Terraform code for infrastructure provisioning and optimizing CI/CD pipelines to ensure code flows seamlessly from commit to production.

Collaboration is essential; you will often act as an enabler for development squads, helping them containerize applications and adopt cloud-native best practices. You will also be responsible for monitoring system health, managing alerts, and participating in post-mortem reviews to ensure that system failures are turned into long-term architectural improvements.

ING seeks engineers who are not only technically proficient but also curious and adaptable.

• Must-have skills:

• Strong proficiency in Cloud Platforms (GCP preferred).

• Expert-level knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform).

• Deep understanding of CI/CD pipelines and container orchestration (Kubernetes).

• Experience with scripting languages (Python, Go, or Bash).

• Nice-to-have skills:

• Exposure to AI-driven operations or automated monitoring tools.

• Experience with security-first engineering (DevSecOps).

• Background in financial services or highly regulated industries.

Q: How long does the hiring process usually take? The process can vary, but generally, it spans several weeks. Expect a few days to a week between rounds for scheduling and internal evaluations.

Q: Is the technical interview purely coding? It is often a mix of "quiz-style" technical questions and scenario-based discussions. You should be prepared to explain the "why" behind your technical choices.

Q: What is the most important thing to focus on for the final interview? The final interview with leadership is about cultural fit and your ability to work within the ING ecosystem. Be ready to discuss how you handle conflict, how you prioritize work, and why you want to contribute to the future of digital banking.

• Understand the "ING Way": Research the bank's agile methodology and its commitment to continuous improvement.
• Be ready for specifics: If you mention a project on your CV, know the architecture, the challenges, and the specific tools you used in detail.
• Ask thoughtful questions: Use the final rounds to ask about the team's current challenges, the tech debt they are managing, or their vision for future automation.
• Stay calm under pressure: If you don't know the answer to a technical "quiz" question, walk the interviewer through your thought process rather than guessing.

The role of a DevOps Engineer at ING is both challenging and rewarding, offering the chance to work at the scale of a major global financial institution. By focusing on your core technical competencies in cloud and automation, and by preparing to discuss your problem-solving process clearly, you will be well-positioned to succeed.

Use the insights provided here to guide your study and practice. Remember that the interview process is a two-way street; it is as much about you finding the right environment for your career as it is about ING finding the right talent. For further, real-time insights and to continue your preparation, visit Dataford. Good luck with your application.