conf · One-off
Northern DevOps & Platform Conf
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
Northern DevOps & Platform Conference is a full-day event organised jointly by Yorkshire DevOps and the Yorkshire Azure User Group (YAG), hosted at CGI's offices at 1 Whitehall Quay on Tuesday 19 May 2026. Doors open at 9:00 AM and the day runs through to 6:00 PM BST. It has been four years in the making.
The programme covers platform engineering, AI augmentation of the software development lifecycle, team topologies, database indexing, mandated pipelines, and the practical realities of moving from DevOps to platform engineering. The opening keynote is delivered by Matthew Skelton, Founder and CEO/CTO of Conflux, speaking on Team Topologies as the infrastructure for agency with AI. Beyond the keynote, the day includes a panel on the future of DevOps, platform and AI, a set of lightning talks, and sessions from engineers and architects at Skipton Building Society, Optum UK (EMIS Health), HSBC, Trustpilot, Lloyds Banking Group and Digital Endeavours, among others.
Tickets are priced at £60 for community attendees — described as 50% off the standard rate. Organisations are encouraged to purchase organisation-funded tickets to keep the event accessible; free tickets are available for those who need support to attend, via ethan.sumner@communitystack.io. Food, drink and cake are provided. Attendees who register before 30 April receive a special edition conference T-shirt.
Sponsors include CGI as headline partner, Conflux, Overmind and Ada Meher as platinum sponsors, and Digital Endeavours and the Financial Conduct Authority as event partners. The conference is a one-off event, not a regular meetup, though it grows out of the long-running Yorkshire DevOps community.
Why attend
The speaker list is drawn from working engineers and architects at recognisable organisations — Skipton Building Society, HSBC, Trustpilot, Lloyds Banking Group, Optum UK. These are not vendor pitches; the sessions cover real pipeline problems, platform engineering transitions and the practical use of AI in delivery workflows.
At £60 for a full day including food and drink, the cost is low relative to comparable conferences. The event brings together two established Yorkshire communities — Yorkshire DevOps and YAG — so the networking is with people who are actually based in the region and working on similar problems.
Agenda
- 9:00 AM — Doors open
- Opening Keynote — Matthew Skelton (Conflux): Team Topologies as the Infrastructure for Agency with AI
- Session — Darren Hull (Skipton Building Society): TBC
- Session — Alexandra Helen Moore (CGI): Enterprise DevOps
- Session — 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)
- Session — Andy Blagnys (Axiologik): Mandated Pipelines and the Architecture Glue We Pretend Exists
- Session — Brian Walker (HSBC): Types of Indexes in Databases
- Session — Vernon Richards (Phrase): Your Pipeline Wasn't Built For This
- Session — 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
- 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 DevOps
Yorkshire DevOps is a Leeds-based community group for engineers and practitioners working in DevOps, platform engineering and cloud. They run regular meetups across Yorkshire and co-host this conference alongside the Yorkshire Azure User Group (YAG). The groups collectively bring together practitioners from across the region.
Venue
CGI Leeds, City Centre
CGI's Leeds office sits at 1 Whitehall Quay on the south bank of the River Aire, a short walk from Leeds train station. CGI are the headline sponsor and event partner for the conference.
FAQs
- How much does a ticket cost?
- Community tickets are £60, described as 50% off the standard rate. Organisation-funded tickets are also available for employers covering the cost. 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. That's on the south bank of the Aire, close to Leeds city centre rail station.
- Do I need to register in advance?
- Yes. Tickets are available via the Meetup event page. Register before 30 April to receive a special edition conference T-shirt.
- Is food provided?
- Yes. Food, drink and cake are provided throughout the day.
- Is this an in-person event?
- Yes, it is fully in-person at CGI Leeds. No hybrid or online option is mentioned in the event details.