Preparation at Open Systems should be focused on depth and clarity. You should be ready to articulate not just how you solved a technical challenge, but why you chose a specific path over alternatives.

Technical Depth – You must demonstrate mastery over foundational concepts like Linux internals and Kubernetes orchestration. Interviewers will look for your ability to explain the underlying mechanics of the tools you use daily.

Problem-Solving Approach – When faced with a technical scenario, structure your thinking aloud. Interviewers are interested in your diagnostic process and how you narrow down variables in an ambiguous environment.

Cultural Alignment – Open Systems prioritizes engineers who are eager to contribute to the team’s collective knowledge. Show that you are a lifelong learner who values peer collaboration over individual superiority.

The interview process at Open Systems is designed to assess both your technical capabilities and your potential to integrate into a collaborative team. It typically begins with a recruiter screen to establish baseline alignment, followed by a deeper technical conversation with an SRE Director or senior team member. If you progress, you will face a series of "all-hands" interviews that deep-dive into technical skills, SRE-specific scenarios, and personality fit.

The pace of the process can vary, and communication may take time; patience is advised throughout the cycle. The company culture leans toward friendly, knowledgeable engagement rather than high-pressure interrogation. You should expect the process to be rigorous but respectful.

The visual timeline above illustrates the standard progression from initial screening to the final behavioral rounds. Use this to pace your preparation, ensuring you have refreshed your technical fundamentals before the hands-on sessions and prepared your personal anecdotes for the final cultural assessment.

Linux & Infrastructure Fundamentals

This is the bedrock of your role. You are expected to be fluent in command-line operations and system internals.

• System Performance – Understanding how to monitor and tune CPU, memory, and I/O.
• Networking – Knowledge of TCP/IP, DNS, and load balancing configurations.
• Security – Best practices for hardening systems and managing permissions.

Example scenarios:

• "How would you identify a process that is causing a system-wide memory leak?"
• "Explain the steps you take to secure a public-facing server."

Kubernetes & Orchestration

As a DevOps Engineer, you will spend significant time within containerized ecosystems.

• Cluster Architecture – Understanding nodes, pods, and control plane components.
• Deployment Strategies – Managing rolling updates, canary deployments, and rollbacks.
• Resource Management – Configuring limits, requests, and autoscaling policies.

Example scenarios:

• "What happens when a pod fails to schedule in a cluster?"
• "How do you manage secrets and configuration in a multi-environment setup?"

As a DevOps Engineer, you act as a force multiplier for the engineering department. You are responsible for building and maintaining the CI/CD pipelines that move code from development to production. You will work closely with developers to ensure that the infrastructure supports their needs while remaining secure and compliant.

A significant portion of your time will be spent on incident management and system optimization. You will participate in on-call rotations, where you will diagnose production issues and implement long-term fixes. You are expected to document your findings and iterate on infrastructure as code, ensuring that the environment becomes more resilient with every incident.

A successful candidate at Open Systems brings a mix of strong technical foundational skills and a proactive, team-oriented mindset.

• Must-have skills:

  • Extensive experience with Linux administration.
  • Demonstrated expertise in Kubernetes and container orchestration.
  • Proficiency in at least one scripting language (e.g., Python, Bash, Go).
  • Experience managing cloud-native infrastructure and CI/CD tooling.

• Nice-to-have skills:

  • Experience with observability platforms (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana).
  • Knowledge of infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform or Ansible.
  • Background in network security or distributed systems architecture.

Q: How difficult are the technical interviews? A: The difficulty is generally considered average to challenging. The focus is on practical, real-world scenarios rather than obscure trivia, so focus on applying your knowledge to actual infrastructure problems.

Q: What is the most important trait for success here? A: A collaborative attitude is paramount. The interviewers are looking for colleagues they can work with, not just individuals who can pass a test.

Q: How long does the entire process take? A: It varies, but you should expect the process to take several weeks. Be patient with scheduling and follow-up communications.

Q: Should I prepare for whiteboard coding? A: While the focus is on infrastructure and SRE topics, be prepared for hands-on sessions that may involve Linux commands or K8s configurations.

• Communicate your thought process: When answering technical questions, explain your reasoning. The "why" is often more important than the "what."
• Show passion for the mission: The company culture is a significant part of the evaluation. Be prepared to discuss why you want to work at Open Systems specifically.
• Be honest about limitations: No one knows everything. If you don't know an answer, explain how you would go about finding the solution rather than guessing.
• Ask meaningful questions: Use the time with the SRE Director to ask about the team's current challenges and how they approach technical debt.

The DevOps Engineer role at Open Systems is a high-impact position that offers the chance to build and refine mission-critical infrastructure. By focusing on your core technical competencies in Linux and Kubernetes, while maintaining a collaborative and problem-solving mindset, you will be well-positioned to succeed in the interview process.

Remember that the team is looking for a long-term partner who will grow with them. Prepare your stories, refine your technical fundamentals, and approach each round as a professional conversation. You can find further insights and community experiences on Dataford to continue your preparation. Good luck—your expertise is a valuable asset, and thorough preparation will help you demonstrate exactly why you are the right fit for Open Systems.