How to build a platform engineering team

Platform engineering is a growing field that addresses the increasing complexity in modern software development environments, providing solutions to enhance developer productivity and experience. It emerged as an evolution of DevOps, which focused on agility and automation, but with the added challenge of managing complexities arising from microservices, cloud resources, and Kubernetes. Platform engineering aims to streamline these complexities by offering reusable tools, automated infrastructure, and self-service capabilities, thereby reducing cognitive load and improving quality and compliance standards. This approach benefits a wide range of stakeholders beyond developers, including engineering managers, SREs, and product managers. Building a platform engineering team requires understanding existing structures and identifying gaps, with a focus on varied skills that include technical expertise and adaptability. The team is responsible for maintaining internal developer platforms, enhancing developer satisfaction, and avoiding technical debt through a product management approach. As the demand for platform engineering grows, Gartner predicts that by 2026, the majority of large software engineering organizations will have these teams in place, underscoring their importance in the evolving landscape of software development.