Krish Jain

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• Email: kjain7@u.rochester.edu | kjain@fedoraproject.org | kj2560@nyu.edu | krish.jain@chainguard.dev
• Mastodon: https://fosstodon.org/@krishjain
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/krishjain02

"You will the future into existence."

Undergrad | Software Engineer | Researcher | Apple WWDC Scholar | Yale Young Global Scholar

Feel free to reach out: Calendly or via email, Signal, LinkedIn Messages, or Instagram.

I’m a tech enthusiast, hacker, and cloud aficionado, currently building the future of secure operating systems while exploring AI for smarter security policies. A computer scientist by degree, I’m obsessed with making tech safer and cooler.

I interned at Chainguard, a billion-dollar unicorn shaking up software supply chain security. In my downtime, I’m crafting an OS with military-grade security (because why not?) and teaching AI to write security policies even I wouldn’t dream of.

Previously, I worked on Microsoft’s Flatcar Linux, snuck into a few tech conferences (pro tip: networking isn’t just about the invite list), and constantly pushed the boundaries of what’s possible. I’m currently automating SELinux policy analysis because it’s a challenge, and I love those.

Insatiably curious, I strive to learn, create, and make a positive impact on the world. My passions lie in health tech, infrastructure, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and developer tools—fields where technology can change lives. My diverse background, from India to Spain and now the US, fuels my collaborative spirit and desire to build a better future for all.

I worked on Secure Extensions for Image-Based Linux with the Flatcar team. Flatcar Linux is a project out of Kinvolk (now acquired by Microsoft), and I was mentored by Thilo Fromm from Microsoft Germany. Along with my internship, I'm contributing bug fixes and solving backlogs in open-source projects in my spare time.

"Krish is a super motivated engineer. He is forward-looking and driven to create new ideas and solutions. He proactively seeks feedback on his work to ensure that it is of high quality." — Scott Moser, Principal Software Engineer, Chainguard

"Krish had a positive attitude and showed enthusiasm throughout his internship. He was eager to contribute in many different areas of the company and has great potential for growth. I look forward to seeing what he does next!" — Billy Lynch, Staff Software Engineer, Chainguard

"Thanks for all your energy, enthusiasm, and hard work this summer, Krish! Your passion for Linux, distros, and security is evident in everything you do. You're destined for great things—have fun in school, and I'm happy to stay in touch!" — Dustin Kirkland, VP of Engineering, Chainguard

"Krish has a motor unlike anything I have seen in a while. It was my pleasure to work alongside him during his internship at Chainguard. He delivered and has such amazing energy about him. He's coachable, brilliant, and he gets things done. Krish's future is very bright, and I can't wait to see all the things he will build!" — Dan Papandrea, VP of Sales, Chainguard

"Throughout the internship, Krish remained highly motivated, displayed a strong eagerness to learn, and always delivered on his goals. He made significant improvements to the Flatcar project and helped create a solid foundation for our composable images initiative." — Thilo Fromm, Microsoft

"Krish quickly adapted to an unfamiliar environment and made impactful contributions. He not only worked on his core project (system extension images) but also submitted bug fixes and updates to various components of Flatcar. His curiosity and drive to solve user problems are qualities we value at Microsoft." — Jeremy Piotrowski, Microsoft

"Krish demonstrated a solid understanding of Linux and overcame obstacles in unfamiliar areas. His contributions are already part of a release, and I appreciate his hard work and wish him all the best for the future." — Kai Lüke, Microsoft

"Krish was motivated to discover and fix long-standing issues in Flatcar. He actively engaged in addressing pull request feedback, positively impacting both the maintainers and the community." — Dongsu Park, Microsoft

"Krish is a highly self-motivated individual who proactively identified and resolved issues in Flatcar Container Linux. His commitment to the project was evident through his timely and well-aligned deliverables. I highly recommend him and wish him all the best in his future endeavors." — Sayan Choudhary, Microsoft

security, linux, algorithm, infrastructure, network, databases, ios, nlp, backend development, distributed systems, high-performance computing, biotech, life sciences

• Software supply chain security
• Autonomous systems
• Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS)
• Immutable and secure container host Operating Systems (OSs)
• Browser development, particularly Chromium
• Kernel development
• Linux Userspace (systemd 👀)
• Network programming
• Distributed systems
• Compilers
• eBPF

During the last winter break, I collaborated with Dr. Kelley, an independent researcher formerly at HP Labs, on enhancing GNU screen to make it a "literate executable" capable of outputting its own source code tarball. Screen is a fundamental utility in Unix-like systems that has remained relevant since its inception in 1987. Literate executables carry around all of their own source code, making it easy for users to scrutinize the exact source corresponding to the executable on their $PATH.

A recent paper explains how to make any C/C++ program literate, expands on the advantages of literate executables, and literate-izes the GNU grep utility as an example: Link to Paper

🎉 I’m thrilled to announce that I'll be interning with Chainguard this summer on their Lifecycle Squad! They’re the visionaries behind cloud-native technologies like Google's Distroless project and Sigstore, and now they're revolutionizing how we secure open-source software at scale.

Backed by Sequoia Capital, Amplify Partners, The Chainsmokers' Mantis Venture Capital, and others, Chainguard's mission resonates with me. Their recent Series B round brought the company's total fundraising to $116 million, fueling their groundbreaking approach. Companies like GitGuardian, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Sourcegraph, Snowflake, and Replicated are already seeing the benefits of their hardened container image solution.

In the wake of the SolarWinds hack, this proactive approach to security is more vital than ever. Chainguard has cracked the code on software supply chain security by going beyond alerts and preemptively fixing vulnerabilities. This is a game-changer, letting developer and security teams breathe easier and focus on building.

The team's experience delivering software products at gigascale at Google, Microsoft, and VMware shines through in everything they do. I can't wait to dive deep into their work. If you're interested in the intersection of open source, security, and the software supply chain, let’s chat! Big thanks to the Chainguard team for this incredible opportunity!