Assemble Kubernetes v1.36 Release Team 🚀🌍✨🦇

[katcosgrove]

Howdy y'all!

It's time to assemble the team for the Kubernetes v1.36 Release! Thanks so much to the v1.35 release team for all of your hard work and another successful release cycle. You all did a phenomenal job handling the trickiest cycle of the year; this last one is always hard to schedule and even harder to manage.

Please use this issue to nominate the lead for your role on the v1.36 release team! 🎉 Take a look at the Release Team Selection Process docs for details on the process and criteria.

Once role leads are nominated, I will send out the shadow application survey for selecting v1.36 shadows.

/sig release
/area release-team
/milestone v1.36
/kind documentation
/priority important-soon
/assign @katcosgrove

[k8s-ci-robot]

@katcosgrove: The provided milestone is not valid for this repository. Milestones in this repository: [next, v.1.25, v1.16, v1.17, v1.18, v1.19, v1.20, v1.21, v1.22, v1.23, v1.24, v1.25, v1.26, v1.27, v1.28, v1.29, v1.30, v1.31, v1.32, v1.33, v1.34, v1.35]

Use /milestone clear to clear the milestone.

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In response to this:

Howdy y'all!

It's time to assemble the team for the Kubernetes v1.36 Release! Thanks so much to the v1.35 release team for all of your hard work and another successful release cycle. You all did a phenomenal job handling the trickiest cycle of the year; this last one is always hard to schedule and even harder to manage.

Please use this issue to nominate the lead for your role on the v1.36 release team! 🎉 Take a look at the Release Team Selection Process docs for details on the process and criteria.

Once role leads are nominated, I will send out the shadow application survey for selecting v1.36 shadows.

/sig release
/area release-team
/milestone v1.36
/kind documentation
/priority important-soon
/assign @katcosgrove

Instructions for interacting with me using PR comments are available here. If you have questions or suggestions related to my behavior, please file an issue against the kubernetes-sigs/prow repository.

[katcosgrove]

/honk

[k8s-ci-robot]

@katcosgrove:

Details

In response to this:

/honk

Instructions for interacting with me using PR comments are available here. If you have questions or suggestions related to my behavior, please file an issue against the kubernetes-sigs/prow repository.

[drewhagen]

To everyone who contributed to the Kubernetes v1.35 Release Team, a heartfelt thank you. 🐿️ 🌏 🌳

As our epic adventure with the Kubernetes v1.35 release comes to a close, it still feels very surreal to look back on this cycle and this amazing party of heroes who carried it across the finish line. Serving as your Release Lead for v1.35 is an experience I will forever feel grateful for. All credit to our success goes to each and every one of you who showed up with care, discipline, and a shared sense of responsibility throughout.

To our Release Lead Shadows @dipesh-rawat @jenshu @Rajalakshmi-Girish @rytswd:
The lead shadow role can sometimes be a bit unclear, but each and every one of you leaned into it with curiosity and real ownership. You engaged deeply, supported the subteam leads and me, and shared your guidance and wisdom from prior leadership roles. I truly felt like we led this release together. So much of this work was glue work, and you absolutely crushed it.

To our subteam leads @graz-dev @rayandas @tico88612 @Urvashi0109:
Each of your roles was pivotal to ensuring the release actually came together. Thanks to your leadership, teaching, empowerment of your shadows, and strong delegation, our many moving parts stayed aligned. Releases always carry some chaos, but thanks to your hands-on action, v1.35 was a genuine delight to work on.

From subteam shadows to contributors across SIGs, this release was built through steady, thoughtful work over many months. Like the Timbernetes World Tree itself, it was a reminder that releases are living systems, sustained by many hands tending different parts of the whole.

Huge thanks to @katcosgrove for teaching us, supporting us, and trusting us throughout the cycle. I learned a lot working with you, and I’m grateful you always had our backs.

Thanks as well to Release Branch Management, @neoaggelos and team, for the hard work of keeping the world tree trimmed and delivering new releases safely into users’ hands.

As we look forward and begin assembling the next release team, I’m very happy to nominate @rytswd (Ryota Sawada) as the Kubernetes v1.36 Release Lead.

