I had been selected for the AWS Community Builder program Containers category.
First-time applicant. No conference speaking history. No massive LinkedIn following. Just consistent writing and 9+ years of real production experience with AWS and Kubernetes.
This is my honest writeup of how it happened, what I submitted, and what I'd tell anyone thinking about applying.
How I Even Found Out This Program Existed
I'll be upfront. I had zero idea the AWS Community Builder program existed until I joined the SA (Solutions Architect) bootcamp by Rajdeep Saha last year.
A few people in my cohort already had the CB badge on their LinkedIn profiles. I asked one of them about it and got the full picture what the program is, what you actually get out of it, and that applications open on a rolling basis, with a waitlist.
That one conversation changed everything. I had spent 9+ years building cloud infrastructure with my head down. Running Kubernetes at scale, migrating workloads to AWS, designing multi-account architectures at Expedia Group. I had been doing it mostly quietly.
The idea that there was a program specifically designed to recognize practitioners who share knowledge publicly was genuinely new to me.
So I didn't just apply immediately I was intentional about it. I started posting regularly on LinkedIn, sharing real production insights and lessons from my work. I began writing longer-form technical articles on Hashnode. I built a habit of sharing knowledge publicly before I ever submitted an application.
I joined the waitlist. When the application window opened I applied. First attempt. Got in.
The Bootcamp That Started It All
I want to give proper credit here because it matters.
The SA bootcamp was run by Rajdeep Saha at Cloud With Raj. If you don't know Raj, here's some context: he's a Stealth EdTech Startup Founder and former L7 Principal Solutions Architect at AWS, has presented at AWS re:Invent, KubeCon, and AWS Summits, co-authored the official Karpenter 1.0 announcement blog on AWS, and has trained over 350,000 students globally. LinkedIn awarded him "Top Systems Design Voice."
The bootcamp attracts serious practitioners. So when multiple people in my cohort already had the AWS Community Builder badge, I paid attention.
Raj's program didn't just teach cloud architecture. It created a community of people who push each other. That peer exposure is what made me aware of the CB program in the first place, and what motivated me to start sharing publicly.
If you're an SA or cloud engineer looking to level up, check out cloudwithraj.com. It's the real deal.
What the AWS Community Builder Program Actually Is
For anyone reading this in the same position I was here's the quick version.
The AWS Community Builder program recognizes AWS enthusiasts and emerging thought leaders who are actively creating content and contributing to the technical community. It is:
- Not a certification
- Not a job
- A recognition and support program with real, tangible perks
What you get:
- $500–$1,000 in AWS credits for personal projects and experimentation
- Certification exam vouchers (Associate, Professional, Specialty)
- Early access to new AWS services and features
- A private Slack community with other builders and AWS service teams
- Support to amplify your content. AWS often reshares CB posts
- Invitations to re:Invent builder sessions and AWS Summits
There are multiple specialty categories. I applied for Containers, which covers EKS, ECS, Kubernetes, Docker, Karpenter, and everything in the container ecosystem.
My Background Going Into the Application
I'm a Solutions Architect at Expedia Group with 9+ years in cloud infrastructure. My day-to-day involves:
- Running 6XX+ Kubernetes clusters across multiple AWS accounts
- Supporting 1X,XXX+ microservices on platform infrastructure I own
- Karpenter-based autoscaling and GitOps with ArgoCD
- GPU infrastructure for AI/ML inference workloads
- Large-scale cloud migrations (150+ servers, RTO ≤ 5 min, RPO ≤ 1 min)
I also hold a NVIDIA-Certified AI Infrastructure & Operations certification and am completing a PG Diploma in AI at Texas McCombs.
I mention this not to flex but because it directly shaped what I highlighted in my application, and why that specificity mattered.
What I Highlighted in My Application
The application asks you to describe your community contributions and provide three public links. I kept mine focused on two things.
1. My writing LinkedIn and Hashnode
I had been posting regularly on LinkedIn about cloud architecture, Kubernetes, and platform engineering. Nothing viral. Just consistent, technical posts grounded in real production experience. I also had a Hashnode blog with longer-form technical content.
