conf · One-off
Northern DevOps & Platform Conference
A full-day DevOps and platform engineering conference in Leeds city centre
When
Tuesday 19 May
Time
08:00
Venue
CGI Leeds
City Centre
Price
£60
Four years in the making, the Northern DevOps & Platform Conference lands at CGI Leeds on Tuesday 19 May 2026. Yorkshire DevOps and Yorkshire Azure User Group (YAG) are co-hosting the event in partnership with CGI at 1 Whitehall Quay, running from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM BST. Food, drink and cake are provided.
The programme covers team topologies, AI-augmented software delivery, platform engineering, database indexing, mandated pipelines and the organisational realities of DevOps transformation. Matthew Skelton, Founder & CEO/CTO of Conflux, delivers the opening keynote on Team Topologies as the infrastructure for agency with AI. A panel on the future of DevOps, Platform and AI features speakers from Skipton Building Society, Trustpilot and independent practitioners. Lightning talks round out the day, with contributions from Axiologik, Lloyds Banking Group and Digital Endeavours. Several sessions are still to be confirmed.
The audience is working engineers, architects, platform leads and engineering managers. Talks range from hands-on technical sessions — Vernon Richards of Phrase on pipeline design, Brian Walker of HSBC on database index types — to strategic and organisational perspectives from practitioners at Optum UK, CGI and independent consultants.
Yorkshire Azure User Group and Yorkshire DevOps are two of the most active community groups in the Leeds tech scene. This conference is their first joint full-day event, backed by sponsors including Overmind as Global Platinum Sponsor, Searchability as Platinum and Recruitment Sponsor, and Lloyds Banking Group and CGI as event partners. Community tickets are priced at £60, described as 50% off the standard rate. Free tickets are available for those who need support to attend — contact ethan.sumner@communitystack.io.
Why attend
The speaker list is unusually strong for a regional conference. Matthew Skelton wrote the book on Team Topologies; the rest of the lineup includes senior engineers and architects from Skipton Building Society, HSBC, Trustpilot, Optum UK and Lloyds Banking Group. These are practitioners talking about real systems, not vendor pitches.
Register before 30 April and you receive a limited-edition conference T-shirt. The organisers explicitly ask that anyone whose employer will fund their ticket selects an organisation-funded option, to keep community pricing available and free tickets accessible to those who need them.
Agenda
- 9:00 AM — Doors open
- Opening Keynote: Matthew Skelton (Conflux) — Team Topologies as the Infrastructure for Agency with AI
- Darren Hull (Skipton Building Society) — TBC
- Alexandra Helen Moore (CGI) — Enterprise DevOps
- Luke Smith (Optum UK / EMIS Health) — Augmenting the SDLC with AI
- Panel: Future of DevOps, Platform and AI — Tom Black (Skipton Building Society), Christina Howell (Independent), Jonny Brodie (Trustpilot), TBC
- Andy Blagnys (Axiologik) — Mandated Pipelines and the Architecture Glue We Pretend Exists
- Brian Walker (HSBC) — Types of Indexes in Databases
- Vernon Richards (Phrase) — Your Pipeline Wasn't Built For This
- Andy Burgin (Independent) — From DevOps to Platform Engineering: A Journey of Noise and Confusion
- Lightning Talks: David Sugden (Axiologik) — The Complexity Paradox; Holly Jukes (Lloyds Banking Group) — Stop Building. Start Deciding; Adam King (Digital Endeavours) — From Alpha to Handover: Shipping Government Platform Infrastructure
- 6:00 PM — Close
Speakers
- Matthew Skelton — Founder & CEO/CTO, Conflux; author of Team Topologies. Opening keynote.
- Darren Hull — Senior Lead Architect, Skipton Building Society
- Alexandra Helen Moore — DevOps Strategic Advisor, CGI
- Luke Smith — Principal Solutions Architect, Optum UK (EMIS Health)
- Tom Black — Principal Engineer, Skipton Building Society
- Christina Howell — Fractional CTO & CAIO, Independent
- Jonny Brodie — Senior Platform / Cloud Security Engineer, Trustpilot
- Andy Blagnys — Senior Architect, Axiologik
- Brian Walker — Technical Specialist, HSBC
- Vernon Richards — Senior Engineering Manager, Phrase
- Andy Burgin — Principal Platform Engineer, Independent
- David Sugden — Axiologik (Lightning Talk)
- Holly Jukes — Lloyds Banking Group (Lightning Talk)
- Adam King — Digital Endeavours (Lightning Talk)
Organiser
Yorkshire Azure User Group (YAG)
Yorkshire Azure User Group (YAG) and Yorkshire DevOps are Leeds-based community groups running regular meetups for engineers and architects working with cloud and DevOps tooling. This conference is their first joint full-day event, organised under the Community Stack umbrella. Both groups have been active in the Leeds tech scene for several years.
Venue
CGI Leeds, City Centre
CGI Leeds occupies 1 Whitehall Quay on the south bank of the River Aire, a short walk from Leeds city centre rail and bus connections. CGI are also a headline sponsor of the event.
FAQs
- How much does a ticket cost?
- Community tickets are £60, described as 50% off the standard rate. If your employer is funding your place, the organisers ask you to select an organisation-funded ticket to keep community pricing available. Free tickets are available for those who need support — email ethan.sumner@communitystack.io.
- Where is the venue?
- CGI Leeds, 1 Whitehall Quay, Leeds, LS1 4HR. It is in Leeds city centre, close to the train station and major bus routes.
- When does the event run?
- Tuesday 19 May 2026, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM BST.
- Is food provided?
- Yes. Food, drink and cake are provided on the day.
- Do I need to register before a certain date to get the T-shirt?
- Yes. Register before 30 April 2026 to receive a special-edition conference T-shirt.