toc icon indicating copy to clipboard operation
toc copied to clipboard

Published 20 hours ago • verified publisher icon cncf

TAG Developer Experience Tech Lead Nomination

Open mrbobbytables opened this issue 6 months ago • 10 comments

Following the TAG Reboot Timeline, we are opening nominations for (3) Tech Leads for TAG Developer Experience. If this interests you, please review the information on TAG governance and responsibilities in the TAG Governance doc and the draft charter for the TAG. Then, if you're still interested - please post your bio below and confirm your interest in running for Tech Lead.

Election timeline: May 5: Nominations open for new TAG Technical Leads May 19: TOC Vote opens for initial TAG Technical Leads (3 per TAG) June 2: TOC Vote closes for initial TAG Technical Leads June 2: Initial round of newly seated TAG Technical Leads announced July 7: Nominations close for new TAG Technical Leads July 7: TOC and TAG Chairs Vote opens for new TAG Technical Leads (TAG Chairs only vote for their TAG TLs) July 28: TOC and TAG Chairs Vote closes July 28: Newly seated Technical Leads announced

NOTE: Timeline is subject to change; check the TAG Reboot Timeline issue for the most up-to-date information.

Once the initial leads are seated, we'll work on refining the charters and really get things going. :)

Links: TAG Restructuring Presentation - Feb 4, 2025 TAG Reboot Timeline Issue TAG Governance Doc Draft Charter

mrbobbytables avatar May 05 '25 22:05 mrbobbytables

I am excited to nominate myself for the TAG Developer Experience Tech Lead position. With more than 30 years of experience in application development and a career rooted in both open-source communities and enterprise software delivery, I bring a unique blend of deep technical knowledge and a developer-first mindset.

As a CNCF Ambassador for several years, I have actively contributed to the growth of the cloud-native community through education, content, and mentorship. My former role as co-chair of the TAG App Delivery’s Application Development Working Group has allowed me to collaborate closely with CNCF projects, platform teams, and developer advocates to identify key pain points in the application lifecycle and improve developer-facing technologies.

Professionally, I serve as a Senior Principal Developer Advocate at Red Hat, where I focus on enabling developers to build scalable, cloud-native solutions using open-source technologies. I’ve led technical engagements across domains such as serverless architectures, AI-driven workloads, and microservices, always prioritizing intuitive and empowering developer experiences. As a Java Champion, I’ve worked to modernize the Java ecosystem for cloud-native adoption and build bridges between legacy and modern development paradigms.

I believe the future of cloud-native hinges on how well we serve developers—not just with tools, but with a coherent, consistent experience across the ecosystem. As Tech Lead, I will focus on driving technical alignment across projects, facilitating better feedback loops between developers and project maintainers, and creating actionable frameworks that improve the usability, discoverability, and joy of working with CNCF technologies.

It would be an honor to bring my experience and passion for developer experience to this leadership role.

For your information, I have also submitted my nomination for the TAG Developer Experience Chair role. My primary preference, however, is to serve as Co-chair.

Daniel Oh Senior Principal Developer Advocate, Red Hat CNCF Ambassador | Java Champion | TAG App Delivery WG Co-Chair LinkedIn: Daniel Oh X: Daniel Oh Bluesky: Daniel Oh Youtube: Daniel Oh

danieloh30 avatar May 09 '25 13:05 danieloh30

I’m excited to nominate myself for CNCF TAG Developer Experience Tech Lead role

What Developer Experience Means to Me

Developer Experience is more than streamlined tools or paved roads — it is a strategic imperative. It shapes how quickly organizations deliver value and how effectively teams collaborate. It influences innovation velocity, cognitive load, and team morale.

As modern systems grow more distributed, organizations face increasing fragmentation across tools, processes, and feedback loops. DevX is the tool to reduce systemic friction across the development lifecycle, aligning the whole organization to achieve measurable outcomes.

DevX is the clarity, velocity, and confidence with which developers can deliver value — shaped by the platforms, processes, and culture that surround them.

This is no longer a “nice to have.” As cloud native complexity scales, DevX becomes a survival issue. We need a TAG that brings clarity, cohesion, and community-driven guidance.

What I Bring to the Table

My career has always centered on developer enablement — whether leading modernization efforts, aligning teams across silos, or shaping frameworks that improve delivery confidence.

