By Distributed systems generate enormous operational complexity, and visibility has historically required deep, granular instrumentation at the application layer. That instrumentation burden slows teams down and still leaves gaps. The Linux kernel has always held detailed signal about network activity, process behavior, and system calls, but extracting it safely and efficiently was not practical until eBPF changed the architecture entirely.
In this interview on TFiR, Corey McGalliard, Engineering Manager at Akamai Cloud, covers what is exciting practitioners in the CNCF ecosystem today, with a focused look at eBPF-powered observability and the maturing discipline of platform engineering.
Guest: Corey McGalliard, Engineering Manager at Akamai Cloud
Show: TFiR
Here is what every platform engineer and SRE needs to know.
Technical Deep Dive
Q: What is exciting platform engineers in the CNCF ecosystem right now?
Corey McGalliard, Engineering Manager at Akamai Cloud, points to two areas in the CNCF landscape generating real momentum for platform engineering teams. The first is eBPF and its impact on observability and networking. The second is a broader industry shift in how platform engineering is practiced, moving away from technology-first thinking toward higher-order problem solving.
“The observability space has always been very interesting to me. Having visibility into what’s going on inside of our systems.” — Corey McGalliard, Engineering Manager, Akamai Cloud
Q: How is eBPF changing observability for cloud platform teams?
eBPF allows teams to collect detailed observability data directly from the Linux kernel without requiring granular manual instrumentation at the application layer. McGalliard notes this has materially changed how networking is handled and observed at Akamai. The ability to get reliable signal from the kernel reduces instrumentation overhead and closes visibility gaps that application-layer approaches leave behind.
“We don’t have to instrument things as granularly, but you just get information from the kernel. That’s super interesting to me.” — Corey McGalliard, Engineering Manager, Akamai Cloud
Q: What specific impact has eBPF had on cloud networking?
McGalliard describes eBPF work within the CNCF observability space as having a real impact on the way networking is done and observed. Because eBPF operates at the kernel level, it can capture network activity with precision and without the overhead of traditional monitoring agents or manual instrumentation hooks inside application code.
“The work that’s being done specifically with eBPF and observability in that space, it’s really impacted the way we do networking.” — Corey McGalliard, Engineering Manager, Akamai Cloud
Q: How is platform engineering changing as a discipline in 2026?
McGalliard observes that conversations in the platform engineering community have shifted away from technology selection and toward solving harder, higher-level problems. Rather than debating which tool to adopt, practitioners are increasingly focused on what problem actually needs to be solved and how to approach it systematically. He frames this as a sign of industry maturity.
“It’s less focused about technology, but more focused on a higher level of how we solve a problem.” — Corey McGalliard, Engineering Manager, Akamai Cloud
Q: Is the cloud native industry actually maturing when it comes to solving hard problems?
McGalliard says yes, and cites his own tenure in the space as evidence. The industry is converging around genuine problem solving rather than technology novelty. The conversations he is having with peers in platform engineering reflect a community that has moved past early-adopter enthusiasm and is now focused on real operational outcomes.
“I’ve been in this space for a while and I’m really seeing as an industry we’re really coming around to solving hard problems.” — Corey McGalliard, Engineering Manager, Akamai Cloud
Resources & Documentation
- Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), home of the cloud native ecosystem including observability and platform engineering projects
- eBPF.io, official resource for eBPF technology, use cases, and project documentation
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👇 Click to Read Full Raw Transcript
Swapnil Bhartiya: And if you look at CNCF landscape or CNCF ecosystem right now, what are some of the things? If you just narrow. Because they do a lot of things. Narrow it down to platform engineering, what do you think that gets you excited today? Things that get me excited about what’s happening at CNCF today. Don’t say AI. It’s what I’m avoiding, actually. It is a consistent conversation piece. It could be AI also. It doesn’t matter. So the observability space has always been very interesting to me. Having visibility into what’s going on inside of our systems. The work that’s being done specifically with EBPF and observability in that space, I mean, it’s really impacted the way we do networking. Right. And I have some friends who work in the observability. And so the strides that I’m seeing there, the fact that we can move into a situation to where we don’t have to instrument things as granularly, but you just get information from the kernel, that’s super interesting to me. And then yeah, man, like overall, like conversations that I’m having with people in the platform engineering space about how like it’s less focused about technology, but more focused on like a higher level of how we solve a problem. Right. And I’m been in this space for a while and I’m really seeing as an industry we’re really coming around to like solving hard problems.
