The way we build, scale, and secure infrastructure has changed dramatically over the past five years — and the shift isn’t slowing down. With cloud-native architectures, AI-powered observability, and platform engineering redefining how businesses operate, one thing is clear: the success of your cloud strategy depends on having the right talent in place.
But what does “right” look like in today’s market? And how can you ensure your infrastructure team is built for what’s coming next — not just what worked yesterday?
Here are the key trends shaping cloud hiring in 2025, and what they mean for your business.
Platform Engineering Is Redefining Cloud Teams
Traditional DevOps models are giving way to Platform Engineering — dedicated teams who build and maintain internal developer platforms (IDPs) to streamline workflows. This shift means hiring now requires a deeper blend of developer empathy, automation experience, and infrastructure knowledge.
What to look for:
Engineers with experience in platform tools like Backstage, Crossplane or Terraform.
People who can think in terms of enablement, not just support.
A shift from generalists to cloud specialists who understand developer experience.
Multi-Cloud Proficiency Is Becoming Essential
Gone are the days when AWS alone was enough. Today, many organisations are operating in multi-cloud or hybrid environments — mixing AWS, Azure, GCP, and even on-prem.
The challenge? Finding engineers who are fluent across multiple platforms, or who can quickly adapt.
What this means for hiring:
Candidates with broad certifications (e.g. AWS + Azure) are in high demand.
Vendor-neutral tooling knowledge (e.g. Terraform, Kubernetes, Pulumi) adds major value.
Flexibility is key: Look for people with a “cloud-agnostic” mindset.
Security and Compliance Are Everyone’s Job
Cloud security is no longer the sole responsibility of the InfoSec team. It’s now embedded into engineering roles — from infrastructure engineers to SREs — especially in regulated industries like finance, healthcare, or AI.
Hiring trends to note:
Experience with DevSecOps practices is a top priority.
Knowledge of compliance frameworks (e.g. SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA) gives candidates a clear edge.
Engineers who can automate security as code are driving hiring demand.
The Rise of SRE & Observability Roles
Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) is no longer just a Google buzzword — it’s a vital function for scaling fast-moving cloud environments. Companies are hiring engineers who focus on reliability, performance, and observability across distributed systems.
In-demand skills include:
Strong background in monitoring tools (e.g., Datadog, Prometheus, Grafana)
Incident response planning and reliability-focused architecture
Writing robust SLIs, SLOs and designing for failure
Soft Skills Matter More Than Ever
Yes, technical expertise is crucial. But the best infrastructure professionals in 2025 also bring communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills to the table.
Your next hire might be designing CI/CD pipelines — but they’ll also be:
Collaborating with developers and product teams
Explaining technical constraints to non-tech stakeholders
Driving culture change during cloud transformations
Hiring for cloud and infrastructure is no longer about finding someone who can “keep the lights on.” It’s about building a team that enables innovation, speed, and security — with skills and mindsets aligned to where tech is heading, not where it’s been.