/ˌɛs.ɑːˈɑːr.iː/
Definition
A highly trained professional tasked with restoring order to production systems that were heroically broken by developers “moving fast” under the banner of DevOps empowerment. Often described as the thin YAML line between uptime and utter chaos.
Common Manifestations
- Pager alerts triggered at 3 a.m. by someone else’s “small config change.”
- Incidents classified as “post-deployment optimizations.”
- SREs who speak exclusively in acronyms, profanity, and latency metrics.
- Infrastructure built entirely on hope, duct tape, and undocumented Terraform.
- Developers explaining root causes beginning with “Well, it worked on my machine…”
Usage Example
“Our SREs restored production again after another bold act of developer self-expression.”
HR Guidance
SREs embody resilience, adaptability, and quiet despair. Reward them with caffeine, dark rooms, and occasional gratitude. When all else fails, schedule a ‘Blameless Post-Mortem’ and ensure the SRE writes it.