Quick Answer
The answer is roles/compute.instanceAdmin. This predefined role is the correct choice for granting a new employee the ability to create and manage Compute Engine instances at the project level because it provides the precise set of permissions needed to start, stop, modify, and delete instances, as well as manage attached disks and snapshots, without allowing broader network or IAM changes. On the Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer exam, this question tests your understanding of least-privilege IAM roles and the specific boundaries between compute-level and project-level permissions—a common trap is confusing instanceAdmin with roles/compute.admin, which grants additional network and security policy control. To remember, think of instanceAdmin as the "hands-on" role for the VMs themselves, not the infrastructure around them.
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of configuring access within a cloud solution environment. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A new employee needs to be able to create and manage Compute Engine instances. Which role should be granted at the project level?
roles/compute.instanceAdmin
This role includes the necessary permissions to create and manage instances.
roles/compute.admin
Why wrong: This role is too broad and grants permissions beyond instance management.
roles/compute.networkAdmin
Why wrong: This role is for managing network resources, not instances.
roles/compute.viewer
Why wrong: This role provides read-only access, not management capabilities.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
roles/compute.instanceAdmin
The roles/compute.instanceAdmin role grants permissions to create, modify, and delete Compute Engine instances, including starting, stopping, and managing disks and snapshots, but does not allow changing project-wide network configurations or granting IAM policies. This is the least-privilege role that meets the requirement to 'create and manage Compute Engine instances' at the project level.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
roles/compute.instanceAdmin
Why this is correct
This role includes the necessary permissions to create and manage instances.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
roles/compute.admin
Why it's wrong here
This role is too broad and grants permissions beyond instance management.
roles/compute.networkAdmin
Why it's wrong here
This role is for managing network resources, not instances.
roles/compute.viewer
Why it's wrong here
This role provides read-only access, not management capabilities.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'admin' with 'instanceAdmin', assuming the broader role is required, but the PCSE exam emphasizes granting the minimal set of permissions needed to perform a specific job function.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, the roles/compute.instanceAdmin includes permissions such as compute.instances.create, compute.instances.delete, compute.instances.start, and compute.instances.stop, but explicitly excludes compute.firewalls.create and compute.networks.update. In a real-world scenario, if a new employee only needs to spin up VMs for development testing, granting roles/compute.admin would inadvertently allow them to alter VPC firewall rules, potentially exposing the project to security risks.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
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FAQ
Configuring access within a cloud solution environment — This question tests Configuring access within a cloud solution environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: roles/compute.instanceAdmin — The roles/compute.instanceAdmin role grants permissions to create, modify, and delete Compute Engine instances, including starting, stopping, and managing disks and snapshots, but does not allow changing project-wide network configurations or granting IAM policies. This is the least-privilege role that meets the requirement to 'create and manage Compute Engine instances' at the project level.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This PCSE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PCSE exam.
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