  • Technical Depth: 17+ years across software architecture, platform modernization, and systems delivery — from JVM-based stacks to Kubernetes-native environments.
  • DevX Thought Leadership: Authored the Cloud Native Adoption Framework, presented a lightning talk at KubeCon EU 2025 titled “Navigating the Cloud Native Inner and Outer Loop”, and led research on IDP effectiveness across enterprise case studies.
  • Strategic Pragmatism: I focus on what actually works in the field — applying the Improvement Kata to drive iterative change and shared ownership across teams.

My Focus

  • Modeling Cloud Native Maturity Across Layers
    Establish a structured model for DevX maturity across product, platform, and business layers — recognizing that developer experience is shaped not just by tooling, but by the interplay between organizational structure, feedback loops, and delivery culture. This model will serve as a foundation for all future DevX frameworks and recommendations.

  • Mapping Friction by Maturity Level
    Surface the systemic challenges teams face from where they actually stand, not where we wish they were. This includes identifying friction patterns for teams at different maturity levels — whether just beginning their cloud native journey or scaling platform adoption across hundreds of developers.

  • Codifying DevX Architecture
    Build actionable guidance and reusable patterns for how modern cloud native systems can support a seamless developer experience — from inner loop to outer loop, from code to production, and from idea to outcome.

  • Partnering with CNCF Projects
    Provide strategic, high-signal feedback and alignment support to CNCF projects that impact developer workflows — helping ensure project design reflects real-world developer pain points and organizational needs.

  • Expanding the DevX Surface Area
    Elevate emerging DevX domains such as feedback loop instrumentation, DevX observability, developer platform discoverability, and experience-first lifecycle design — especially across inner and outer loops.

  • Balancing Rigor with Empathy
    Ensure that all TAG outputs reflect both technical depth and developer reality — recognizing that clarity, autonomy, and psychological safety are as important as architecture and automation.

I believe TAG DevX has the potential to anchor developer experience as a core pillar of cloud native success — not just by describing it, but by shaping its future. I bring the technical depth, architectural foresight, and collaborative leadership needed to help get us there.

✅ I confirm my interest in running for Tech Lead of TAG Developer Experience.

Note: I’ve also submitted a nomination for the Chair role as I’m open to contributing wherever most impactful.

Mona Borham Senior Solutions Engineer, Github LinkedIn: Mona Borham Website: https://SwEngin.io/

SwEngin avatar May 11 '25 14:05 SwEngin

Hey TAG-friends.

I'm Justin Abrahms. I work as a Principal Engineer in Developer Productivity for Thrive Market. I'd like to be considered for the tech lead position on TAG-DX. I've previously been involved with OpenFeature (a CNCF project around feature flagging), serving as both the maintainer of the Java SDK and serving on the governing board. I was also a governing member of the Continuous Delivery Foundation, another Linux Foundation subsidiary.

In my current role, I've rolled out a new developer platform internally focused on self-service onboarding & operation for folks with little/no kubernetes experience. This includes both training and enablement work. This is primarily driven though CNCF technologies.

Prior, I served as a principal engineer for both eBay and Walmart. At Walmart, I helped them launch federated GraphQL (and all of the governance that goes along with it). At eBay, I helped the 700 person payment orgnaization improve software delivery. I helped drive standardization of our experimentation system via OpenFeature. I was the chair of the OSPO.

http://linkedin.com/in/justinabrahms

justinabrahms avatar May 12 '25 17:05 justinabrahms

I am self-nominating for a Technical Lead role in the CNCF Developer Experience TAG, bringing a focus on practical tools and real-world usability.

With over a decade of experience in open-source and cloud-native systems, including core contributions to PacketFence, a leading open-source network access control (NAC) solution, I design solutions that simplify software and empower engineering teams. Now at Akamai, I serve as a Senior Architect focused on building a Kubernetes-based internal PaaS that aims to democratize cloud-native practices via GitOps, CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code practices across the organization. My career spans startups to enterprises, including a pivotal role in Akamai’s acquisition of a network security startup—an experience that honed my ability to balance agility with scalable, secure solutions.

Key Achievements

  • Modernization of Legacy Systems: Spearheaded the transformation of products like PacketFence and Fingerbank by replacing outage-prone processes with cloud-native architectures, reducing downtime and boosting scalability.
  • Bridging Infrastructure & Developer Needs: Successfully onboarded non-cloud-native teams into Kubernetes workflows by applying lessons from legacy modernization.
  • Hybrid SaaS Adoption: Converted products to a hybrid-SaaS cloud-native model, minimizing operational friction and aligning infrastructure with developer requirements.

