Category 04
Cloud & DevOps
Cloud architects, SRE engineers, platform builders, CI/CD Pipeline masters who scale infrastructure and ship reliable software at speed.
Who should apply
- Cloud architects designing multi-cloud or hybrid environments
- SRE engineers building reliability and observability
- Platform engineers creating internal developer platforms
- CI/CD pipeline architects automating delivery
- Container/Kubernetes operators at scale
What judges look for
- Infrastructure cost savings with maintained or improved performance
- Deployment frequency or reliability improvements (DORA metrics)
- Automation that eliminated entire categories of toil
- Multi-region or disaster recovery implementations
- Developer experience improvements with measurable productivity gains
Eligibility
Universal criteria
Experience & leadership
3–5+ years in technology, mid-tier (non-CXO) roles, proven leadership and impact.
Innovation & creativity
Demonstrated problem-solving and creative solutions within your field.
Growth & mentorship
Continuous learning plus developing others through mentorship or training.
Adaptability & resilience
Proven resilience through crises or significant organizational change.
Ethics & responsibility
High ethical standards, diversity & inclusion, community and sustainability work.
Candidates
Nominees in Cloud & DevOps
Common questions
FAQ
I use a single cloud provider — is that enough?
Yes. Depth in one ecosystem (AWS, Azure, GCP) is as valuable as breadth. Show impact at scale.
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Urge them to apply or nominate someone you know
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