Embedding Platform SREs - A Hybrid Model for Driving Adoption

Learn about a hybrid model that combines platform engineering and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) to drive platform adoption in this 15-minute conference talk from SREcon25 Europe/Middle East/Africa. Discover how Platform SREs address the challenge of driving platform adoption when feature teams focus on delivery metrics and SRE teams are overstretched. Explore how Platform SREs build self-service reliability features directly into platforms to ensure new services are production-ready from launch, while taking a different approach for legacy or business-critical systems by embedding temporarily into feature teams to lead focused reliability initiatives including observability migrations, alerting, and SLO alignment. Gain insights from real-world implementation of this model within a mid-size engineering organization, including practical lessons on team design, cultural prerequisites, and common pitfalls to avoid. Understand how this time-boxed, tactical engagement accelerates platform adoption while reducing operational burden on central SRE teams, making it valuable for platform engineers, SREs, and engineering leaders driving operational excellence at scale.