Proposed Contributions to TAG

  • Lowering Barriers: Democratize cloud-native by breaking down barriers and simplifying onboarding processes to empower broader adoption.
  • Security & Compliance: Expand patterns to embed security and compliance into cloud-native workflows.
  • AI Integration: Explore how AI advancements can accelerate tooling, documentation, and developer efficiency.

My work has centered on making products simpler to develop and operate using cloud-native practices. I aim to bring this pragmatic, user-focused mindset to the TAG, ensuring cloud-native tools align with real-world workflows while balancing innovation with usability.

julsemaan avatar May 13 '25 12:05 julsemaan

Hi all!

I would also like to self-nominate for the tech lead position of TAG Developer Experience.

I'm Kevin Dubois, a software engineer and developer advocate at IBM. I've always straddled the line between writing complex software and data systems; and ensuring the smooth delivery of these systems. I have 2 decades of experience in the software world and got involved in the container/cloud native world a good 10 years ago. Aside from writing core software, I have also worked as a solution architect implementing cloud native software and delivery for a variety of organizations ranging from startups to some of the largest enterprise organizations and government agencies in the world. More recently in my role of developer advocate I have been more involved in participating and building communities, speaking at conferences around the world and forging relationships in the cloud native communities. Aside from the CNCF I'm also particularly involved in the Java community and have been recognized for these efforts as a Java Champion.

I bring a mix of real world experiences across a large spectrum of competencies and community building work with a dose of humor. I know how to communicate with core software engineers, marketing, and c-level personas alike. Most of all, I'm super passionate Developer Experience since I see it as the most important piece of the puzzle to empower organizations to deliver the best possible software solutions.

I have been an active member of the CNCF App Development Workgroup. I was also active in advocating for the creation of this AppDev workgroup; and have also been a part of the creation of the new TAG Developer Experience. I was recently also an active participant in the CNCF Technical Advisory Group's planning session at KubeCon EU to work on the new TAG structure including the Developer Experience TAG

also have represented CNCF App Development efforts speaking at conferences around the world, including many KCD and KubeCons, including the most recent KubeCon EU where I spoke about Cloud Native Developer Experience with Thomas Vitale

My focus area for TAG DevEx would be to really think about what Developer Experience means in the context of the CNCF. Within the CNCF there is often a focus on the platform and the tools, but I think Developer Experience goes beyond that. We need to put ourselves in the place of the developer and think about how we can best serve them and involve the developer persona more in the CNCF community projects and initiatives. I would like to drive more communication, both in collaboration with the CNCF TOC and TAGs as well as outreach outward into the developer communities.
I would also advocate for the DevEx group efforts (and increase its visibility) at the many events I speak at around the world.

Thank you for your consideration!

You can find more about me at the below links:

LinkedIn BlueSky GitHub Sessionize

kdubois avatar May 14 '25 12:05 kdubois

✅ I confirm my interest in running for Chair of TAG Developer Experience.

My name is Mauricio Salatino, also known as @salaboy, and I am passionate about Open Source, Kubernetes, and Cloud-Native software.

I am an Open Source & Ecosystem Software Engineer at @Diagrid, contributing to and driving initiatives for the Dapr OSS project.

I also served as a Steering Committee member for the Knative Project. I served as a co-chair of the TAG AppDelivery Application Development working group for the CNCF.

I wrote a book titled Platform Engineering on Kubernetes for Manning. I am currently writing a book about Developer Experience for Kubernetes with Thomas Vitale.

I previously worked at VMware and Red Hat, building tools to help developers be more productive.

salaboy avatar May 15 '25 09:05 salaboy

Dear TAG Developer Experience Community,

Orlin(Orlix) Vasilev here, I would love to nominate myself for the Tech Lead position within the CNCF TAG Developer Experience. With over 15 years in system engineering roles and a deep commitment to open-source advocacy, I have consistently worked to bridge the gap between developers and the tools they use.

