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
Yorkshire DevOps and the Yorkshire Azure User Group (YAG) have been planning this one for four years. On Tuesday 19 May 2026, they're finally running it: the Northern DevOps & Platform Conference, hosted at CGI's offices at 1 Whitehall Quay, Leeds, running 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM BST.
The day covers DevOps, platform engineering and AI's growing role in both. Matthew Skelton, founder and CEO/CTO of Conflux, opens with a keynote on Team Topologies as infrastructure for agency with AI. From there the programme moves through sessions on augmenting the software delivery lifecycle with AI (Luke Smith, Optum UK), enterprise DevOps strategy (Alexandra Helen Moore, CGI), mandated pipelines and architecture (Andy Blagnys, Axiologik), database indexing (Brian Walker, HSBC) and pipeline design for platform engineering (Vernon Richards, Phrase). Andy Burgin traces a journey from DevOps to platform engineering. A panel on the future of DevOps, platform and AI features Tom Black (Skipton Building Society), Christina Howell (fractional CTO and CAIO) and Jonny Brodie (Trustpilot).
Lightning talks come from David Sugden at Axiologik on the complexity paradox, Holly Jukes from Lloyds Banking Group on decision-making over building, and Adam King from Digital Endeavours on shipping government platform infrastructure.
Food, drink and cake are included. Tickets are £60 for community attendees — described as 50% off — with organisation-funded tickets available for those whose employer is covering the cost. Free tickets exist for those who need support to attend; contact ethan.sumner@communitystack.io. Registering before 30 April gets you 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.
Why attend
The speaker list is unusually specific to the northern tech scene: engineers and architects from Skipton Building Society, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Trustpilot and Optum UK are all presenting or on the panel. These are practitioners talking about real systems, not vendor pitches.
For anyone working in platform engineering or DevOps in Yorkshire, this is the largest local gathering of that community in recent memory. The day runs from 9 AM to 6 PM with food and drink included, so there's genuine time to have conversations between sessions rather than rushing between back-to-back talks.
Agenda
- 9:00 AM — Doors open
- Opening keynote — Matthew Skelton (Conflux): Team Topologies as the Infrastructure for Agency with AI
- Session — Alexandra Helen Moore (CGI): Enterprise DevOps
- Session — Luke Smith (Optum UK / EMIS Health): Augmenting the SDLC with AI
- 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
- Panel — Future of DevOps, Platform and AI: Tom Black (Skipton Building Society), Christina Howell (Fractional CTO & CAIO), Jonny Brodie (Trustpilot), Darren Hull (Skipton Building Society)
- Lightning talks — David Sugden (Axiologik), Holly Jukes (Lloyds Banking Group), Adam King (Digital Endeavours)
- 6:00 PM — Close
Speakers
- Matthew Skelton — Founder & CEO/CTO, Conflux; opening keynote on Team Topologies and AI
- 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 working in DevOps and platform engineering. They run regular meetups across Yorkshire and co-organised this conference alongside the Yorkshire Azure User Group (YAG). The groups collectively bring together practitioners from across the region's tech sector.
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 station. CGI are the headline sponsor and host for the event.
FAQs
- How much does a ticket cost?
- Community tickets are £60, described as 50% off the full price. Organisation-funded tickets are also available for those whose employer is covering the cost.
- Are free tickets available?
- Yes. If you need support to attend, email ethan.sumner@communitystack.io to request a free ticket.
- Where exactly is the venue?
- CGI Leeds, 1 Whitehall Quay, Leeds, LS1 4HR — city centre, close to Leeds railway station.
- Is food provided?
- Yes. Food, drink and cake are included in the ticket price.
- Do I get anything for registering early?
- Registering before 30 April 2026 gets you a special edition conference T-shirt.