Development Operations Manager, or DevOps, is more than a job title. It’s a collaboration philosophy. It’s a growing field with global companies hiring DevOps to guide them through change management, to implement more productive processes, and to launch new products. Companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and other software giants are looking for skilled DevOps.

The term “DevOps” started as a collaborative approach between software developers and operations managers to deploy software updates accurately and on time. This philosophy has grown and now extends beyond software development companies.

The DevOps manager is responsible for overseeing project management including creating and enforcing timelines, determining communications procedures, and inputting data into a shared, automated system. The manager plays the unique role of leader, motivator, collaborator, and project manager while encouraging relationships and fostering cooperation between development and operations—two departments that have typically worked in silos.

In this new DevOps model, the development and operations teams merge together working through the entire life cycle of development. The manager cuts through the usual bottlenecks of lead time in requests for equipment, procurement, hiring, and basic communications. Resources and information are shared and teams share common goals. This new, interdepartmental team has the skills, people, and decision-making power to create and launch the product faster.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), DevOps Manager is a prestigious title in today’s market. It comes with the responsibility of leading large teams and projects, a competitive salary upwards of more than $100,000, and opportunities across industries. It also comes with long hours, pressure, and competition.

They typically oversee the daily operations of a large department or team or in some organizations, the entire company. Most specialize in a particular field such as engineering, health, facilities, financial investment, manufacturing, or restaurant and hospitality. The size of the organization typically dictates the tasks for the position. In smaller companies, the DevOps manager may handle human resources, oversee sales and marketing, and inventory control. While for large organizations, they may focus on a particular project, such as building a new wing at a hospital or the product development department at a publishing company.

No matter the size of the company or the level of responsibility, it’s important that DevOps managers have certain skills. They need to be able to communicate clearly across departments. This means adapting their communications for C-suite positions, mid-level managers, and production level employees. They need to understand staffing, sales, inventory, purchasing, budgets, productivity, and have strong leadership skills. DevOps managers need the quantitative skills to facilitate making financial decisions, develop strategy, and determine options to effectively integrate operations across all areas of an organization to satisfy customer demands.

Many managers have business degrees and understand most fundamental business concepts such as human resources management, accounting, and marketing. Gaining analytical skills, an understanding of enterprise operations, and the ability to negotiate can also lead to success in this career.

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