Back to RoadmapsPlatform Engineer
Design and build internal developer platforms that accelerate software delivery with self-service infrastructure and golden paths
10 milestones in this roadmap
Step 1beginner5-7 weeks
Linux & Systems Administration
Master Linux process management, filesystems, networking, systemd, and shell scripting
Curriculum
- 1Process Management: cgroups, namespaces & signals
- 2Filesystem Management: LVM, ext4 & XFS
- 3Linux Networking: iptables, ip route & DNS
- 4Systemd: Units, Targets, Timers & Journalctl
- 5Advanced Bash Scripting & Automation
Tools & Platforms
Linux CLIBashsystemdstracehtoptmux
Step 1beginner5-7 weeks
Linux & Systems Administration
Master Linux process management, filesystems, networking, systemd, and shell scripting
Curriculum
- 1Process Management: cgroups, namespaces & signals
- 2Filesystem Management: LVM, ext4 & XFS
- 3Linux Networking: iptables, ip route & DNS
- 4Systemd: Units, Targets, Timers & Journalctl
- 5Advanced Bash Scripting & Automation
Step 2intermediate4-6 weeks
Containerization Deep Dive
Master Docker internals, image optimization, multi-stage builds, and container security
Curriculum
- 1Container Internals: Namespaces, cgroups & OCI Spec
- 2Image Optimization: Multi-Stage Builds & Layer Caching
- 3Distroless & Minimal Base Images
- 4Container Security: Rootless, Seccomp & AppArmor
- 5
Step 3intermediate6-8 weeks
Kubernetes Mastery
Master Kubernetes resources, RBAC, Helm charts, operators, and cluster administration
Curriculum
- 1Core Resources: Pods, Deployments, StatefulSets & DaemonSets
- 2Service Networking: Ingress, NetworkPolicies & DNS
- 3RBAC: Roles, ClusterRoles & ServiceAccounts
- 4Helm Charts: Authoring, Repositories & Dependencies
- 5
Step 4intermediate6-8 weeks
Infrastructure as Code
Manage infrastructure declaratively with Terraform, Pulumi, and GitOps using ArgoCD
Curriculum
- 1Terraform: Modules, State Management & Workspaces
- 2Pulumi: Infrastructure in General-Purpose Languages
- 3AWS CloudFormation & CDK
- 4GitOps: ArgoCD Application Sets & Sync Waves
- 5
Step 5intermediate5-7 weeks
Internal Developer Platforms
Build self-service developer platforms with Backstage, service catalogs, and golden paths
Curriculum
- 1Backstage: Software Catalog & Scaffolder Templates
- 2Golden Paths & Paved Roads for Development
- 3Self-Service Infrastructure Provisioning
- 4Developer Portal Design & TechDocs
- 5
Step 6advanced5-7 weeks
Observability Stack
Implement observability with Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry, SLOs, and error budgets
Curriculum
- 1Prometheus: PromQL, Recording Rules & Federation
- 2Grafana: Dashboards, Alerts & Annotations
- 3OpenTelemetry: Instrumentation, Collectors & Exporters
- 4Distributed Tracing & Correlation
- 5
Step 7advanced5-7 weeks
CI/CD at Scale
Build scalable CI/CD with advanced deployment strategies and feature flag integration
Curriculum
- 1GitHub Actions: Reusable Workflows & Custom Actions
- 2Jenkins: Shared Libraries & Pipeline-as-Code
- 3Tekton: Cloud-Native CI/CD Pipelines
- 4Canary & Blue-Green Deployment Strategies
- 5
Step 8advanced5-7 weeks
Service Mesh & Networking
Implement Istio service mesh with mTLS, traffic management, and circuit breaking
Curriculum
- 1Istio: Sidecar Injection & Traffic Management
- 2Envoy Proxy: Filters, Clusters & Listeners
- 3Mutual TLS & Authorization Policies
- 4Circuit Breaking, Rate Limiting & Retry Policies
- 5
Step 9advanced6-8 weeks
Multi-Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure
Design multi-cloud and hybrid platforms with Crossplane, federation, and disaster recovery
Curriculum
- 1Crossplane: Compositions, XRDs & Cloud Abstraction
- 2Kubernetes Federation & Multi-Cluster Management
- 3Cross-Cloud Networking & Connectivity
- 4Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Planning
- 5
Step 10advanced4-6 weeks
Platform Product Management
Measure and optimize developer experience with DORA metrics, adoption tracking, and toil reduction
Curriculum
- 1DORA Metrics: Deployment Frequency, Lead Time, MTTR
- 2Developer Experience Surveys & NPS
- 3Toil Identification, Measurement & Reduction
- 4Platform API Design & Contract Management
- 5
Ready to start this journey?
Browse our courses and books to begin your learning path.
