Certified MLOps Professional: End‑to‑End Lifecycle of Production ML
Introduction
Machine learning is used everywhere today, but most models never reach real users in a stable and secure way. This is where MLOps comes in and connects data science with DevOps so that models can be built, tested, deployed, and monitored in a repeatable way. The Certified MLOps Professional certification helps you learn these skills in a structured, practical format, even if you are new to production machine learning.
What it is
The Certified MLOps Professional is a vendor‑neutral, role‑oriented certification that proves your understanding of how to build, deploy, and manage machine learning systems in production. It teaches you how to combine DevOps principles with ML workflows so that models are reliable, scalable, and secure. The emphasis is on practical concepts, not just theory.
Who should take it
This certification is suitable for:
DevOps engineers who want to expand into ML and AI systems.
SRE and platform engineers who manage production services and want to handle ML workloads.
Cloud engineers and architects who design infrastructure for data and ML platforms.
Data engineers who work with data pipelines and want to connect them to model deployment.
Data scientists and ML engineers who want to learn operational best practices and production pipelines.
Technical leads and engineering managers who want a structured view of MLOps practices and processes.
Certified MLOps Professional – Certification Overview
The Certified MLOps Professional certification covers the end‑to‑end lifecycle of machine learning in a production environment. You learn how to design ML pipelines, manage data, automate training, deploy models using CI/CD, and monitor performance and drift over time. The content focuses on real tools and platforms used in modern organizations such as containerization, orchestration, experiment tracking, and model registries.
The program is delivered as an online course and certification program that combines theory sessions, hands‑on examples, and practical assignments. You learn concepts that fit into real DevOps and cloud environments, not isolated academic examples. By the end of the program, you should be able to talk confidently about MLOps and also demonstrate skills through practical tasks and projects.
Program delivery – Course and platform
The Certified MLOps Professional program is delivered via an official course (as per the certification page) and is hosted on the AIOpsSchool platform. The course provides structured modules, recorded sessions or live classes (depending on the batch), and guided practice. Assignments are focused on realistic scenarios such as deploying models on containers, using pipelines, and integrating monitoring.
The certification has one primary level for MLOps practitioners, usually starting from fundamentals and then moving into intermediate production tasks. Assessment is typically done through an exam and, in some cases, practical tasks or projects, depending on the final structure chosen by AIOpsSchool. Ownership of the certification, syllabus, and branding remains with AIOpsSchool, which also maintains and updates the content as the industry changes.
The structure is generally:
Foundation concepts: ML lifecycle, DevOps basics, and MLOps principles.
Tools and platforms: pipelines, containers, orchestration, version control, experiment tracking.
Deployment and monitoring: model serving patterns, observability, and incident handling.
Governance and best practices: reproducibility, security, and collaboration.
Skills you’ll gain
After completing the Certified MLOps Professional, you should gain skills such as:
Understanding of the complete ML lifecycle from data to deployment.
Ability to design and implement ML pipelines for training and inference.
Knowledge of CI/CD practices for machine learning systems.
Familiarity with containerization and orchestration for ML workloads.
Experience with model versioning, experiment tracking, and model registries.
Skills in monitoring models for performance, drift, and data quality.
Awareness of security, governance, and compliance aspects in MLOps.
Understanding how to work with data scientists, DevOps engineers, and stakeholders as one team.
Real‑world projects you should be able to do after it
After earning this certification, you should be able to handle projects like:
Build an end‑to‑end ML pipeline that trains a model, saves artifacts, and deploys a service automatically.
Containerize a machine learning model and deploy it on a cloud platform or Kubernetes cluster.
Implement CI/CD for ML, including automated testing, validation, and promotion of models.
Set up logging and monitoring for model predictions, latency, and failure detection.
Design a process to handle model drift, retraining, and rollback in production.
Integrate data pipelines, feature stores, and ML workflows into existing DevOps systems.
Create documentation and runbooks for ML services to support SRE and operations teams.
Common mistakes
Some common mistakes that learners and teams make in MLOps include:
Treating MLOps as only “tools” and ignoring processes and culture.
Not versioning data, code, and models properly, which breaks reproducibility.
Deploying models without proper monitoring for performance and data drift.
Ignoring security and access control around model endpoints and data sources.
Building very complex pipelines before validating simple baselines.
Forgetting collaboration: data scientists, DevOps, and business teams working in silos.
Over‑focusing on one vendor or product and not learning general principles.
Best next certification after this
After completing Certified MLOps Professional, good next steps include:
A more advanced MLOps or AIOps certification that dives deeper into automation and observability.
A cloud‑specific ML or data engineering certification (AWS, Azure, GCP) to connect MLOps skills with a real platform.
A DevSecOps or security‑focused certification to strengthen governance and compliance for ML systems.
You can further explore related tracks and certifications through the AIOpsSchool ecosystem and partner institutions such as DevOps‑focused training providers.
Choose your path – 6 learning paths
Here are six example learning paths that connect Certified MLOps Professional with other related tracks. These are flexible and can be customized:
DevOps Path
Start with DevOps fundamentals and CI/CD.
