Landing Internships

Written on 06/02/2025
Terraform Academy Team

How to Land an Internship on an SRE or DevOps Team

 

 

Internships are one of the most effective ways to break into Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) or DevOps—and they’re becoming increasingly competitive. Companies are looking for candidates who are curious, hands-on, and capable of thinking like engineers who own infrastructure at scale.

 

If you’re a student, bootcamp graduate, or early-career technologist aiming to land an internship in this space, here’s a roadmap to prepare, stand out, and get hired.

 

 

 

1. 

Understand What SRE/DevOps Internships Actually Involve

 

 

Interns on SRE or DevOps teams don’t just observe—they contribute.

 

You might be expected to:

 

  • Help automate internal tooling using Python, Go, or Bash

  • Assist in deploying services via CI/CD pipelines

  • Write Terraform or Kubernetes configs for test environments

  • Monitor systems using tools like Prometheus, Grafana, or CloudWatch

  • Support incident analysis or documentation

 

 

You don’t need deep expertise yet, but a working knowledge of the tools and concepts will show initiative and make you a more attractive candidate.

 

 

 

2. 

Build and Host Something Real

 

 

Companies look for candidates who have done more than complete a course. If you want to show you’re serious about DevOps/SRE, build something:

 

  • Deploy a simple web app using Docker and GitHub Actions

  • Use Terraform to provision a small AWS or GCP environment

  • Monitor uptime of your app with Prometheus and visualize metrics in Grafana

 

 

Make it public. Link to it in your resume or portfolio. Repositories with README files, diagrams, or logs of what you learned stand out more than generic class projects.

 

 

 

3. 

Learn the Core Tools and Concepts

 

 

You don’t need production-grade experience, but you should be familiar with:

 

  • CI/CD: GitHub Actions, Jenkins, CircleCI, or GitLab CI

  • Infrastructure as Code: Terraform or CloudFormation

  • Containers: Docker fundamentals

  • Monitoring & Logs: Grafana, Prometheus, ELK stack basics

  • Version Control: Git and GitHub workflow (branches, pull requests)

 

 

Pick a cloud provider (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and learn their console alongside the CLI or SDK. Free tiers are often enough for experimentation.

 

 

 

4. 

Tailor Your Resume to DevOps/SRE

 

 

Don’t just list coursework. Emphasize:

 

  • Projects you’ve deployed or automated

  • Problems you’ve debugged (even in labs)

  • Tools you’ve configured or used (Terraform, Docker, etc.)

  • System-level thinking: performance, reliability, scalability

 

 

Use language that aligns with DevOps principles: infrastructure, monitoring, automation, continuous delivery, etc.

 

 

 

5. 

Target the Right Companies and Teams

 

 

Look beyond major tech firms. Many companies with platform, infrastructure, or SRE teams hire interns—even if the titles vary (e.g., “Systems Intern,” “DevOps Intern,” “Cloud Engineering Intern”).

 

Search on:

 

  • Company careers pages

  • LinkedIn and Handshake (for students)

  • DevOps Slack communities

  • Wellfound (formerly AngelList) for startups

  • Reddit threads in r/devops and r/cscareerquestions

 

 

Apply early—internship applications often open 6–8 months before the actual start date.

 

 

 

6. 

Prepare for the Interview Process

 

 

Expect to be evaluated on:

 

  • Basic coding (usually scripting or problem solving in Python, Shell, or Go)

  • Debugging and system thinking (e.g., “How would you troubleshoot a failed deployment?”)

  • Familiarity with Linux and cloud basics

  • Communication and documentation habits

 

 

Some companies may include a take-home assignment like writing a script or describing how you’d deploy a simple app.

 

 

 

7. 

Network with DevOps Professionals

 

 

Reach out to people on LinkedIn who work on infrastructure, SRE, or platform teams. Ask thoughtful questions or request a 15-minute informational call. Many interns get hired through referrals or casual conversations that become opportunities.

 

You can also participate in:

 

  • Open source DevOps projects

  • Discord or Slack communities (e.g., DevOps Chat, SRE Weekly)

  • Local meetups or conferences with student programs

 

 

 

 

Final Advice

 

 

You don’t need to know everything. What hiring teams value most is:

 

  • A genuine interest in automation, infrastructure, and reliability

  • Curiosity to ask good questions and learn from mistakes

  • The discipline to document and share your process

 

 

Start small, stay consistent, and be open about your goals. DevOps and SRE teams are built on collaboration—showing that mindset early makes you a strong candidate.