Kelsey Hightower has worn just about every hat in tech sysadmin, developer, operator, leader — and built his career helping people make sense of complexity and find the simplicity that lasts.

In this keynote, he draws from decades of experience at the edge of scale and deep in production to share what real systems teach us about building for the future. As demand grows and environments shift faster than ever, we need systems that are dependable, adaptable, and designed with operators in mind.

Through stories from the field, Kelsey will explore how infrastructure can evolve from something we constantly fight into something we can trust. Whether it’s scaling with confidence or building resilience that lasts, this talk is a reminder that the hardest parts of tech are often the most human.

Kelsey Hightower
_{Former Google Cloud Distinguished Engineer, Speaker, Author, and Open Source Contributor}