My Journey and Contributions

  • Principal Open Source Technology Advocate at SUSE: In this role, I focus on enhancing developer workflows and experiences, particularly within the cloud-native landscape.
  • CNCF Ambassador (since 2018): I've been actively promoting cloud-native technologies, organizing events, and fostering community growth in Bulgaria and beyond.
  • Community Manager for Project Harbor: Leading initiatives to improve container registry solutions, emphasizing security and usability for developers.
  • Organizer of Kubernetes Community Days (KCD) Sofia: Driving community engagement and knowledge sharing through local events.
  • KubeCon CfP Review Board Member and Track Co-Chair for Track 101
  • Recently took over the role of Community lead for project K3s

By committing to to the role I would expect to be working closely with TAG members, CNCF projects, and the broader community to align on goals and initiatives in open communication and welcoming diverse perspectives. Regularly assessing and refining our strategies to adapt to the evolving needs of developers.

I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to contribute further to the CNCF community in this capacity and to champion initiatives that elevate the developer experience across the ecosystem.

Thank you for considering my nomination.

Orlin Vasilev(Orlix)

LinkedIn: Orlin Vasilev GitHub: OrlinVasilev Personal Website: orlix.org

OrlinVasilev avatar May 16 '25 14:05 OrlinVasilev

Hi Everyone & TAG DevEx Community,

Mélony here! You may know me as a CNCF Ambassador and active SIG Release team member who has contributed to the successful releases of Kubernetes 1.31, 1.32, and 1.33. I am self-nominating for the Technical Lead role in the CNCF Developer Experience TAG to contribute my energy, technical experience, and passion for improving how developers interact with cloud-native technologies. My goal has been to make cloud-native adoption simpler by improving the developer experience, making it more inclusive, and better aligned with the real-world needs of practitioners across all skill levels.

I started my career as a full-stack engineer (hardcore developer) over 12 years ago. Previously, I worked at Microsoft in both engineering and product management roles across 4 continents and 4 countries: France, the United Kingdom, the USA, and Switzerland. I began as a Cloud Solution Architect helping customers modernize their apps with Kubernetes and serverless technologies in Europe, before transitioning to Product Manager on the Developer Experience team at Microsoft HQ in Redmond, WA. There, I led product development for cloud-native data platforms deployed on top of Kubernetes, including Arc-enabled data services and SQL Server big data clusters, as well as Microsoft Azure Functions ( KEDA's Microsoft implementation). My mission has always been about how we empower developers at a global scale.

Since 2017, Kubernetes has been at the heart of my professional journey ( that's 8 years for a project of 11 years ), and it remains my passion to this day. I’ve been fortunate to engage deeply with Kubernetes and its ecosystem by contributing to its growth through code, documentation, community, and content. I’m eager to take the next step in service to the CNCF and help shape the future of developer experience with empathy, technical depth, and a user-first mindset.

Here are some of the key milestones in my journey :

  • Open Source & Community Engagement Kubernetes Release Team Member: Contributed to the releases of Kubernetes 1.31, 1.32, and currently 1.33, I'm proud to be part of the team helping ship the second-largest open-source project in the world ( only after the legendary world domination aka. Linux ).

  • CNCF Ambassador: Engaging the community through many talks, mentorship, content creation, and cross-region collaboration, and I enjoy cloud-native meetups, KCDs, and my favorite has been KubeCon, it's always been a great pleasure meeting the community and sharing what we learned!

  • I'm also a book Author of 4 Kubernetes and cloud computing books: Including Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) Exam Guide (featured foreword by Brendan Burns - cofounder of Kubernetes project), The Kubernetes Workshop (Packt), Azure Integration Guide for business, those books designed to help learners upskill and advance their careers.

  • Tech Content Creator: I've been constantly writing blogs on cvisiona.com and currently I also run the @CloudMelonVis YouTube channel and the Cloud Native Innovators newsletter on LinkedIn and cvisiona.com reaching thousands of developers and enthusiasts each month.

Together, let's make a positive impact with cloud-native technologies in the tech industry!

Melony's GitHub: github.com/cloudmelon Melony's Linkedin Melony's BlueSky Blog: cvisiona.com YouTube: CloudMelonVis

cloudmelon avatar May 19 '25 04:05 cloudmelon

Thanks everyone for putting your nomination forward :) With the nomination period now closed, we're going to temporarily lock the issues just so it's clear that the nomination period is over. We'll reopen soon with updates. 👍

mrbobbytables avatar May 20 '25 13:05 mrbobbytables

Announcing the Tech Leads for TAG Developer Experience:

Julien Semaan @julsemaan 2 year term Kevin Dubois @kdubois kdubois - 1 year term Mélony QIN @cloudmelon - 2 year term

Thank you all for volunteering.

