Operators in Action: Making Kubernetes Work for You

Abstract

When our team needed to automate the creation of multiple app instances, we quickly realized that existing tools weren’t enough. Writing a custom operator turned out to be the most practical way to manage their lifecycle — and a surprisingly effective way to see how Kubernetes works under the hood.

In this talk, I’ll walk you through the lessons learned while building an operator for a real-world multi-service application. We’ll explore designing Custom Resources, implementing reconciliation logic, and handling state and configuration challenges. Along the way, I’ll share the pitfalls I ran into, debugging tricks that helped, and the patterns that made the operator framework click.

Whether you’re curious about what goes on behind the scenes in Kubernetes operators or planning to build one yourself, you’ll leave with practical tips and a clear roadmap to get started confidently.

Slides

Currently work in progress - will follow end of March 2026 :)

To be presented at

• KubeCon & CloudNativeCon Europe, March 2026