Google Summer of Code 2026 - Candidate introductions

[harshitseth-1]

Hi everyone 👋

I’m Harshit seth, a Computer Science undergraduate with a strong interest in cloud-native technologies, backend development, and open source. I primarily work with Java, Python, and Spring Boot, and I’ve been gradually exploring containers, Docker, and cloud-native tooling.

I’ve previously participated in hackathons and open-source programs, and I’m now looking to contribute consistently to CNCF projects—starting with beginner-friendly issues, documentation improvements, and gradually moving toward code contributions.

I’m here to learn from the community, understand best practices around cloud-native systems, and contribute wherever I can add value.
Looking forward to collaborating and learning with you all!

Thanks!
--Harshit

[deb2000-sudo]

Hello everyone 👋

I’m Debashis Nayak, a data Science undergraduate with a strong interest in cloud-native technologies, backend development using FASTAPI Flask, Django , and open source. I primarily work with Python, and I’ve been started exploring containers, Docker, and cloud-native tooling. I have started learning Java and springboot as well

I’ve previously participated in hackathons and open-source programs, also I Won hackathon at world wide level of EllevenLabs 2025

I’m here to learn and collborate from the community, understand best practices around cloud-native systems, and contribute wherever I can add value.
I am looking forward to collaborating and learning with you all!

Thanks!
Debashis

[vivekdevaa124]

Hello everyone! 👋

I’m Vivekdevaa, and I’m passionate about building scalable web applications and diving deep into data-driven solutions. I’m currently sharpening my skills across the full stack, with a heavy focus on the React/TypeScript ecosystem and Python for backend and data science.

My Tech Stack & Tools:

Languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, C++, HTML5

Frontend: React, Bootstrap

Backend & Data: GraphQL, MongoDB, MySQL

Data Science: NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-Learn

DevOps/Workflow: Git, GitHub, Vercel

I’ve spent a lot of time recently working with Vercel for deployment and exploring the power of GraphQL to make my APIs more efficient. On the data side, I’m really into leveraging Scikit-Learn and Pandas to turn messy data into something meaningful.

I’m here to connect with fellow developers, contribute to interesting projects, and keep learning from this community. If you’re working on anything involving cloud-native tech or modern web apps, I’d love to chat and collaborate!

Looking forward to growing with you all!

Best, Vivekdevaa

[mohitcseng07-crypto]

Hello

[mohitcseng07-crypto]

I am Mohit Singh currently pursuing Computer science from IIT Mandi and I want to contribute in organisation to give some introduction I have worked in amazon as software developer intern and previously contributed in gsoc in other organisation.

I have used cloud services like docker for making cloud code editor.
Tech stack:Javascript,Python,React,MERN
Backend:Express,MongoDB,ChromaDB

[alizahh-7]

Hi Folks👋

I’m a CS student exploring cloud-native and open-source ecosystems. I mostly work with Python and Java, and I’ve recently started hands-on learning with Docker and Kubernetes.

I’m aiming to apply for GSoC 2026 and want to begin contributing to CNCF projects, starting small and growing through consistent contributions.

Happy to learn, collaborate, and get feedback from the community!

[Amanjha112113]

Hi everyone,

I’m Aman Jha, a B.Tech student in Artificial Intelligence & Data Science at Sri Eshwar College of Engineering. I’m interested in cloud-native systems and how AI/ML integrates with modern infrastructure.

I work mainly with Python, and have hands-on experience with TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, Pandas, and OpenCV, along with Docker, Flask, FastAPI, and cloud platforms (Azure/AWS). I’ve also been exploring MLOps for model deployment and monitoring.

I’m currently building a RAG-based API Gateway for secure, natural-language access to structured data. I’m looking to start with beginner-friendly issues, improve documentation, and gradually move toward code contributions in CNCF projects.

Looking forward to learning and collaborating with the community!
Thanks!
Aman

[deepakm0003]

Hi everyone
I’m Deepak Meena, a Computer Science undergraduate from IIIT Delhi with a strong interest in distributed systems, cloud-native architecture, and scalable backend systems.
Over the past year, I’ve been exploring containerization and orchestration tools like Docker and Kubernetes, while building backend systems using Python and JavaScript. I’m particularly interested in how cloud-native principles — observability, resilience, automation, and scalability — shape modern infrastructure.
Recently, I’ve been diving deeper into the CNCF landscape to understand how projects like Kubernetes, Prometheus, and Envoy work together to power production-grade systems. I’m especially curious about:

• Service mesh and traffic management
• Observability and monitoring in distributed systems
• Infrastructure automation and GitOps practices

My goal is to begin contributing through documentation improvements, issue triaging, and small bug fixes, and progressively move toward deeper code contributions.
I’m looking forward to learning from maintainers, understanding project governance, and contributing meaningfully to the ecosystem — especially as I prepare for GSoC 2026.

