Platform engineer: Job description skills, responsibilities, salary

Systems are getting more complicated and traditional DevOps practices aren’t enough for software engineers to keep up. Developers are tasked with understanding tools they don’t have time to master, leading to duplicated work and inefficiency.

Platform engineers are here to help overcome this complexity, providing self-service tools and workflows that boost productivity by removing friction points. In fact, Gartner reports that by 2026, 80% of enterprises will have dedicated platform engineering teams, a sharp rise from 45% in 2022.

Why do you need a platform engineer? 

The rise of platform engineering addresses the growing complexity in software development and infrastructure management. In an ideal world, developers would be able to build and launch apps without as many roadblocks - meaning features, products and updates would launch faster. Platform engineers are tasked with making that happen. They design and manage internal development platforms in a way that streamlines the development process, making deployment, and management of applications effortless.

But the platform is itself a complex beast. And so companies like Spotify, Netflix, and Lyft are leading the charge by building internal developer portals, centralizing tools, processes, and documentation. These portals reduce cognitive load, improve incident management, streamline onboarding, and ensure security compliance. Platform engineers essentially manage the increasingly complex infrastructure, while providing developers with the tools, information and access they need to focus on software delivery. That way, they don’t have to master every aspect of the infrastructure. 

As more organizations adopt platform engineering, developers can do what they do best— code (and build) —while platform engineers manage the platform.

What does a platform engineer do?

The role of a platform engineer varies by organization, but at its core, it focuses on building and maintaining systems that make developers more efficient. Platform engineers bridge the gap between development teams and the underlying infrastructure, and handle tasks like:

• Managing databases
• Setting up authentication
• Ensuring systems scale effectively as traffic grows 

They’re also tasked with making things easier for developers by providing

• Self-service options
• Methods for better defining and tracking standards compliance
• A way to abstract away the underlying infrastructure so developers don’t need knowledge of everything (eg. Kubernetes).

By simplifying the development process and abstracting the complexities of infrastructure, they enable developers to focus on building features and delivering code faster. 

How to write a platform engineer job description

When writing a LinkedIn job description for a platform engineer, it's crucial to clearly outline the key responsibilities and skills while providing examples of what the role entails. A platform engineer typically:

• Designs, builds, and maintains software development platforms
  This includes managing configurations across various environments, ensuring applications run smoothly, and optimizing the platform with self-service actions for developers to work efficiently and autonomously.
  
• Leads system administration tasks
  They oversee the management of databases, authentication services, and network configurations while providing regular reports on system health and asset performance.

For senior or principal platform engineers, the responsibilities often expand, requiring leadership skills and strategic thinking. A few of their additional duties include:

• Leading a team of engineers
  This includes guiding engineers through best practices in ITSM and DevOps methodologies while ensuring projects are aligned with business goals and optimized for performance.
  
• Collaborating across departments
  Working closely with architecture and support teams becomes necessary to deliver secure, reliable, and scalable solutions across a mix of traditional (data centers, backup/restore, compute) and modern technologies (cloud, containerization, serverless).
  
• Proactively monitoring and improving platforms
  They ensure optimal performance by implementing observability tools, identifying issues early, and providing resolutions before they impact service.
  
• Advocating for modern tools and automation
  As champions for CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code (IaC), platform engineers automate provisioning and configuration management, making development more efficient.

A successful platform engineer also supports and empowers the broader development team by driving several key initiatives:

• Empowering developers with self-service tools
  Ensuring developers can easily manage their services and infrastructure, reducing bottlenecks, and boosting productivity.
  
• Reducing cognitive load and technical debt
  By standardizing workflows and ensuring adherence to best practices, it’s easier for engineers to navigate and use the platform effectively, regardless of their knowledge. For instance, creating one standardized way to create development environments can be hugely beneficial - and save costs.
  
• Encouraging collaboration
  Platform engineers aim to reduce tribal knowledge across teams by making internal documentation accessible to everyone across all silos.
  
• Ensuring scalability and performance
  Platform engineers have expertise in Kubernetes and cloud-native tooling and are tasked with maintaining a scalable and high-performing platform as the company grows.
  