Linux CLIBashsystemdstracehtoptmux
Container Networking & Storage Drivers
Tools & Platforms
DockerPodmanBuildahDiveTrivyHadolint
Step 2intermediate4-6 weeks
Containerization Deep Dive
Master Docker internals, image optimization, multi-stage builds, and container security
Curriculum
- 1Container Internals: Namespaces, cgroups & OCI Spec
- 2Image Optimization: Multi-Stage Builds & Layer Caching
- 3Distroless & Minimal Base Images
- 4Container Security: Rootless, Seccomp & AppArmor
- 5Container Networking & Storage Drivers
Tools & Platforms
DockerPodmanBuildahDiveTrivyHadolint
CRDs, Operators & Controller Pattern
Tools & Platforms
KuberneteskubectlHelmkustomizek9skind
Step 3intermediate6-8 weeks
Kubernetes Mastery
Master Kubernetes resources, RBAC, Helm charts, operators, and cluster administration
Curriculum
- 1Core Resources: Pods, Deployments, StatefulSets & DaemonSets
- 2Service Networking: Ingress, NetworkPolicies & DNS
- 3RBAC: Roles, ClusterRoles & ServiceAccounts
- 4Helm Charts: Authoring, Repositories & Dependencies
- 5CRDs, Operators & Controller Pattern
Tools & Platforms
KuberneteskubectlHelmkustomizek9skind
Infrastructure CI/CD & Policy Enforcement
Tools & Platforms
TerraformPulumiArgoCDCloudFormationAtlantisSpacelift
Step 4intermediate6-8 weeks
Infrastructure as Code
Manage infrastructure declaratively with Terraform, Pulumi, and GitOps using ArgoCD
Curriculum
- 1Terraform: Modules, State Management & Workspaces
- 2Pulumi: Infrastructure in General-Purpose Languages
- 3AWS CloudFormation & CDK
- 4GitOps: ArgoCD Application Sets & Sync Waves
- 5Infrastructure CI/CD & Policy Enforcement
Tools & Platforms
TerraformPulumiArgoCDCloudFormationAtlantisSpacelift
Platform-as-a-Product Mindset & Adoption
Tools & Platforms
BackstagePortHumanitecKratixCrossplaneScore
Step 5intermediate5-7 weeks
Internal Developer Platforms
Build self-service developer platforms with Backstage, service catalogs, and golden paths
Curriculum
- 1Backstage: Software Catalog & Scaffolder Templates
- 2Golden Paths & Paved Roads for Development
- 3Self-Service Infrastructure Provisioning
- 4Developer Portal Design & TechDocs
- 5Platform-as-a-Product Mindset & Adoption
Tools & Platforms
BackstagePortHumanitecKratixCrossplaneScore
SLOs, Error Budgets & Alerting Strategies
Tools & Platforms
PrometheusGrafanaOpenTelemetryJaegerLokiAlertmanager
Step 6advanced5-7 weeks
Observability Stack
Implement observability with Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry, SLOs, and error budgets
Curriculum
- 1Prometheus: PromQL, Recording Rules & Federation
- 2Grafana: Dashboards, Alerts & Annotations
- 3OpenTelemetry: Instrumentation, Collectors & Exporters
- 4Distributed Tracing & Correlation
- 5SLOs, Error Budgets & Alerting Strategies
Tools & Platforms
PrometheusGrafanaOpenTelemetryJaegerLokiAlertmanager
Feature Flags & Progressive Delivery with Argo Rollouts
Tools & Platforms
GitHub ActionsJenkinsTektonArgo RolloutsLaunchDarklyFlux
Step 7advanced5-7 weeks
CI/CD at Scale
Build scalable CI/CD with advanced deployment strategies and feature flag integration
Curriculum
- 1GitHub Actions: Reusable Workflows & Custom Actions
- 2Jenkins: Shared Libraries & Pipeline-as-Code
- 3Tekton: Cloud-Native CI/CD Pipelines
- 4Canary & Blue-Green Deployment Strategies
- 5Feature Flags & Progressive Delivery with Argo Rollouts
Tools & Platforms
GitHub ActionsJenkinsTektonArgo RolloutsLaunchDarklyFlux
Cilium: eBPF-Based Networking & Service Mesh
Tools & Platforms
IstioEnvoyCiliumLinkerdKialiConsul
Step 8advanced5-7 weeks
Service Mesh & Networking
Implement Istio service mesh with mTLS, traffic management, and circuit breaking
Curriculum
- 1Istio: Sidecar Injection & Traffic Management
- 2Envoy Proxy: Filters, Clusters & Listeners
- 3Mutual TLS & Authorization Policies
- 4Circuit Breaking, Rate Limiting & Retry Policies
- 5Cilium: eBPF-Based Networking & Service Mesh
Tools & Platforms
IstioEnvoyCiliumLinkerdKialiConsul
Data Sovereignty & Regulatory Compliance
Tools & Platforms
CrossplaneRancherAnthosAzure ArcTerraform CloudConsul
Step 9advanced6-8 weeks
Multi-Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure
Design multi-cloud and hybrid platforms with Crossplane, federation, and disaster recovery
Curriculum
- 1Crossplane: Compositions, XRDs & Cloud Abstraction
- 2Kubernetes Federation & Multi-Cluster Management
- 3Cross-Cloud Networking & Connectivity
- 4Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Planning
- 5Data Sovereignty & Regulatory Compliance
Tools & Platforms
CrossplaneRancherAnthosAzure ArcTerraform CloudConsul
Platform Team Culture & Operating Models
Tools & Platforms
BackstageDatadogSleuthLinearBJiraConfluence
Step 10advanced4-6 weeks
Platform Product Management
Measure and optimize developer experience with DORA metrics, adoption tracking, and toil reduction
Curriculum
- 1DORA Metrics: Deployment Frequency, Lead Time, MTTR
- 2Developer Experience Surveys & NPS
- 3Toil Identification, Measurement & Reduction
- 4Platform API Design & Contract Management
- 5Platform Team Culture & Operating Models
Tools & Platforms
BackstageDatadogSleuthLinearBJiraConfluence