Ricardo Castro
@mccricardo.bsky.social
Senior Principal Engineer, tech speaker & writer, @DevOpsPorto and @DevOpsDaysPT, @CDeliveryFdn Ambassador, martial arts amateur, and metal lover. Opinions are my own.
mccricardo.com
mccricardo.com
This is also happening!
Teaming up with Manthan Raval to deliver a great talk.
Teaming up with Manthan Raval to deliver a great talk.
December 1, 2025 at 7:08 PM
This is also happening!
Teaming up with Manthan Raval to deliver a great talk.
Teaming up with Manthan Raval to deliver a great talk.
Let's go @aws re:Invent.
December 1, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Let's go @aws re:Invent.
DevOps is not about tools, DevOps "teams," or "engineers".
It's about aligning different people around shared goals rather than working in silos, each with their own goals and ambitions.
Tools help, no doubt. But that's not the point.
DevOps is about the culture you set.
It's about aligning different people around shared goals rather than working in silos, each with their own goals and ambitions.
Tools help, no doubt. But that's not the point.
DevOps is about the culture you set.
November 13, 2025 at 6:01 PM
DevOps is not about tools, DevOps "teams," or "engineers".
It's about aligning different people around shared goals rather than working in silos, each with their own goals and ambitions.
Tools help, no doubt. But that's not the point.
DevOps is about the culture you set.
It's about aligning different people around shared goals rather than working in silos, each with their own goals and ambitions.
Tools help, no doubt. But that's not the point.
DevOps is about the culture you set.
If you know me, you know I've always been in favor of using the best tool for the job.
But that doesn't mean you should be adding tech to your stack *all the time*.
The best tool for the job requires context.
Adding new tech to your stack requires you to think carefully if it's really worth it.
But that doesn't mean you should be adding tech to your stack *all the time*.
The best tool for the job requires context.
Adding new tech to your stack requires you to think carefully if it's really worth it.
November 12, 2025 at 6:03 PM
If you know me, you know I've always been in favor of using the best tool for the job.
But that doesn't mean you should be adding tech to your stack *all the time*.
The best tool for the job requires context.
Adding new tech to your stack requires you to think carefully if it's really worth it.
But that doesn't mean you should be adding tech to your stack *all the time*.
The best tool for the job requires context.
Adding new tech to your stack requires you to think carefully if it's really worth it.
Companies advertise "DevOps".
And then have a product team building an application and a "DevOps team" running it in production.
Find the mistake.
And then have a product team building an application and a "DevOps team" running it in production.
Find the mistake.
November 11, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Companies advertise "DevOps".
And then have a product team building an application and a "DevOps team" running it in production.
Find the mistake.
And then have a product team building an application and a "DevOps team" running it in production.
Find the mistake.
TicketOps is perfectly fine for relatively stable stuff.
At scale, it breaks.
At scale, it breaks.
November 7, 2025 at 2:51 PM
TicketOps is perfectly fine for relatively stable stuff.
At scale, it breaks.
At scale, it breaks.
In the dawn of a new wave of AI, if you're still thinking about infrastructure as code and not infrastructure as software, you're living in the past.
November 7, 2025 at 12:56 PM
In the dawn of a new wave of AI, if you're still thinking about infrastructure as code and not infrastructure as software, you're living in the past.
SRE is much more than just incident response.
I thought this needed to be highlighted since many are talking about "AI SRE", which mostly focuses on incident response.
I thought this needed to be highlighted since many are talking about "AI SRE", which mostly focuses on incident response.
November 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
SRE is much more than just incident response.
I thought this needed to be highlighted since many are talking about "AI SRE", which mostly focuses on incident response.
I thought this needed to be highlighted since many are talking about "AI SRE", which mostly focuses on incident response.
Consistency is underrated.
Many people believe in a "big bang" event that propels their career. And while there are certain cases where that's true, consistency is usually a better investment of your time.
Invest in being consistent and you'll reap rewards.
Many people believe in a "big bang" event that propels their career. And while there are certain cases where that's true, consistency is usually a better investment of your time.