Key responsibilities of a platform engineer

Platform engineers design, build and maintain a platform that is used for software development. Every platform is unique and all platform engineering teams have their own distinct challenges, platform engineers typically have a number of shared responsibilities. Here’s a breakdown of what they do:

1. Designing and implementing infrastructure
   One of the core platform engineer duties is designing and building the infrastructure that applications run on. This means setting up servers, networking, storage, and ensuring the entire system scales. They also have to consider disaster recovery, to ensure everything stays up and running even when there’s an issue.
   
   
2. Provisioning and managing cloud resources
   With the significant uptake and reliance on cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP, a big part of the job is provisioning and managing cloud resources. Platform engineers are tasked with setting up VMs, containers, and storage in a cost-efficient manner.
   
   
3. Automating processes
   Automation is key to a platform engineer's workflow. From infrastructure provisioning to CI/CD pipelines, automating these processes reduces manual tasks and minimizes errors. The goal is to streamline everything, whether it's deployment, testing, or configuration management.
   
   
4. Monitoring and observability
   Platform engineers use monitoring tools to track performance, security, and reliability. They also ensure that developers have easy access to logs, metrics, and other observability data to troubleshoot issues quickly.
   
   
5. Integrating security and compliance
   Security is no longer an afterthought—it’s baked into everything platform engineers do. From using encryption to managing access control, platform engineers implement security best practices. They also ensure the platform complies with industry standards and that security patches are applied regularly to protect against vulnerabilities.
   
   
6. Collaborating with development teams
   Platform engineers work closely with developers, understanding their needs and helping them to make their processes smoother with the introduction of self-service tools, standardized workflows and automations. This collaboration should involve regular feedback cycles using surveys and one-to-one discussions.
   
   
7. Optimizing performance and ensuring scalability
   As applications grow, so must the infrastructure. Platform engineers conduct performance testing to ensure systems can handle increased loads without a hitch. They fine-tune the platform and make sure it scales efficiently, delivering the performance users expect.
   
   
8. Providing a better incident management and troubleshooting process
   When things go wrong—and they will—on-call developers are on the front lines. Platform engineers can assist SREs who handle incident management, by giving them the tools to provide an end-to-end framework for developers so that they can more seamlessly troubleshoot issues.
   
   
9. Continuous improvement and avoiding technical debt
   Platform engineers are always looking for ways to improve the platform. This means updating infrastructure, refining processes, and adopting new technologies where it makes sense. Staying on top of improvements helps prevent technical debt from building up over time and prevents vulnerabilities from making it to production.
   
   
10. Documentation and knowledge sharing
    Keeping everything documented is crucial, especially when multiple teams are using the same platform. Platform engineers create detailed documentation for infrastructure configurations and processes, making sure everyone knows how to use the platform effectively. They also lead knowledge-sharing sessions to keep teams aligned and informed.

What skills do platform engineers need?

Platform engineers need a broad range of skills, with some becoming crucial depending on the organization’s tech stack and infrastructure. Here’s a breakdown of both technical and soft skills that are often important for this role:

Technical skills

• Proficiency in low-level coding languages
  You’ll often need experience in languages like Python, Java, C++, Go, or Bash. These skills help you script automations, build applications, and debug complex systems, enabling you to streamline infrastructure and optimize workflows.
  
• Cloud computing expertise (AWS, Azure, GCP)
  Familiarity with cloud platforms, particularly AWS, is highly valuable. Many companies seek platform engineers with experience in core AWS services (VPC, RDS, S3, IAM, EKS, EC2, CloudWatch). The ability to work with both IaaS and PaaS solutions is critical for deploying, scaling, and maintaining cloud-based applications.
  
• Kubernetes and container orchestration
  If your organization uses containerized workloads, expertise in Kubernetes is a major asset. Companies that rely on this technology often look for engineers with hands-on experience managing production clusters and leveraging cloud-native tools. Kubernetes knowledge is a significant advantage when containerization plays a role in the infrastructure.
  
