The OpenSearch Project runs on the people who show up, contribute, and help others succeed. The OpenSearch Ambassador Program is about recognizing them.
Last fall, we launched with 11 inaugural members. Since then, our ambassadors have spoken at numerous events, assisted with meetups and user group meetings, mentored community members, participated in podcasts and more. They have been a vital, visible and active force for the project across regions and industries.
So when we opened applications to the community this February, we were genuinely curious what the response would look like, and with more than 75 strong submissions, we were not disappointed.
That number matters. It tells us something real about where OpenSearch is headed. To date, the project has been downloaded more than 1.7 billion times, with more than 3,000 active contributors and more than 400 contributing organizations involved across more than 140 public repositories.
Behind those numbers is a community that is not just using OpenSearch, but showing up for it. Seventy-five people took the time to apply not for a title, but because they wanted to take on more responsibility for the health and growth of this ecosystem. That kind of energy is hard to manufacture, and we do not take it for granted.
“The response to the application cycle was a clear signal that the OpenSearch community is reaching a new level of maturity. When people want to be part of building something, not just benefiting from it. That is when a project really starts to grow on its own terms.”
~ Bianca Lewis, Executive Director, OpenSearch Project at The Linux Foundation
This cohort spans regions, industries, and technical backgrounds, but they all share one thing, a track record of helping the OpenSearch community grow in practical, inclusive ways.
Today, we are proud to welcome 10 new ambassadors, expanding the program and building on what this program has already helped us establish.
Meet the new ambassadors
This cohort spans regions, industries, and technical backgrounds, but they all share one thing in common, a track record of helping the OpenSearch community grow in practical, inclusive ways.
Achanandhi M
Open Source Advocate at EY focused on community building, contributor to multiple projects, and frequent speaker on cloud native technologies.
Aditya Soni
Senior DevOps Engineer at SailPoint, CNCF Ambassador, AWS Community Builder, and active organizer and speaker across global tech communities.
Carlos Rolo
Principal Open Source Engineer at NetApp Instaclustr with expertise in Rust, Python, and Go, creator of a time series compressor with seven patents pending, and active OpenSearch contributor.
Himanshu Ramchandani
Senior Data Engineer and Tech Lead at Sonos, focused on scalable data platforms, observability, and modern data infrastructure.
Jeevitha G
Staff Software Engineer at Juniper Networks, HPE, specializing in AI powered monitoring and search driven observability systems.
Jon Handler
Senior Principal Solutions Architect at AWS, working with customers to move search, vector, and log analytics workloads to the cloud.
Neel Shah
Developer Advocate at StackGen and global speaker, organizer, and mentor across OpenSearch, CNCF, and cloud communities.
Pietro Mele
Software engineer and Search Consultant at Adelean, focused on machine learning and hybrid search solutions.
Praveen Mohan Prasad
Data and AI Specialist at AWS, focused on information retrieval, search relevance, and AI powered search systems.
Stefano Pampaloni
CEO of Seacom and open source advocate working on observability, data platforms, and AI architectures across Europe.
What this means for OpenSearch
A growing ambassador program is not just a community milestone. It is a credibility signal for the entire ecosystem. Ambassadors amplify technical content, drive participation in events and workshops, support onboarding for new contributors, and tell the stories that help other organizations understand what OpenSearch can do. Advocates like these are a critical part of how we grow trust and reach. The path from user to contributor to ambassador is the kind of momentum that sustains open source projects over the long term. Watching that path get more well-traveled is genuinely exciting.
What’s next
Thanks to everyone who applied for this cycle. Applications will reopen this fall. In the meantime, keep an eye on the OpenSearch blog and social channels, we will be highlighting these ambassadors and the work they are doing across the community!