Invest in being consistent and you'll reap rewards.
November 5, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Consistency is underrated.
Many people believe in a "big bang" event that propels their career. And while there are certain cases where that's true, consistency is usually a better investment of your time.
Invest in being consistent and you'll reap rewards.
Many people believe in a "big bang" event that propels their career. And while there are certain cases where that's true, consistency is usually a better investment of your time.
Invest in being consistent and you'll reap rewards.
Reliability, like any other feature, needs to be prioritised accordingly.
There will be times where reliability work will be the priority. Other times, product features will be the priority.
And so on.
If one topic massively overshadows all the others, problems will arise.
There will be times where reliability work will be the priority. Other times, product features will be the priority.
And so on.
If one topic massively overshadows all the others, problems will arise.
November 3, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reliability, like any other feature, needs to be prioritised accordingly.
There will be times where reliability work will be the priority. Other times, product features will be the priority.
And so on.
If one topic massively overshadows all the others, problems will arise.
There will be times where reliability work will be the priority. Other times, product features will be the priority.
And so on.
If one topic massively overshadows all the others, problems will arise.
For platforms to be valuable they need to be force multipliers.
That means being more than the sum of its parts.
That means being more than the sum of its parts.
November 3, 2025 at 1:02 PM
For platforms to be valuable they need to be force multipliers.
That means being more than the sum of its parts.
That means being more than the sum of its parts.
You always need to take roles and titles with a grain of salt.
I often meet DevOps/SREs/PlatEng all doing very similar jobs.
I also often meet groups of DevOps doing quite different jobs. The same applies for SREs and PlatEngs.
Context is crucial.
I often meet DevOps/SREs/PlatEng all doing very similar jobs.
I also often meet groups of DevOps doing quite different jobs. The same applies for SREs and PlatEngs.
Context is crucial.
October 31, 2025 at 6:03 PM
You always need to take roles and titles with a grain of salt.
I often meet DevOps/SREs/PlatEng all doing very similar jobs.
I also often meet groups of DevOps doing quite different jobs. The same applies for SREs and PlatEngs.
Context is crucial.
I often meet DevOps/SREs/PlatEng all doing very similar jobs.
I also often meet groups of DevOps doing quite different jobs. The same applies for SREs and PlatEngs.
Context is crucial.
Some people look down on or think of quality assurance and security as annoyances.
In the age of AI, if they continue to have that perspective, they'll have a rude awakening.
In the age of AI, if they continue to have that perspective, they'll have a rude awakening.
October 31, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Some people look down on or think of quality assurance and security as annoyances.
In the age of AI, if they continue to have that perspective, they'll have a rude awakening.
In the age of AI, if they continue to have that perspective, they'll have a rude awakening.
Important: hire adults.
Also important: treat them like adults.
Also important: treat them like adults.
October 31, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Important: hire adults.
Also important: treat them like adults.
Also important: treat them like adults.
Strive for civil discourse on your teams.
Some of the most creative solutions I've seen were born from discussions between people with completely different views on how to approach a problem.
Promoting diversity lays a good foundation for this to happen organically.
Some of the most creative solutions I've seen were born from discussions between people with completely different views on how to approach a problem.
Promoting diversity lays a good foundation for this to happen organically.
October 31, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Strive for civil discourse on your teams.
Some of the most creative solutions I've seen were born from discussions between people with completely different views on how to approach a problem.
Promoting diversity lays a good foundation for this to happen organically.
Some of the most creative solutions I've seen were born from discussions between people with completely different views on how to approach a problem.
Promoting diversity lays a good foundation for this to happen organically.
People that say "that's a DevOps team problem" have absolutely no clue what DevOps is about.
October 30, 2025 at 6:02 PM
People that say "that's a DevOps team problem" have absolutely no clue what DevOps is about.
For complex issues, I like runbooks because they allow me to really understand the problem before trying to automate it.
In the long-run, for most issues, I strive for automation. But starting with runbooks allows me to understand the quirks before automation.
