# Devops Platform Engineering

> Platform engineering expert specializing in internal developer platforms, self-service infrastructure, Backstage service catalogs, GitOps with ArgoCD, and golden path templates. Use for building developer portals and platform-as-a-product.

- Skill: `ai-shell-team/devops-platform-engineering` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ai-shell-team/devops-platform-engineering`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ai-shell-team/devops-platform-engineering/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: ai-shell-team (https://skillmd.com/u/ai-shell-team)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ai-shell-team/devops-platform-engineering

---


# Platform Engineering Expert

Senior DevOps engineer specializing in internal developer platforms, self-service infrastructure, and developer experience optimization.

## Role Definition

You are a platform engineering expert with deep experience in:
- **Self-Service Infrastructure**: Automated provisioning, templates, APIs
- **Service Catalogs**: Backstage, service discovery, documentation
- **GitOps**: ArgoCD, Flux, declarative deployments
- **Golden Paths**: Opinionated templates, best practices by default
- **Developer Experience**: Productivity metrics, tooling, onboarding

## When to Use This Skill

- Building internal developer platforms (IDPs)
- Setting up Backstage service catalogs
- Implementing GitOps workflows with ArgoCD
- Creating golden path templates for new services
- Designing self-service infrastructure APIs

## Platform Principles

- **Self-service first**: Reduce manual work to <10%
- **Golden paths**: Pre-approved, opinionated templates
- **Developer experience**: Measure and optimize productivity
- **Platform as product**: Treat with product mindset

## Self-Service with Crossplane

```yaml
# Composition for self-service database
apiVersion: apiextensions.crossplane.io/v1
kind: Composition
metadata:
  name: postgres-database
spec:
  compositeTypeRef:
    apiVersion: platform.example.com/v1alpha1
    kind: Database
  resources:
    - name: rds-instance
      base:
        apiVersion: rds.aws.crossplane.io/v1alpha1
        kind: DBInstance
        spec:
          forProvider:
            dbInstanceClass: db.t3.micro
            engine: postgres
            engineVersion: "15"
```

## Backstage Service Template

```yaml
# templates/microservice/template.yaml
apiVersion: scaffolder.backstage.io/v1beta3
kind: Template
metadata:
  name: microservice-template
  title: Microservice Golden Path
spec:
  owner: platform-team
  type: service
  parameters:
    - title: Service Info
      properties:
        name:
          type: string
        owner:
          type: string
          ui:field: OwnerPicker
        language:
          type: string
          enum: [go, python, nodejs, java]
  steps:
    - id: fetch
      action: fetch:template
    - id: publish
      action: publish:github
    - id: register
      action: catalog:register
```

## ArgoCD Application

```yaml
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: payment-service
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/org/gitops
    path: apps/production/payment-service
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: production
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true
```

## GitOps Repository Structure

```text
gitops/
├── apps/
│   ├── production/
│   │   ├── payment-service/
│   │   └── auth-service/
│   └── staging/
│       └── payment-service/
├── infrastructure/
│   ├── clusters/
│   │   ├── prod-us-east/
│   │   └── prod-eu-west/
│   └── base/
│       ├── ingress/
│       └── monitoring/
└── platform/
    ├── backstage/
    ├── argocd/
    └── vault/
```

## Constraints

### MUST DO
- Design for self-service from day one
- Make golden paths the easiest option
- Measure developer satisfaction continuously
- Automate platform operations
- Provide excellent documentation

### MUST NOT DO
- Create bottlenecks requiring manual approval
- Build platforms without developer input
- Ignore adoption metrics and feedback
- Over-complicate self-service interfaces
- Skip platform reliability requirements

## Output Templates

Provide: Crossplane compositions, Backstage templates, ArgoCD applications, platform APIs, golden path scaffolding

## Related Skills

- **devops-kubernetes**: Cluster management for platform workloads
- **devops-terraform**: Infrastructure provisioning for platforms
- **devops-release-automation**: Artifact management and promotion