Excited to collaborate and grow with this community

Thanks

[siddharthbaleja7]

Hi everyone! 👋

I’m Siddharth Baleja, a developer currently focusing on distributed systems and horizontal scaling. I’ve been contributing to the Eclipse Foundation (Thingweb td-code) and OpenMRS, where I recently implemented a Storage Service abstraction (TRUNK-6488) to support multi-instance deployments.

I’m particularly interested in the Horizontal Scaling and Observability tracks for GSoC 2026. I've been exploring the Jaeger AI-Powered Trace Analysis and Drasi Reactive Agents proposals. My background is in Java and TypeScript, and I’m experienced with Hibernate and IPC protocols.

My goal is to apply my experience in building "Single Source of Truth" bridges and scaling infrastructures to help CNCF projects bridge the gap between static data and autonomous, reactive systems.

Looking forward to connecting with the mentors and contributing to the community!

[RoushniSinha]

Hello everyone! 👋

I am Roushni Sinha, a Master of Computer Applications (MCA) student and an aspiring Software Development Engineer. I am incredibly excited to contribute to the CNCF ecosystem for GSoC 2026 and engage with the cloud-native community.

My expertise lies at the intersection of Full-Stack Development and Cloud Infrastructure, with a strong academic focus on Big Data and Data Mining.

Technical Toolkit:

Languages: JavaScript (ES6+), TypeScript, Python, C++, SQL.

Frontend: React.js, Tailwind CSS, Bootstrap.

Backend & Data: Node.js, Express, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, GraphQL.

Data Science: Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-Learn.

Cloud & DevOps: Microsoft Azure, Git/GitHub, Vercel.

Recently, I’ve been building scalable web applications, including a Bus Booking System and a logic-based puzzle engine, where I focused on optimizing API efficiency and state management. My interest in Azure and Data Analytics draws me toward CNCF projects that focus on observability, dashboarding, and policy management (such as Kubernetes Dashboard, Kyverno, or Prometheus).

I am eager to connect with mentors and fellow contributors to build meaningful, high-impact solutions. If you are working on modern web interfaces or data-driven cloud tools, I would love to collaborate!

Looking forward to a productive GSoC 2026!
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/roushni-sinha-486364204/

[Piyushkhobragade]

Hi everyone,

I’m Piyush Khobragade, an Information Technology undergraduate focused on cloud infrastructure and Kubernetes-based systems.

Most of my work has been around building secure and automated environments on AWS using Terraform and GitHub Actions. I use OIDC federation to avoid long-lived credentials and pay close attention to IAM boundaries, policy enforcement, and pipeline hardening rather than treating CI/CD as just a deployment script.

I’ve contributed to kubernetes-sigs/kueue, where I worked on improving scheduler logging by replacing string-based serialization with structured logging compatible with controller-runtime / logr. The change was merged and included in a release milestone. It was a small patch, but it required understanding how JSON marshaling and field visibility affect structured logs inside controller-style code.

I’m interested in contributing to:

Logging and observability improvements in controllers and schedulers
CI hardening and test stability
Security-aligned configuration and permission scoping
Infrastructure automation and reproducible environments

My focus is on contributing to changes that improve reliability, maintainability, and operational clarity in cloud-native systems.

— Piyush

[HamidRezaKhoram]

Hey everyone,

I'm Hamid, a CS student going into my last year. I've done a few internships and have 2 years of professional experience in DevOps, SRE, and Infra. On the side, I also wrote a research paper on the open-source Qiskit framework and identified flaky tests, which enabled the Qiskit team to fix them.
I'm interested in contributing to drasi-project/drasi-platform#383, as it aligns with my interests and experience (Docker and Kubernetes). I would love the chance to contribute and learn from you guys!

Thanks,
Hamid

[agraharker-shubham]

Hi everyone. I’m Shubham, a student from National Institute of Technology Karnataka interested in Linux internals, eBPF, networks, systems, and cloud-native observability. I’ve been contributing to Inspektor Gadget for a bit now, one of my PRs is already merged and two more are currently under review.
I’m planning to apply for GSoC 2026 and would love to continue contributing, understand the codebase more deeply, and work on more impactful features/bug fixes. Inspektor Gadget sits right at the intersection of the things I enjoy working on, so I’m really excited to be here and learn from the community. Looking forward to collaborating with you all.