We encourage continued participation from everyone. There's plenty to do and many opportunities to come.

riaankleinhans avatar Jun 11 '25 19:06 riaankleinhans

Hi everyone, and to the entire CNCF Developer Experience community,

I’m Graziano Casto, and I am excited to self-nominate for the Technical Lead role in the CNCF Developer Experience TAG.

For me, Developer Experience isn't just a buzzword; it's the thread that connects my entire career. I started as a software engineer, in the trenches, migrating legacy systems to cloud-native microservices and building the very tools and pipelines to improve my own team's DevEx. I then moved into product management, where I learned to listen to users, translate their needs into a strategic roadmap, and see technology through the lens of the value it delivers. Now, as a Developer Relations Engineer, my mission is to be the bridge between the complexities of cloud-native technology and the global community of developers who use it every day.  

This journey has given me a 360-degree view of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). I understand the daily friction developers face because I’ve lived it. I understand the strategic importance of a great DevEx because I’ve planned for it. And I understand how to communicate and evangelize it because it’s my daily mission.

My passion for improving the developer's life extends deep into the open-source community. I believe leadership is earned through service, which is why I'm proud to be an active contributor to the Kubernetes project. I serve on the v1.34 Release Team in the Comms role, helping with release messaging and community outreach, and I contribute to SIG Docs to ensure our documentation and the blog is clear, accessible, and helpful. This is the essential work that makes our ecosystem thrive.  

Beyond direct contributions, I am dedicated to sharing knowledge. I’ve had the privilege of speaking at many events like KCDs, and DevOps Days, and writing for publications like the CNCF blog and The New Stack on many different topics. A significant part of my professional work is also focused on analyzing and improving the SDLC of customers adopting our platform, taking these community-driven principles and applying them to solve real-world problems.  

My vision is simple, practical, and user-focused. I believe we must treat our platforms as products and our developers as customers. My guiding metaphor has always been the kitchen: you can have the most advanced appliances in the world, but if you don't involve and train the chefs, you won’t get great food. Our job is to empower the chefs.  

As a Tech Lead, I would focus on three key areas:

  • Lowering Cognitive Load: We must continue to champion patterns and tools that abstract away unnecessary complexity. The goal is to make Kubernetes and the cloud-native stack feel invisible, so developers can focus on delivering business value, not fighting with YAML.  

  • Fostering an Empathetic, Data-Informed Culture: A great DevEx is built on a foundation of listening. I will advocate for strong feedback loops—talking to developers to understand their pain points—and validating our efforts with clear adoption metrics. If developers aren't using what we build, it's a waste.  

  • Exploring the Future of DevEx: We should look at how emerging fields can enhance the developer's journey. I want to explore how we can integrate AI to create more intelligent and helpful tooling, and how we can promote Green Software principles to build a more sustainable and efficient cloud-native ecosystem.  

I am eager to bring my energy, my hands-on experience, and my deep passion for community to this role. Together, I believe we can make the cloud-native developer experience more productive, inclusive, and joyful for everyone.

Thank you for your consideration.

You can find more about me here: Website: https://www.castograziano.com/ GitHub: https://github.com/graz-dev LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grazianocasto/

graz-dev avatar Jul 12 '25 10:07 graz-dev

Hi everyone, hope the message finds you all well! I am really excited to contribute to the Developer Experience TAG in ways that I can, and in this post specifically to nominate myself as one of the Tech Leads of the TAG.

Why does Developer Experience matter and what it is to me?

Developer Experience is something that is very dear to me but it’s not only a mere technical concern; it's something deeply personal and philosophical.

I believe that building and creating things are among life's most profound sources of joy as human being, especially when our creations benefit those we care about and potentially millions worldwide. Be it music, painting, writing, craft, and of course, including software, that spark is universal.

And that’s what draws me, and I know many other developers, to building software to begin with, that we could build something beneficial for countless people almost out of thin air, armed only with our machine and its set of tooling.

I come from a country where many people don't have the privilege of choosing work that aligns with their passions, where survival often dictates profession. I'm deeply grateful to work in the Developer Experience field, where I can build platforms and tooling that enable developers to focus on what matters most to them: developing software that helps millions of people, where I can build something that help them to experience the joy of creation.

Imagine a world where more people genuinely enjoy their work, which consumes a significant portion of their lives. A world where they can then fully enjoy time with family and loved ones, having experienced a fulfilling day at work. I believe it is a right for developers to have access to the tooling and platform that bring them joy, enabling them to focus on creating software that, in turn, brings joy to others. It’s not a luxury only experienced by the big tech engineers.

That's what Developer Experience means to me: tools that just work and brings joy—like how a hammer serves builders, a stethoscope serves doctors, or a brush serves painters, they know how to use those effortlessly yet still provide so much leverage. It’s infrastructure that empowers and platforms that amplify. All so developers can help others create a better world for as many people as possible.

When we get Developer Experience right, we don't just make developers more productive—we unlock human potential at scale. We enable creators to create and innovators to innovate. And through that ripple effect, we help build a world where technology is being served for the greater good.

Why CNCF?

To say that CNCF has been a life-changing experience for me is an understatement. It gave me a warm, welcoming community, both offline and online. It provided me an opportunity to contribute when I doubted myself and what I could do. I can definitely say that I wouldn’t be where I am today without what CNCF has provided me, to be in a place where I can truly enjoy what I am doing on a daily basis, bringing great Developer Experience to hundreds of developers. My involvement and contribution to CNCF helped me to land my current job and shaped my life along, and now I know it’s time for me to give back to CNCF.

I believe that CNCF as a community holds some of the greatest leverage in the world for advancing bringing developer experience, both in terms of quality and quantity (reach). Take Kubernetes as an example: what started as a project from a single company found its home in CNCF, becoming vendor-neutral and ultimately the de facto infrastructure for running software across the spectrum. From the cutting-edge AI labs, big tech and huge software corporations, even small startups, or hobbyists tinkering their own Kubernetes cluster in for their homelabs or passion projects.

Kubernetes' worldwide adoption is possible not only because it was nurtured in a vendor-neutral environment but also due to the tremendous efforts of countless contributors. They put immense care into ensuring it has a great Developer Experience, making it a tool that truly works well for developers globally. It is the real example of not having great Developer Experience as a luxury for only a small subset of developers in the big tech, but democratized it to all developers worldwide. And Kubernetes is only one example of many.

I believe Developer Experience is what decides whether a project stays niche or becomes something that helps millions.

Creating something beneficial for others is innate to us as both human beings and developers, bringing immense joy to our lives. Yet, as Robert Waldinger highlighted in his TED Talk, it's community and relationships that truly lead to a good life. CNCF brings these two aspects together. CNCF enables us to create things that help others, and it does so through an open, supportive, and inspiring global community, and with Developer Experience as the amplifier of how our efforts would reach countless people.

What am I doing and how does it relate to Developer Experience and CNCF?

I am part of the Developer Experience team, Infrastructure Engineering department, at Gojek financial arm, GoTo Financial. As one of the largest financial ecosystem at Southeast Asia, our Infrastructure department started as just serving the e-wallet part of the company, and now also provide the whole infrastructure for the whole array financial suite from payment gateway, point of sales, lending ([my presentation at KubeCon NA 23 regarding our multi-companies platform](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19vx14_Z4sw&pp=ygUoam9zaHVhIGJlemFsZWVsIGFiZWRuZWdvIGdyb3dpbmcgc2NhbGluZw%3D%3D)), and even to the data science platform that powers the company’s local-language trained LLM ([press coverage](https://www.gotocompany.com/en/news/press/goto-launches-sahabat-ai-enhancing-its-leadership-in-indonesias-technology-sector)).

My team builds and maintains the internal developer platform that act as a gateway for every components related to how product engineers manage and deploy their applications. The platform is a central hub that is fully integrated with other team’s offering under the Infrastructure department starting from DB, networking, compute, cost visibility, up to observability stack, with various deployment features out of the box and corresponding day-2 operations for these components.

My current role in the team provides me a priceless firsthand experience in building platform and tools that are being used on a daily basis by more than 500 engineers comprised of different backgrounds and personas. It’s taught me that Developer Experience isn’t just a feature, it’s what defines whether developers can do their best work. That’s an experience and mindset I’m excited to bring to the TAG Developer Experience.

The company, the department, and our platform wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for CNCF as we extensively utilize various CNCF toolings from Kubernetes, ArgoCD, Helm, Istio, and various others. Many colleagues and I have shared our learning at KubeCons, contributing to the CNCF projects, and also held our annual [Indonesia Kubernetes Community Days](https://community.cncf.io/events/details/cncf-kcd-indonesia-presents-kcd-indonesia-2024/).

What I’ve been doing at CNCF?

  • My involvement starts in organizing the local chapter of [Kubernetes/Cloud Native Bandung](https://github.com/cloudnative-id), and then later to the wider national [Kubernetes/Cloud Native Indonesia](https://community.cncf.io/kubernetes-indonesia/) where have held our [Kubernetes Community Days Indonesia](https://community.cncf.io/kcd-indonesia/) for few times already.
  • [Contribute to CNCF’s Sandbox project Porter](https://github.com/getporter/porter/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed+author%3Ajoshuabezaleel) where I was also covered by [Bart Farell from KubeFM](https://x.com/birthmarkbart/status/1765747636764627247).
  • Various talks
    • KubeCon NA 2023 Talk - Building, Scaling, and Growing Internal Developer Platform for Companies inside Companies [[video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19vx14_Z4sw&pp=ygUXam9zaHVhIGJlemFsZWVsIGFiZWRlZ28%3D)]
    • KubeDay Singapore 2023 Keynote - Fun Stories from Iterating Platform Engineering [[video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghQJNIvBsYk&list=PLj6h78yzYM2OaSEHYhFKq1ZNQII5VbMqi&index=2&pp=iAQB)] (developer experience focused)
    • KubeDay Australia 2024 Talk - How Might you Platform: Avoiding Traps Before It’s Too Late [[video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjk-9C6Qqw0)] (developer experience focused)
  • Involved and contributing to the [Platform Working Group](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_smeS9-j-SuHJi0VXjx4g9xiD2-tgqhnlwf5oSMDQgg/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.yq511x5lcnxv) of TAG App Delivery
  • Subject Matter Expert and Exam Contributor for the Cloud Native Platform Engineering Associate (CNPA) certification [[credly badge](https://www.credly.com/badges/b20c7425-4c22-4cc3-b7d6-0df4cde96eed/public_url)]

What I want to bring on at CNCF TAG Developer Experience?

  1. Systematizing Empathy and Consistent Developer Experience My current role and experience in platform engineering, treating platform as a product, and focusing on Developer Experience has profoundly taught me that DevEx is what makes or breaks software adoption among developers.

    • I aim to systematically emphasize of ****putting the empathy and care of how the CNCF projects and contributors could bring joy to developers from what they are contributing on. This even also honors their effort and ensures it doesn't go in vain.
    • I will work to establish a consistent DevEx across all CNCF projects. Kubernetes' global adoption is a result to its great Developer Experience, and all other projects deserve the same. DevEx encompasses many factors from APIs, documentation, and even marketing. I want to help define a DevEx framework that can be applied universally, empowering projects to consistently deliver exceptional experiences to their users.

  2. Navigating AI/LLM and Agentic Coding for Cloud-Native

    AI/LLM and agentic coding represent one of the most powerful toolsets developers have in the recent times, enabling rapid code generation, but not always with the same level of context or care.

    • We must ensure these advancements genuinely benefit projects and software in general, fostering quality alongside velocity.
    • I will explore what it means to have cloud-native tooling and platforms in an agentic coding setting. How can we ensure software runs securely and scalably, leveraging these powerful new tools while always prioritizing the developer experience?

  3. Expanding SEA & APAC outreach

    1. This is a personal goal for me. My home country, Indonesia, is one of the most populous nations globally, with a rapidly growing digital industry. Despite this, the presence of cloud-native and software infrastructure isn't as prevalent here as in other populous countries. I am planning to expanding CNCF's reach and fostering great Developer Experience for thousands of developers across Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Thank you so much for the consideration! You can find more about me here:

  • twitter.com/joshuabezaleel
  • joshuabezaleel.pages.dev
  • linkedin.com/in/joshuabezaleel
  • https://bsky.app/profile/joshuabezaleel.bsky.social/

joshuabezaleel avatar Jul 14 '25 12:07 joshuabezaleel

Thanks everyone for putting your nomination forward. With the nomination period now closed, we're going to temporarily lock the issues just so it's clear that the nomination period is over. We'll reopen soon with the election results.

riaankleinhans avatar Jul 14 '25 12:07 riaankleinhans

Announcing the Tech Leads for TAG Developer Experience:

Joshua Bezaleel Abednego @ joshuabezaleel - 2 year term Graziano Casto @graz-dev - 1 year term

Thank you all for volunteering.

We encourage continued participation from everyone. There's plenty to do and many opportunities to come.

riaankleinhans avatar Jul 22 '25 16:07 riaankleinhans