Kelsey Hightower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kelsey Hightower
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Kelsey Hightower in 2019
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| Born | February 27, 1981 |
| Occupation | Software engineer, developer advocate, and speaker |
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Kelsey Hightower (born February 27, 1981) is an American expert in computers. He is a software engineer, a developer advocate, and a speaker. He is well-known for his work with Kubernetes, which helps manage computer programs. He also works with open-source software and cloud computing.
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Early Life and Learning
Kelsey Hightower grew up in Long Beach, California. When he started high school, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia with his mom.
After high school, he went to Clayton State University. But he felt the computer classes weren't teaching him enough. So, he decided to learn on his own. He studied to get his CompTIA A+ certification. This certificate shows you know a lot about fixing computers and IT (information technology).
His Amazing Career
When Kelsey was just 19, he got his first job after getting his CompTIA A+ certificate. He worked for BellSouth, helping people get DSL internet at home.
After working there for several years, he started his own business. It was an IT company that helped other businesses with their computer needs. He even opened a store in Jonesboro, Georgia. Early in his career, he also worked briefly for Google and then for a company called Total Systems (now TSYS).
Getting Noticed
Kelsey started giving talks at meetings about Python. Python is a popular computer language. People noticed how he and his team used special tools like Puppet and their own code. They used these tools to manage and update computer programs automatically.
In 2013, a company called Puppet, Inc. asked Kelsey to speak at their event. After his talk, they offered him a job as a software engineer. Kelsey first worked for Puppet from Atlanta. Later, he moved to Portland, Oregon to work at their main office. During this time, he learned about new technologies like Go and Docker containers. He believed these tools would change how computer programs are built and run.
Working with Kubernetes
Kelsey then worked for a short time at a small company called Monsoon Commerce. There, he created his first open-source project called `confd`. Open-source means the code is free for anyone to use and improve.
In early 2014, he joined a company called CoreOS. He became a very important part of the Kubernetes project. Kubernetes is a system that helps manage many computer programs at once. It's like an orchestra conductor for software.
Since November 2015, Kelsey Hightower has worked for Google. He is an engineer and a developer advocate in their cloud computing team. As of 2022, he is a distinguished engineer at Google Cloud. This is a very high-level job for someone who focuses on technical work.
On June 26, 2023, Kelsey announced he would be retiring from Google. He said that this would likely be his last job ever.
Open Source and Helping Developers
In 2014, while at CoreOS, Kelsey became a big supporter of Kubernetes. He started speaking a lot about it at conferences for computer developers. He is now one of the most famous speakers on Kubernetes. He also talks about other topics, like serverless computing, which is about running code without managing servers.
In 2015, he helped start a conference called KubeCon, which is all about Kubernetes. Later, he let the Cloud Native Computing Foundation manage the conference.
In 2017, he wrote a book called Kubernetes Up and Running. He wrote it with Joe Beda and Brendan Burns, who also helped create Kubernetes.
In 2019, Kelsey was a co-chair for the O'Reilly Open Source Convention. He was also on the board of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. This foundation helps support many important open-source projects.
See also
- Ian Coldwater
- Brad Fitzpatrick
