AWS Lambda Developer Hiring Guide

Among the many options available on Amazon Web Services, AWS Lambda has to be among the most popular. This event-driven serverless computing platform comes with so many features that many people see it as a Swiss army knife for cloud engineers and architects.

The best thing about Lambda is how it automatically handles backend infrastructure and its related administrative tasks. This is exactly why it is called a serverless platform – because development teams can use it to automate their backend and focus entirely on working on their code.

AWS Lambda is also a highly flexible platform that can serve various projects and scenarios. Additionally, it is easy to deploy in a wide variety of environments and operates with minimal operational costs. All of these things explain why so many engineers are turning to Lambda for their cloud-based needs.

What is AWS Lambda?

AWS Lambda is an event-driven serverless computing platform. This means it provides computing services that execute code in response to events, which can be website clicks, file uploads, database updates, and HTTP requests, among others. It also automatically manages the computing resources required by this code, meaning it only uses the resources needed to run active events.

Lambda can automatically perform operational and administrative tasks such as applying security patches, deploying code, monitoring execution, running web service front-ends, and provisioning capacity. In a sense, it looks like a PaaS platform, but in reality, Lambda is a Function as a Service (FaaS).

The main difference with PaaS services is that AWS Lambda only runs when called, can instantly scale up or down as needed, and supports multiple languages, including popular options like Java, Python, Go, and C#.

AWS Lambda Popularity Today

Serverless architectures are gaining momentum with each passing year. So, as part of Amazon Web Services, a leader in the cloud computing market, it is not surprising to learn that the use of AWS Lambda is increasing with it.

In fact, 87% of companies betting on serverless are currently using Lambda, with Microsoft's Azure Functions coming in a distant second with just 16% of companies using its offerings.

This means that 55% of AWS users are investing in Lambda to meet their backend needs in the cloud. And this trend doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

What to Look for in AWS Lambda Engineers

More and more engineers are learning how to work with Lambda due to its growing popularity. This phenomenon is facilitated by the platform's ease of use and multilingual support, which makes it easier for developers to use their language or framework of choice when approaching Lambda for the first time. This, in turn, means that finding a Lambda engineer shouldn't be much of a hassle.

Finding a good Lambda engineer, however, involves doing some extra work. It's not enough to just have a certain experience with the Amazon platform. The best Lambda engineers should also have experience with other Amazon Web Services, including CloudFormation, DynamoDB, CloudFront, and even Lambda@Edge.

Additionally, they must have strong multilingual skills in Java, Go, PowerShell, Node. js, C#, Python and Ruby. Knowing some frontend technologies (such as React) also helps to train the best Lambda engineers, as well as having experience with DevOps.

The best Lambda developers also know security technologies like AWS Identity and Access Management, Vault, and AWS KMS. Finally, they must have experience in distributed applications and serverless architectures, as well as be able to communicate effectively with non-technical personnel.

Interview Questions

What is serverless computing?

Serverless computing is a type of cloud computing service that provides businesses with a back-end infrastructure that flexibly adapts to diverse needs. This means you can build and run applications in the cloud without worrying about backend-related tasks, as they are all the responsibilities of the service provider.

It's important to mention that, although the name may suggest otherwise, serverless computing uses servers. The idea behind the name is to convey that carefree feeling of having someone else take care of the infrastructure side. In the case of AWS Lambda, this means that Amazon is responsible for the servers – you only pay for the use of these services.

When should you use AWS Lambda over Amazon EC2?

The main difference between AWS Lambda and Amazon EC2 is in instance provisioning. With EC2, you need to think about provisioning capacity, monitoring fleet performance and health, and designing with fault tolerance and scalability in mind. With AWS Lambda, all of these things fall under Amazon's scope of responsibility.

Additionally, EC2 offers more customization options and full control of the underlying instances. Lambda doesn't have this for you, as the operational and administrative tasks are all handled by the provider.

These things mean that AWS Lambda is the best option for companies that don't have the budget or resources to properly configure, customize, and maintain cloud-based instances. EC2, on the other hand, is perfect for those who have enough firepower and knowledge to take customization and control to the next level.

What is an AWS Lambda function?

Any code that runs in Lambda is turned into a Lambda function. All Lambda functions have information associated with them, including names, descriptions, resource requirements, and entry points. It is important to remember that all code sent must be stateless, otherwise it will not be translated into functions. If you need any persistent state, you must store it in one of Amazon's other services (S3, DynamoDB, EFS).

What is code signing for AWS Lambda?

Code Signing is an Amazon system that ensures that all code deployed in your functions comes from approved developers and is unchanged. This allows you to use community code without security concerns. Additionally, you can sign your own code (through tools like AWS Signer), which you can later deploy to applications and share with others.

How do you automate the deployment of a serverless application?

Amazon offers AWS CodePipeline and AWS CodeDeploy to automate application launches. CodePipeline is a continuous delivery service that allows you to create and automate steps to launch serverless applications. CodeDeploy is an automation engine for deploying Lambda-based applications. Using both, you can highly automate your workflow and release secure, stable, and production-ready code.

Job description

We are looking for an AWS Lambda developer responsible for creating and managing serverless applications. Your main focus will be on developing programs with serverless architecture, as well as overcoming various problems in our cloud systems in a complex environment.

Since Lambda applications work closely with other Amazon technologies, the developer will have to take care of integrating Lambda applications with various cloud service offerings. Finally, we are looking for a Lambda engineer with strong communication and critical thinking skills to design different solutions based on AWS capabilities and possibilities.

You are expected to be a subject matter expert on AWS development services, tools, and best practices. You will answer questions about various cloud-native technologies and AWS services and provide recommendations on which service to use and when. Therefore, you should have extensive practical experience with the various AWS services, their limitations, and alternative (non-AWS) solutions that may serve you better in specific situations.

Responsibilities

• Build efficient, testable, and reusable serverless applications
• Solve complex performance issues and architectural challenges in AWS Lambda
• Integrate apps with other Amazon products
• {{Adicione aqui outras responsabilidades que sejam relevantes}}

Skills and qualifications

• Strong knowledge of AWS Lambda
• Solid knowledge of AWS offerings, including CloudFormation, DynamoDB, and CloudFront
• Experience working with multiple languages, mainly Java, Python and C#
• Basic understanding of front-end technologies such as JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS3
• Experience with security compliance {{Dependendo do projeto específico}}
• Understand the fundamental design principles behind a scalable serverless application
• User authentication and authorization across multiple systems, servers, and environments
• Integration of multiple data sources and databases into one system
• Proficient understanding of code versioning tools such as Git
• {{Certifique-se de mencionar outras estruturas, bibliotecas ou qualquer outra tecnologia relacionada à sua pilha de desenvolvimento}}
• {{Liste o nível de escolaridade ou certificação necessária}}