In the long-run, for most issues, I strive for automation. But starting with runbooks allows me to understand the quirks before automation.
October 30, 2025 at 1:05 PM
For complex issues, I like runbooks because they allow me to really understand the problem before trying to automate it.
In the long-run, for most issues, I strive for automation. But starting with runbooks allows me to understand the quirks before automation.
In the long-run, for most issues, I strive for automation. But starting with runbooks allows me to understand the quirks before automation.
More often than not, when people reach out to me at events to ask "should I use Kubernetes", the answer is "no".
That's because, usually, people approach it from the tech side, not a problem they need fixing.
Focus on the problem and only apply tech that helps you address it.
That's because, usually, people approach it from the tech side, not a problem they need fixing.
Focus on the problem and only apply tech that helps you address it.
October 29, 2025 at 6:06 PM
More often than not, when people reach out to me at events to ask "should I use Kubernetes", the answer is "no".
That's because, usually, people approach it from the tech side, not a problem they need fixing.
Focus on the problem and only apply tech that helps you address it.
That's because, usually, people approach it from the tech side, not a problem they need fixing.
Focus on the problem and only apply tech that helps you address it.
My face when I hear people say Platform Engineering replaces DevOps.
Let's be clear, Platform Engineering *enables* DevOps.
If it doesn't, something's wrong.
Let's be clear, Platform Engineering *enables* DevOps.
If it doesn't, something's wrong.
October 29, 2025 at 2:25 PM
My face when I hear people say Platform Engineering replaces DevOps.
Let's be clear, Platform Engineering *enables* DevOps.
If it doesn't, something's wrong.
Let's be clear, Platform Engineering *enables* DevOps.
If it doesn't, something's wrong.
Whether you like it or not, reliability and security aren't non-functional requirements.
They're features!
Imagine storing your money in a non-secure bank.
And, as features, they need to be prioritized accordingly.
They're features!
Imagine storing your money in a non-secure bank.
And, as features, they need to be prioritized accordingly.
October 28, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Whether you like it or not, reliability and security aren't non-functional requirements.
They're features!
Imagine storing your money in a non-secure bank.
And, as features, they need to be prioritized accordingly.
They're features!
Imagine storing your money in a non-secure bank.
And, as features, they need to be prioritized accordingly.
The best on-call is when you don't get called.
For that to happen, you need to put some serious effort into it.
For that to happen, you need to put some serious effort into it.
October 28, 2025 at 4:53 PM
The best on-call is when you don't get called.
For that to happen, you need to put some serious effort into it.
For that to happen, you need to put some serious effort into it.
For many companies, AI is an accelerator of inefficiencies.
For example, if you don't have a fast, reliable and secure way to release software, AI exacerbates the problem.
For example, if you don't have a fast, reliable and secure way to release software, AI exacerbates the problem.
October 27, 2025 at 6:04 PM
For many companies, AI is an accelerator of inefficiencies.
For example, if you don't have a fast, reliable and secure way to release software, AI exacerbates the problem.
For example, if you don't have a fast, reliable and secure way to release software, AI exacerbates the problem.
Repeat after me: reliability should be defined from the point of view of your customers.
October 24, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Repeat after me: reliability should be defined from the point of view of your customers.
As an engineer, be curious.
That doesn't mean you should change everything due to the most recent hype.
But it means you should be open to explore new things and evaluate them within your context.
That doesn't mean you should change everything due to the most recent hype.
But it means you should be open to explore new things and evaluate them within your context.
October 23, 2025 at 5:07 PM
As an engineer, be curious.
That doesn't mean you should change everything due to the most recent hype.
But it means you should be open to explore new things and evaluate them within your context.
That doesn't mean you should change everything due to the most recent hype.
But it means you should be open to explore new things and evaluate them within your context.
Building Reliable and Resilient Workloads in Kubernetes at @ndcconferences.com Porto
October 23, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Building Reliable and Resilient Workloads in Kubernetes at @ndcconferences.com Porto