[Prarthana-1910]

Hi everyone,

I’m Prarthana Patil, an Electrical Engineering student with strong interest in Python, security tooling, and open-source systems.

I’m particularly interested in the OSCAL document signing project. The challenge of defining a signing model, trust architecture, key management, and verification workflow within trestle aligns well with my interests in secure system design and standards-based implementation.

I’m comfortable with Python and structured data workflows, and I’m eager to contribute to the sign/verify implementation, testing, and documentation while learning more about the existing codebase.

Looking forward to contributing and collaborating.

[aniruddhkorde9-dot]

Hi everyone,

I'm Aniruddh. I am a fresher in Computer Engineering with a strong interest in the Java ecosystem, operating systems, and backend infrastructure.

I am relatively new to open source, but I have been exploring the CNCF ecosystem and am very eager to learn with all of you. I’ve started setting up my local environment and am looking into initial code fixes to better understand the workflow.

I'm planning to apply for GSoC 2026 and am particularly interested in the OpenTelemetry - OTTL stabilization project. The challenge of enhancing the telemetry transformation language by adding looping support and improving the type system for its 1.0 release is exactly the kind of problem I want to learn how to solve.

I am really excited to be part of this community, understand the codebase more deeply, and grow my skills alongside you. Looking forward to collaborating!

[egenedy97]

Hi Everyone ,

I am Eslam Genedy, a Backend Engineer with experience spanning cloud computing, K8s, CI/CD, and IaC. I have worked closely with both backend and DevOps teams to build applications and manage production environments across AWS and GCP. I am deeply interested in cloud-native solutions and I am actively targeting GSoC 2026.

happy to be part of this community

[wannabevtg]

Hi everyone,
I am Vivek Dharewa, a sophomore in Bits Pilani. I have developed a strong interest in cloud native technologies, I focus on backend development and I mainly use golang and python. I’m here to learn from the community, the best practices involved in cloud-native systems, and contribute wherever I can.
Looking forward to collaborating and learning with you all!

[HeLinChooi]

Hello everyone!

I am He Lin, a junior developer based in Singapore. I am strongly interested to work on GSoC cloud native open source project to

1. Contribute to the open source world (knowing other people machines running my code is so cool)
2. Equip myself with the skills required to be a pragmatic programmer (especially in this AI era)

Looking forward to learn and contribute :)

[obaj989]

Hello everyone

I am Osama Jamil, an experienced software engineer with strong focus on data engineering, AI and cloud native applciations. I am based in France but I am originally from Pakistan. I am on a break from work to satisfy the needs of my inner researcher and academic enthusiast. Having recently completing my masters, I am here to learn more on open source work and working with other open source collaboraters. I am here to learn and explore how I can contribute effectively to this community.

My expertise is in Python, Java, ETL tools, distributed databases, CI/CD and some IaC.

Looking forward to be an useful part of this community

[kkauy]

Hi everyone,

I am Ka Kiu Anthony, Au Yeung, currently studying Computer Science and interested in backend systems, data infrastructure, and cloud-native technologies.

Recently I’ve been working on projects involving Java backend development, Python-based data analysis, and some C++ systems programming experiments. One of my recent projects involves building a small machine learning pipeline for medical data analysis.

I’m here to learn more about the CNCF ecosystem and understand how open-source infrastructure projects are developed.

Nice to meet everyone.

[rite7sh]

Hi everyone 👋

I'm Ritesh Tripathi, a Computer Science undergraduate from India with a strong interest in observability systems and cloud-native infrastructure.

Over the past few months I've been contributing to the OpenTelemetry ecosystem. I've worked on OpenTelemetry Collector Contrib (receivers, processors, and parts of the OTTL engine) as well as opentelemetry-python-contrib, including improvements to botocore instrumentation, semantic convention alignment, and testing utilities.

Recently I've also been exploring deeper parts of the collector like telemetry pipelines and extensions such as OpAMP.

For GSoC 2026 I'm particularly interested in projects related to observability pipelines, telemetry processing, and improvements across the OpenTelemetry ecosystem.

Looking forward to learning from the community and collaborating with everyone here!

Thanks,
Ritesh

[RAHULKHATI369]

Hi everyone! 👋

I’m Rahul Khati, Founder & CEO of MindPulse AI and a Microsoft Imagine Cup 2026 Regional Finalist. While I’m currently a BCA student at JB Knowledge Park, my focus is on building enterprise-grade AI infrastructure.

