Can you make Kubernetes invisible? Here's why AWS is on a mission to do it.

In this episode of The New Stack Makers, Jesse Butler, principal product manager for AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service, shares his vision for simplifying cloud-native computing. Since joining AWS in 2020, Butler has focused on making Kubernetes easier to use, emphasizing open-source as a democratizing force. He highlights the role of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) in standardizing and governing open ecosystems while balancing community-driven innovation with commercial contributions. Butler describes Kubernetes as widely adopted—used in production by around 80% of enterprises—yet still overly complex. His goal is to make it “invisible,” much like Linux, by abstracting and consolidating services. He points to projects like Karpenter, which enables real-time node provisioning for efficient scaling; Kro, which simplifies resource orchestration; and Cedar, a flexible policy engine for fine-grained authorization. He underscores the importance of open-source contributors, noting their critical yet often underappreciated role. Looking ahead, Butler envisions a future where automation and human collaboration further enhance usability and innovation in open-source software. Here's the full article to go along with the video: https://thenewstack.io/aws-kubernetes-invisible-simplicity/ Learn more from The New Stack about the latest around AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service: 2026 Will Be the Year of Agentic Workloads in Production on Amazon EKS https://thenewstack.io/2026-will-be-the-year-of-agentic-workloads-in-production-on-amazon-eks/ Amazon EKS Auto Mode wants to end Kubernetes toil — one node at a time https://thenewstack.io/eks-auto-mode-kubernetes/ Join our community of newsletter subscribers to stay on top of the news and at the top of your game. https://thenewstack.io/newsletter