Skip to main content

CNCF Technical Oversight Committee (TOC)

The CNCF Technical Oversight Committee (TOC) is the technical governing body of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. The TOC admits and oversees all CNCF projects and has a mandate to facilitate driving neutral consensus for defining and maintaining the technical vision and principles for cloud native computing.

Overview​

The TOC serves as the primary technical decision-making body for the CNCF, ensuring that the foundation's projects and initiatives align with the cloud native mission and principles.

TOC Responsibilities​

The Technical Oversight Committee:

  • Defines and maintains the technical vision and principles for the Cloud Native Computing Foundation
  • Approves new projects within the scope of the CNCF set by the Governing Board
  • Creates a conceptual architecture for CNCF projects, aligning projects, removing or archiving projects
  • Accepts feedback from the end user technical advisory board and maps it to projects
  • Aligns interfaces to components under management and defines common practices across CNCF projects
  • Provides technical expertise during project evaluation and level transitions

Technical Vision​

The technical direction of the ecosystem is problem-centric. The TOC encourages and supports projects to solve problems faced by adopters, build the right ecosystem for innovation, and embrace changes in the broader technical landscape. The goal is to exercise and increase expertise within the technical community to compose solutions that stand the test of time.

Current TOC Members​

NameGitHubTermAppointment TypeRole
Karena Angell@angellk2025-03-04 to 2027-03-04GB-appointedTOC Chair
Alex Chircop@chira0012025-03-04 to 2027-03-04TOC-appointedMember
Chad Beaudin@chadbeaudin2025-03-04 to 2027-03-04EndUser-appointedMember
Davanum Srinivas@dims2024-02-16 to 2026-02-16TOC-appointedMember
Emily Fox@TheFoxAtWork2024-02-04 to 2026-03-04GB-appointedMember
Faseela K@kfaseela2025-03-04 to 2027-03-04GB-appointedMember
Jeremy Rickard@jeremyrickard2025-03-04 to 2027-03-04GB-appointedMember
Katie Gamanji@kgamanji2022-03-18 to 2026-02-04GB-appointedMember
Kevin Wang@kevin-wangzefeng2024-02-04 to 2026-02-04Maintainer-appointedMember
Lin Sun@linsun2024-02-04 to 2026-02-04GB-appointedMember
Ricardo Rocha@rochaporto2024-02-04 to 2026-02-04EndUser-appointedMember

TOC Shadows​

NameGitHubTermAppointment Type
Ricardo Aravena@raravena802025-03-04 to 2026-03-04GB-appointed

The shadow program provides an opportunity for community members to learn about TOC operations and prepare for potential future TOC service.

Meeting Information​

Meeting Schedule​

The TOC meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at 8:00 AM PT (USA Pacific Time).

All meetings can be joined directly from the calendar. Meetings are open to the public.

Meeting Resources​

Communication Channels​

Mailing Lists​

Public Mailing List: For general TOC discussions and announcements

Private Mailing List: For sensitive issues requiring confidentiality

Slack​

Public Slack Channel: Join the discussion in real-time

TOC Structure​

Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs)​

The TOC oversees five Technical Advisory Groups that focus on specific technical domains:

Learn more about TAGs →

TOC Subprojects​

The TOC directly oversees several subprojects:

Initiatives​

The TOC sponsors various time-bound initiatives for specific goals and deliverables.

View all TOC initiatives →

CNCF Projects​

The TOC oversees projects at three maturity levels:

Graduated Projects​

Production-ready projects with significant adoption and mature governance. View graduated projects →

Incubating Projects​

Projects with proven concept and growing adoption. View incubating projects →

Sandbox Projects​

Early-stage experimental projects for community exploration. View sandbox projects →

Services for Projects​

The CNCF provides a comprehensive list of services for incubating and graduated projects, with a subset available for sandbox projects.

Contributing to CNCF Projects​

Want to contribute to a CNCF project? We have a comprehensive contributor guide to help you get started.

Learn more about the project lifecycle process. If you have questions, please open an issue in the TOC repository.

TOC Operations​

The TOC has documented processes for various operational activities:

View all TOC operations documentation →

Voting​

The TOC follows a documented voting policy. Only TOC members can cast binding votes.

Election Schedule​

TOC members serve 2-year terms. View the election schedule for upcoming elections.

Getting Involved​

The TOC welcomes community participation:

Attend TOC Meetings​

All TOC meetings are open to the public. Join from the CNCF calendar to observe or participate.

Participate in TAG Work​

Join a Technical Advisory Group that aligns with your interests and expertise.

Propose Projects​

Have a project that would benefit the cloud native ecosystem? Learn about the project proposal process.

Provide Feedback​

Share your perspectives through:

Resources​