The Certified Cloud Native Platform Engineering Associate (CNPA) course is expertly designed to help you confidently prepare for and clear the CNPA certification exam. Tailored for early-career platform engineers and cloud professionals, this course bridges foundational cloud-native concepts with practical platform engineering applications, focusing on automation, developer experience, security, and observability within modern cloud environments.
Through a blend of theoretical knowledge, scenario-based learning, and engaging drag-and-drop games, you'll develop the skills to create scalable, secure, and self-service internal developer platforms (IDPs) that empower development teams to innovate efficiently. The curriculum emphasizes real-world scenarios, platform engineering best practices, and the strategic use of cloud-native tools and processes to enhance platform reliability and developer productivity.
Course Modules & Learning Outcomes
- Platform Engineering Core Fundamentals
The Platform Engineering Core Fundamentals module introduces foundational concepts, including declarative infrastructure, resource management, DevOps practices, platform architecture, and continuous integration. By mastering these areas, you'll gain the essential skills to design and operate effective cloud-native platforms.
- Platform Observability, