The Onboarding
Introductory & tutorial content. Zero-to-one implementation for junior-to-mid-level practitioners grasping core Kubernetes concepts.
Now accepting proposals via Sessionize
Speak at Cloud Native Austin
Do you have a story about scaling, securing, or troubleshooting Kubernetes? We're looking for real-world engineering challenges, open source deep dives, and advanced architectural patterns — not product pitches.
Why speak here
We build speakers, not just host them
Whether you want to road-test your KubeCon presentation or give your first-ever technical talk, our Program Committee is here to support you. We pride ourselves on providing constructive feedback to help you polish your narrative before you take the stage.
We welcome speakers from every background — CNCF maintainers and first-time local presenters alike — provided the session brings engineering depth rather than a sales pitch.
- Real-world engineering challenges over theory
- Open source deep dives welcomed
- Constructive feedback before your talk, not just a yes/no
- First-time speakers actively mentored, not filtered out
Session tracks
Find your track
Every submission is classified into one of four tracks so our agenda stays balanced for newcomers and veterans alike.
The Deep Dive
Internals, advanced debugging, eBPF, complex networking, cluster security, and observability for senior engineers and SREs.
The Visionary
Emerging CNCF Sandbox projects, AI/ML infrastructure, eBPF innovations, and next-generation cloud native tech.
The Strategy
High-level system design, technical debt, compliance, Kubernetes FinOps, and resilient enterprise platforms for leadership.
The process
From submission to the stage
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Submit on Sessionize
Send your proposal with a clear thesis and takeaway. Real production stories and architectural deep-dives score highest.
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Program Chair triage
Every submission is scored against four criteria: content quality, community relevance, vendor neutrality, and architectural impact.
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Mentorship, if needed
Strong topics with rough structure get routed to mentorship — we'd rather help you sharpen the story than decline it outright.
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Committee shortlist & scheduling
The full co-organizer team reviews the shortlist monthly and slots talks, balancing track diversity and local speakers.
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You take the stage
Present to a room of engaged practitioners who showed up specifically to learn from you — no pitch decks required.
What we're screening for
The vendor-neutrality gate
This is the one criterion with veto power. Everything else is coachable — this one protects the audience's time.
Read the full review rubric
Content Quality & Structure — Does the proposal show engineering rigor and a coherent narrative arc, or is it unstructured and unclear? Unclear or AI-generated-without-review proposals are auto-declined.
Community Relevance — Does this topic matter to the Austin cloud native audience right now? Timely, high-impact topics (breaking changes, major ecosystem shifts, critical security patterns) are prioritized.
Vendor Neutrality (the integrity gate) — Is this a "Product Pitch" (proprietary features, pricing, "book a demo" CTAs) or a "Community Standard" talk (architectural patterns, unbiased real-life stories, CNCF project deep-dives)? Pure product pitches are a hard reject; CNCF maintainer deep-dives on graduated/incubating projects are exempt from needing a comparative-architecture slide.
Architectural Impact & Scalability — Homelab/sandbox-scale content is welcome as a lightning talk; hyperscale topics like multi-region federation, zero-trust at scale, and fleet-wide cost optimization are flagged as potential headliners.
Proposals averaging above 3 stars across all four criteria are shortlisted for scheduling. A strict 1-star vendor-neutrality score is an automatic decline, regardless of the other scores.
Ready to share your Kubernetes story?
Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis. The Program Committee will reach out with feedback either way.