• Terraform and Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Many companies prefer platform engineers with experience in Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform. Using IaC to automate infrastructure management at scale can make you stand out, especially if your organization prioritizes automation and efficiency.
  
• Networking and Linux administration
  A solid grasp of networking protocols (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP) and Linux administration is important in most platform engineering roles. Familiarity with DNS services like Route 53 or Cloudflare, combined with understanding security practices like RBAC, adds great value to your skill set.
  
• CI/CD pipeline management
  Experience with CI/CD tools like GitHub Actions, Argo Workflows, and Jenkins is essential for automating deployment processes. You should know how to set up and manage these pipelines to ensure smooth, reliable software delivery.
  
• Monitoring and logging tools
  Using tools like Datadog, Grafana, ELK, or Sentry to monitor system performance is crucial. Platform engineers need to proactively identify potential issues and troubleshoot them to maintain system stability before problems affect users.
  
• Experience with microservices and distributed systems
  Experience working with microservices and distributed systems at scale is highly advantageous. You need to understand the architecture and performance demands of large, complex systems to ensure reliability.
  
• Experience in project leadership
  Senior platform engineers often take the lead on cross-team projects. Managing timelines, resources, and communicating progress or risks to stakeholders effectively is a key responsibility in these roles.

Soft skills

• Project management
  Platform engineers who can define goals, manage resources, and track project progress are highly valued. While some teams may rely on other roles for this, this skill becomes more critical in leadership positions.
  
• Attention to detail
  Being detail-oriented is important for ensuring stability, thorough testing, and proper documentation. Engineers need to meticulously document processes, create runbooks, and illustrate architectures for team use.
  
• Collaboration and communication
  Strong communication skills are essential for working with cross-functional teams. You need to explain complex technical concepts clearly and collaborate effectively with technical and non-technical colleagues alike.
  
• Adaptability and a learning mindset
  Adapting to new technologies and staying updated on industry trends is crucial for staying relevant. Companies often look for engineers who are curious and eager to learn new skills, especially in fast-evolving tech environments.

Platform engineer salaries in 2024: How much do they earn? 

As of June 2024, Glassdoor reports that platform engineers in the U.S. make an average salary of around $131,169, with total compensation climbing to $175,763 when factoring in bonuses and other perks. 

However, other sources suggest slightly higher figures. For instance, according to the State of Platform Engineering 2024 report, platform engineers in the U.S. are making an average of $219,078 per year, a substantial figure compared to related roles such as DevOps, which averages $153,639. In Europe, platform engineers earn around $100,987 annually, which also places them ahead of their DevOps counterparts, who earn $85,116.

Location plays a big part in determining salary. In San Francisco, platform engineers typically earn about $163,585 annually, reflecting the city’s higher cost of living and the demand for tech talent. In New York, platform engineers earn an average of $144,003 per year.

Top companies also offer higher pay. According to Indeed, platform engineers at Meta, for instance, earn an average of $151,018—about 13% above the national average.

Salaries are clearly rising, driven by the strong demand for platform engineers across regions and companies. If you're considering a career in platform engineering, the earning potential is high, especially in cities that have areas thriving with tech hubs, or with some of the top companies in all industries. 

How to get started in platform engineering

One of the most important components of platform engineering is the internal developer portal. ‍

According to Gartner, by 2026, 75% of organizations with platform engineering teams will have these portals in place. They serve as the front-end interface for the platform, centralizing access to the tools, resources, and documentation that teams need. This setup allows developers to work more efficiently without needing to understand the technical details of each individual tool, such as Kubernetes or ArgoCD.

In essence, the internal developer portal becomes a central hub for developers—a workspace that simplifies their daily tasks. It brings together a software catalog, offering a centralized metadata store with detailed information on services, APIs, and documentation.

Additionally, it provides self-service capabilities, allowing developers to spin up new environments or create services quickly, with built-in guardrails for security and compliance. The portal also includes scorecards for tracking compliance with standards, automated workflows to streamline processes, dashboards to monitor progress and system health, and insights to pull together engineering metrics you need and make sense of the data (by adding rich context). 

Give the portal a try using this live demo of Port or request a demo with Port’s team.