I didn't have hundreds of thousands of followers. What I had was a body of work showing I was genuinely trying to help other practitioners not just building a personal brand.
2. Real production context in everything I wrote
When I wrote about Karpenter, I was writing from experience running it across hundreds of clusters. When I wrote about migration, I was describing a project where we achieved RTO ≤ 5 minutes on 150+ servers.
That specificity matters. AWS is looking for people whose community contributions come from genuine depth not people who summarize AWS documentation.
What I Did NOT Have
I want to be honest about this because a lot of CB posts make the bar sound impossibly high.
I did not have:
- A massive LinkedIn following or viral posts
- Conference speaking credits
- Open source project maintainer status
- Prior AWS recognition of any kind
- A perfectly polished content portfolio
I was a first-time applicant with consistent writing and real production experience in the Containers space. That was enough.
The Moment I Found Out
I read the email twice to make sure I was reading it correctly.
Then I updated my LinkedIn headline. Then I messaged the people in my bootcamp cohort who had encouraged me to apply which felt like the right way to close that loop.
What I'm Doing With It
Being selected is the beginning, not the end. The CB program is only valuable if you actually show up.
Here's what I'm committing to:
Write consistently at least one deep technical post per month on Dev.to (primary) and Hashnode (mirror). The program encourages quarterly content but I want to do more than the minimum.
Cover the Containers category with production depth Karpenter at scale, GitOps patterns with ArgoCD, GPU scheduling on EKS, multi-cluster architectures, ECS-to-EKS migration lessons. These are topics I live in daily.
Engage with the community the CB Slack is active and the builders in there are sharp. I want to learn as much as I contribute.
Use the credits wisely I have specific GPU infrastructure experiments I've wanted to run for a while. The AWS credits make that possible without the overhead of approvals.
Should You Apply?
Yes if you're actively sharing knowledge in any AWS category, apply.
A few things I'd tell my pre-application self:
Don't wait until you feel ready. The program is for emerging thought leaders, not established ones. You don't need 10,000 followers. You need genuine contributions and real knowledge. I almost talked myself out of applying because I didn't feel like I had enough. I was wrong.
Be specific about your experience. Generic answers don't stand out. If you've run something at scale, migrated something complex, or solved a real production problem say so. Specific always beats impressive-sounding.
Pick the right category. Apply where you have genuine depth, not where you think the competition is lighter. I chose Containers because I work in it every single day. That authenticity comes through.
Your three links are everything. The application asks for three public links showcasing your contributions. These should demonstrate technical depth, community value, and consistency. Start building that body of work before you apply, not during.
Just start writing. The single thing that helped my application most was having a public body of work. You don't need to write perfectly. You need to write consistently. Start now, even if applications are not open yet.
Quick Tips by Category
If you're targeting the Containers category like I did:
- Write about EKS, ECS, Karpenter, ArgoCD, Helm
- Share real architecture decisions and trade-offs
- Document production lessons, not just setup tutorials
If you're targeting AI / ML:
- Share posts about Bedrock, SageMaker, or AWS AI services
- Show practical projects with AWS AI services
- Participate in AI-focused AWS events or hackathons
For any category:
- Contribute at least 3 to 6 months before applying. The team looks for momentum, not a last-minute burst
- Engage with others' content commenting, answering questions, participating in forums
- Show a consistent voice across your contributions
What's Next
This post is the first of many. I'll be writing regularly about what I'm actually doing in production Kubernetes at scale, AWS platform engineering, AI/ML infrastructure, GitOps patterns, and the real lessons from 9+ years in cloud.
If you're an SA, cloud engineer, platform engineer, or just someone building on AWS follow along.
And if you're thinking about applying for the CB program, drop a comment. Happy to answer questions from where I'm standing.
Remus Kalathil is a Solutions Architect at Expedia Group and an AWS Community Builder – Containers. He writes about Kubernetes, AWS, and production platform engineering.
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