Over four consecutive release cycles, Ryota has developed strong roots in the release process, from Communications Shadow (v1.32), to Communications Lead (v1.33), to Release Lead Shadow in both v1.34 and v1.35. That progression reflects not just time served, but steady growth in perspective and responsibility. Supporting us as a Release Lead Shadow, I observed Ryota bring exactly what this role needs: careful attention to the details that keep a release healthy, early visibility into risks, and reliable follow-through, along with a calm and collaborative presence that helped the whole team work better together.

The World Tree of v1.35 is a reminder that release leadership is about supporting Kubernetes' growth without sacrificing Kubernetes' stability. It means knowing when to prune, when to reinforce, and when to let the system breathe. Ryota approaches release work with that mindset, and I have full confidence in his ability to guide the v1.36 release successfully.

I strongly and enthusiastically recommend @rytswd as the Kubernetes v1.36 Release Lead.

And with that, I step away from the tree on this note:
Where there are squirrels 🐿️ , dogs like to be never far behind. 🐕
/woof

[k8s-ci-robot]

@drewhagen:

Details

In response to this:

To everyone who contributed to the Kubernetes v1.35 Release Team, a heartfelt thank you. 🐿️ 🌏 🌳

As our epic adventure with the Kubernetes v1.35 release comes to a close, it still feels very surreal to look back on this cycle and this amazing party of heroes who carried it across the finish line. Serving as your Release Lead for v1.35 is an experience I will forever feel grateful for. All credit to our success goes to each and every one of you who showed up with care, discipline, and a shared sense of responsibility throughout.

To our Release Lead Shadows @dipesh-rawat @jenshu @Rajalakshmi-Girish @rytswd:
The lead shadow role can sometimes be a bit unclear, but each and every one of you leaned into it with curiosity and real ownership. You engaged deeply, supported the subteam leads and me, and shared your guidance and wisdom from prior leadership roles. I truly felt like we led this release together. So much of this work was glue work, and you absolutely crushed it.

To our subteam leads @graz-dev @rayandas @tico88612 @Urvashi0109:
Each of your roles was pivotal to ensuring the release actually came together. Thanks to your leadership, teaching, empowerment of your shadows, and strong delegation, our many moving parts stayed aligned. Releases always carry some chaos, but thanks to your hands-on action, v1.35 was a genuine delight to work on.

From subteam shadows to contributors across SIGs, this release was built through steady, thoughtful work over many months. Like the Timbernetes World Tree itself, it was a reminder that releases are living systems, sustained by many hands tending different parts of the whole.

Huge thanks to @katcosgrove for teaching us, supporting us, and trusting us throughout the cycle. I learned a lot working with you, and I’m grateful you always had our backs.

Thanks as well to Release Branch Management, @neoaggelos and team, for the hard work of keeping the world tree trimmed and delivering new releases safely into users’ hands.

As we look forward and begin assembling the next release team, I’m very happy to nominate @rytswd (Ryota Sawada) as the Kubernetes v1.36 Release Lead.

Over four consecutive release cycles, Ryota has developed strong roots in the release process, from Communications Shadow (v1.32), to Communications Lead (v1.33), to Release Lead Shadow in both v1.34 and v1.35. That progression reflects not just time served, but steady growth in perspective and responsibility. Supporting us as a Release Lead Shadow, I observed Ryota bring exactly what this role needs: careful attention to the details that keep a release healthy, early visibility into risks, and reliable follow-through, along with a calm and collaborative presence that helped the whole team work better together.

The World Tree of v1.35 is a reminder that release leadership is about supporting Kubernetes' growth without sacrificing Kubernetes' stability. It means knowing when to prune, when to reinforce, and when to let the system breathe. Ryota approaches release work with that mindset, and I have full confidence in his ability to guide the v1.36 release successfully.

I strongly and enthusiastically recommend @rytswd as the Kubernetes v1.36 Release Lead.

And with that, I step away from the tree on this note:
Where there are squirrels 🐿️ , dogs are never far behind. 🐕
/woof

Instructions for interacting with me using PR comments are available here. If you have questions or suggestions related to my behavior, please file an issue against the kubernetes-sigs/prow repository.

[rytswd]

Congratulations on the successful release of v1.35! 🥳

It has been yet another remarkable display from all of you to make a challenging release as calm and solid as the World Tree.

Thank you, @drewhagen!