Add containerization and Kubernetes basics.
Move to Certified MLOps Professional to handle ML workloads.
DevSecOps Path
Learn DevOps and CI/CD with security basics.
Study DevSecOps tools, policies, and secure pipelines.
Extend into MLOps so that ML systems also follow secure practices.
SRE Path
Begin with SRE principles: reliability, SLOs, error budgets, observability.
Learn production monitoring and incident response.
Add Certified MLOps Professional to manage ML services with SRE practices.
AIOps/MLOps Path
Learn basic AI, ML, and data science workflow.
Study pipelines, orchestration, and automation.
Take Certified MLOps Professional as the core credential for production ML.
DataOps Path
Start with data engineering fundamentals: ETL, warehousing, data lakes.
Learn DataOps methods for faster, safer data changes.
Connect with MLOps to build end‑to‑end data + model pipelines.
FinOps Path
Understand cloud cost management and budgeting.
Learn FinOps principles and tools across major clouds.
Combine with MLOps to optimize the cost of large‑scale ML workloads.
Top institutions for Certified MLOps Professional training
Several institutions can help you with training and certification preparation for Certified MLOps Professional and related programs. DevOpsSchool offers a wide range of DevOps, cloud, and MLOps training with practical labs and guided sessions. Cotocus focuses on consulting‑driven training, where you learn from practitioners working on real projects. Scmgalaxy provides DevOps and CI/CD courses that form a strong base before you move into MLOps. BestDevOps works as a content and training hub for DevOps and related skills. Devsecopsschool helps you understand how to integrate security into DevOps and MLOps pipelines. Sreschool is focused on SRE and reliability engineering skills that are essential for running ML services in production. Aiopsschool is dedicated to AIOps and MLOps specializations, including the Certified MLOps Professional program itself. Dataopsschool supports data engineering and DataOps training to build strong data pipelines for ML. Finopsschool teaches cloud cost management and FinOps practices, which are useful when scaling ML infrastructure.
Next certifications to take (same track, cross‑track, leadership)
After Certified MLOps Professional, you can consider three directions:
Same track – AIOps/MLOps: Go for an advanced MLOps or AIOps certification that focuses on large‑scale automation, advanced observability, and intelligent operations.
Cross‑track – DataOps or DevSecOps: Choose a DataOps or DevSecOps certification to deepen your skills around data pipelines or security in ML systems.
Leadership – Architecture or Management: Select an architecture, cloud solution architect, or engineering leadership certification to guide teams and design end‑to‑end ML platforms.
FAQs – Certified MLOps Professional
Q1. What is the Certified MLOps Professional certification? It is a professional‑level certification that validates your ability to design, build, deploy, and operate machine learning systems using MLOps principles and tools.
Q2. Do I need to be a data scientist to take this certification? No, you do not need to be a data scientist. Basic understanding of ML concepts is helpful, but DevOps, SRE, cloud, and data engineers can also take this certification.
Q3. What are the prerequisites for this certification? You should know basic Linux, Git, and at least one programming language such as Python, along with some exposure to cloud or container technologies.
Q4. How is the certification exam structured? The exam usually includes multiple‑choice or scenario‑based questions, and in some formats, practical tasks or projects that test your ability to apply MLOps concepts.
Q5. What tools and technologies are covered in the course? The course focuses on general MLOps concepts and may include tools for version control, CI/CD, containers, orchestration, experiment tracking, and model registries, depending on the syllabus.
Q6. How long does it take to prepare for the Certified MLOps Professional exam? Preparation time depends on your background. Many professionals can get ready in a few weeks to a couple of months with focused study and hands‑on practice.
Q7. Is this certification useful for career growth? Yes, it is valuable because many companies need engineers who understand both ML and operations. It can help you move into roles like MLOps Engineer, ML Platform Engineer, or AI Infrastructure Engineer.
Q8. Can this certification be combined with other DevOps or cloud certifications? Yes, it fits very well with DevOps, SRE, cloud, DataOps, and FinOps certifications. Together, they give you a strong profile for modern AI‑driven organizations.
Why choose AIOpsSchool?
AIOpsSchool focuses specifically on the intersection of AI, ML, and operations, which makes it a strong choice for learning MLOps in a focused way. The content is aligned with real industry problems and not just academic examples, so you learn how to apply MLOps in actual production environments. AIOpsSchool programs are structured to support working professionals, with clear modules, hands‑on practice, and guidance that respects your time and existing experience. Because it is connected with other related domains such as DevOps, DataOps, and FinOps, you can plan a complete learning path around MLOps instead of a single, isolated course.
Conclusion
The Certified MLOps Professional certification is a powerful way to prove that you can take machine learning models beyond notebooks and make them work reliably in production. It gives you a clear structure to learn ML lifecycle management, pipelines, CI/CD, deployment, monitoring, and governance. If you are a DevOps, SRE, cloud, data, or ML professional who wants to grow into modern AI‑driven roles, this certification can be an important step in your career journey.