Learning Roadmap · Jun 2026 – Dec 2026

6-Month DevOps + AI Career Path

From GitLab fundamentals to an AI agent that monitors and triages your own CI/CD pipeline — a structured, project-anchored route from Agile Delivery Lead toward DevOps & AI-augmented programme leadership.

Owner: Shekhar Agrahari Context: JLR TBSI SDV Programme Tooling: GitLab · Docker · Kubernetes · AWS · Claude API
Jun – Jul 2026

GitLab Foundations + DevOps Core

Topics
  • Git fundamentals — branching, merging, rebasing, conflict resolution
  • GitLab CI/CD basics — pipelines, runners, stages, jobs, artifacts
  • YAML syntax for pipeline definitions
  • GitLab APM Associate course modules (continue the 14-course sequence)
  • Linux fundamentals — filesystem, permissions, shell scripting basics (bash)
  • Networking basics — DNS, HTTP/HTTPS, ports, load balancers
Project milestone
Build Set up a basic GitLab CI pipeline for a sample app, covering build and test stages.
Jul – Aug 2026

Complete GitLab APM + CI/CD Deep Dive

Topics
  • GitLab APM Associate — remaining modules + exam prep
  • CI/CD advanced — multi-stage pipelines, environments, manual approvals, rollback strategies
  • Artifact management — GitLab Package Registry / Container Registry
  • Decoding DevOps (Imran Teli) — Sections 1–2: DevOps culture, CI/CD principles
  • Introduction to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) concepts
Project milestone
Certify Sit the GitLab APM Associate exam.
Extend Extend the pipeline to include a deployment stage (deploy to a test server/VM).
Aug – Sep 2026

Docker + Containerization

Topics
  • Docker fundamentals — images, containers, Dockerfile, multi-stage builds
  • Docker Compose for multi-container apps
  • Container registries — Docker Hub, GitLab Container Registry
  • Image optimization and security scanning basics
  • Decoding DevOps — Sections 3–4: containerization, Docker deep dive
  • Networking in Docker — bridge and overlay networks
Project milestone
Containerize Containerize the sample app, push it to a registry, and integrate it into the CI/CD pipeline — build → test → containerize → push.
Sep – Oct 2026

Kubernetes + KCNA Prep

Topics
  • Kubernetes architecture — control plane, nodes, pods, kubelet, etcd
  • Core objects — Pods, Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps, Secrets, Namespaces
  • Kubernetes networking and storage basics (PV/PVC)
  • Helm basics — charts, templates, values
  • KCNA exam domains — K8s fundamentals, container orchestration, cloud native architecture, observability, app delivery
  • Decoding DevOps — Sections 5–6: orchestration, Kubernetes
Project milestone
Deploy Deploy the containerized app to a local K8s cluster (minikube/kind) via a Helm chart, and integrate the K8s deployment into the CI/CD pipeline.
Oct – Nov 2026

AI / Agent Foundations + Monitoring

Topics
  • Google AI Essentials
  • Prompt Engineering fundamentals (PMI Prompt Engineering course)
  • LLM API basics — Claude API / OpenAI API: authentication, requests, responses
  • Agent frameworks intro — LangChain or simple agent loops (tool calling, function calling)
  • Monitoring & observability — Prometheus + Grafana basics
Project milestone
Certify Sit the KCNA exam this month if ready.
Prototype Build a simple AI agent prototype — e.g. reads logs/build status and summarizes failures using the Claude API.
Nov – Dec 2026

Integration + Capstone Project

Topics
  • Agent design patterns — ReAct, tool use, memory/context handling
  • Connecting the agent to real data sources — GitLab API, webhook triggers
  • CI/CD pipeline failure analysis automation
  • End-to-end pipeline security basics — secrets management, SAST/DAST intro
  • Documentation and presentation of the capstone for portfolio/interviews
Project milestone
Capstone "AI-Augmented DevOps Pipeline" — the full integration described below.
The Capstone

AI-Augmented DevOps Pipeline

Every month builds one link in this chain. By Month 6, it runs end to end — and an AI agent watches the whole thing.

GitLab CI/CD → Build & Test → Docker → Kubernetes (Helm) → Prometheus / Grafana → AI Agent — Triage & Summarize

Notes on Sequencing

AWS — Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) and Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) — stays in the existing Phase 2 window (Feb – Jun 2027).

This 6-month plan builds the DevOps, container, Kubernetes, and AI foundation first, so AWS — especially EKS — becomes a natural extension of the capstone rather than a fresh starting point.

Sequence logic: GitLab certification (near-term, low-risk) → DevOps fundamentals + project → Containers/Kubernetes → AWS → AI agent layered on top — culminating in one integrated capstone rather than four disconnected skills.