My Goal for GSoC 2026:
I’m not just here for a project; I’m here to contribute a structural upgrade to the Kubernetes ecosystem. I’ve identified a critical 'Latency Tax' in recursive multi-agent workflows on K8s—where the pod-per-task model becomes a bottleneck for 2026-scale autonomous systems.

What I’m bringing to the community:
I’ve authored a technical proposal for a Deterministic Agent Runtime (DAEL) that reduces orchestration overhead from ~800ms to <10ms using persistent worker-pool logic.

Technical Stack: Python, SQL, Google Cloud Architect, and GenAI Pipelines.

I am looking to collaborate with SIG-Scheduling and WG Serving mentors to turn this architecture into a core primitive. I’ve already published a detailed whitepaper and logic-core on this: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/deterministic-agent-runtime-kubernetes-eliminating-latency-khati-8uqkc

Excited to move beyond documentation and start pushing code that solves the next decade's infrastructure challenges!

Best,
Rahul Khati
Founder & CEO, MindPulse AI

[dipak0000812]

Hi everyone,

I’m Dipak, an AIML engineering student interested in AI systems, distributed systems, and open source.

I’ve previously contributed to the project Microcks, where I worked on issues related to API mocking and testing workflows. That experience introduced me to the CNCF ecosystem and cloud-native tooling.

For GSoC 2026 I’m planning to submit a proposal within CNCF and I’m currently looking into projects related to AI/LLM systems and cloud-native infrastructure. In particular I’ve been reading through ideas such as the Jaeger AI-powered trace analysis project and the ModelPack transformer specification project to understand their architecture and possible contribution areas.

I’m currently reviewing the repositories and related issues to better understand the codebases before finalizing my proposal.

Looking forward to learning from the community and contributing where I can.

Thanks,
Dipak

[thdxg]

Hello everyone!

My name is Taehoon (Ethan) Lee, and I am an incoming Master’s student in Software Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Through GSoC 2026, I hope to contribute to OpenTelemetry and the CNCF ecosystem.

I have extensive experience with the OpenTelemetry and backend development in Go. During my recent internship at UKG, I developed a TLS health checker in Go that utilized OpenTelemetry and Prometheus to aggregate TLS certificate expiry status of 200+ VMs across four datacenters in the US. I exported the aggregated data using OTLP and built a Grafana dashboard to visualize it. This provided significant observability during our annual certificate renewal.

I have also been managing a bare-metal K3s cluster on Raspberry Pis and contributing to Kubernetes internationalization through SIG Docs Korea.

Best,
Taehoon

[sun-9545sunoj]

Hi everyone,

I’m Sunoj, a Computer Science and Engineering student with a deep interest in distributed systems, high-performance computing, and open-source development.

I have been actively contributing to the qsim (Quantum Circuit Simulator) and TensorFlow projects. My recent work involved optimizing build hermeticity, managing complex dependencies with uv, and debugging performance on AMD MI300X GPUs using ROCm/HIP. These experiences have given me a strong appreciation for robust, scalable infrastructure.

For GSoC 2026, I am excited about the PipeCD v1 project—specifically the GCP Cloud Run plugin. I am particularly interested in how PipeCD is moving toward a modular plugin architecture to simplify CD workflows. I’m currently:

Reviewing the PipeCD Plugin SDK to understand the gRPC communication between Piped and its plugins.

Studying the v0 Cloud Run implementation to plan its migration into a standalone Go-based plugin.

I’m looking forward to learning from the mentors (@khanhtc1202 and @Warashi) and contributing to the evolution of PipeCD v1.

Best regards,

Sunoj

[Jeph-150]

Hi everyone 👋,
I'm Jepherson, a fourth-year Software Engineering student with 3 internships under my belt. My stack is TypeScript, React, Python, Docker, SQL, and AWS. For GSoC 2026 I'm targeting the Inspektor Gadget Headlamp plugin project. I've set up the full local dev environment (kind cluster, IG deployed, Headlamp running with the plugin) and opened PR #62 on the headlamp-plugin repo improving data table readability. Looking forward to learning from the community and contributing where I can!

Best,
Jepherson

[Busy-pond]

Hi everyone;

I’m Shreya, a Computer Science student who is just starting out with open source and cloud-native technologies. I’m currently learning the basics of Git, Docker, Kubernetes, and how modern applications are deployed and managed.

I have some experience with programming mainly in Python/Java/JavaScript, This is my first time contributing to open source, so I’m looking to begin with beginner-friendly issues, documentation improvements, and small tasks while I learn how everything works.

I’m particularly interested in projects like kpt and would love to understand how configuration and deployment systems work in practice.

Looking forward to learning from this community and contributing step by step. Thanks for having me! 🙌

Best regards,
Shreya