First, immense thanks and congratulations to our Release Lead, @drewhagen. You have guided us through all the challenging times, including new workflows such as the PRR requirements. The release cycle towards the end of the year is always the most demanding, with holidays and KubeCon taking place throughout. Your calm, collected attitude, vast experience, and supportive approach have been a guiding light for all the shadows and the release team as a whole. I learned so much from you, and you have been such an inspiration.

To the subteam leads

I had the chance and privilege to work closely with three teams this cycle:

• Enhancements with @rayandas
• Release Signal with @tico88612
• Comms with @graz-dev

All of you were great leaders to showed strong leadership in all different fields, and for Docs, I could see the same leadership with @Urvashi0109 in our Release Team meetings, as we discussed frequently in the APAC calls.
I was rather new to Enhancements and Release Signal, and I learned so much from all of you. I would like to congratulate all of you for the amazing work to make v1.35 possible, and thank you for keeping me involved with all actions.

To the Release Lead Shadow team

The journey of v1.35 started with the excellent shadow team of @dipesh-rawat, @jenshu, and @Rajalakshmi-Girish. I loved how close and supportive the whole team was. We went through some difficult times in our personal lives, and when we couldn't make time, we supported each other to ensure the Release Team work continued. It was such an enjoyable ride where I learned so much from all of you. Thank you so much!

To those who helped me get here

I have come so far learning from many of you in previous cycles, and I must pay tribute to some key individuals:

• @mbianchidev – You have been such an inspiration. I'm here thanks to you choosing me as a shadow initially. Thank you, and looking forward to working closely with you soon again!
• @npolshakova – When I led the Comms team in v1.33, you were there to give any support I needed. You were the absolute role model Release Lead I aspire to be.
• @Vyom-Yadav – You showed me how the Release Lead and Release Lead Shadow roles really work. It was such great guidance and introduction to one day leading the release, from a fellow Linux desktop user!
• @katcosgrove – Since my very first day joining the Release Team as a shadow, you were always there to support. Your experience and expertise have been instrumental in helping me step up. I look forward to working closely with you in the next cycle too!

---

🌟 For v1.36

Thanks to all of the support I received thus far, I am extremely honoured and humbled (and rather terrified 🫣) to take on the Release Lead role for v1.36. I feel there is still so much to learn, but I will do my best learning and leading the first release of 2026 to success, following the footsteps of the great leads in the past releases.

Some important notes for the upcoming release:

• 📣 Release Lead Shadow applications: Following Drew's approach, I'm opening self-nominations for the Release Lead Shadow role. Please reach out to me via DM on Slack if you're interested. I will need to take various aspects into account to have a balanced team, but would love to have some support from you!
• 📣 Shadow applications: The v1.36 shadow application is now open! Whether you're new or experienced, we'd love to see your application!

Again, thank you for all the support, and I look forward to working with many of you again!

Cheers,
Ryota

[rytswd]

/meow

[k8s-ci-robot]

@rytswd:

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In response to this:

/meow

Instructions for interacting with me using PR comments are available here. If you have questions or suggestions related to my behavior, please file an issue against the kubernetes-sigs/prow repository.

[graz-dev]

Serving as the Communications Lead for v1.35 has been a privilege. It was a cycle defined by collaboration, and I am incredibly proud of what this team accomplished ❤️

To the Comms team @chadmcrowell @arujjval @SwathiR03 @aakankshabhende: You were a fantastic team! Thank you for your diligence and for ensuring our messaging was clear and timely.

@drewhagen, thank you for steering the ship. Your calm leadership and steady guidance kept us focused on the finish line. I’m eager to join you and @rayandas for the upcoming webinar to close this chapter properly.

@rytswd, @dipesh-rawat and @Rajalakshmi-Girish your help during the cycle was invaluable. From the very beginning, your insights helped me navigate the complexities of this role. I couldn't have done this without your advice.

A special thanks to @lmktfy for your detailed reviews!

@rytswd, congratulations on the v1.36 release lead nomination! The release is in excellent hands.

Finally, I am thrilled to nominate @chadmcrowell as the v1.36 Release Communications Lead! 🚀 You stepped into the shadow role with high energy and I'm sure the Comms team will thrive under your leadership.

Congratulations to the entire v1.35 release team! ❤️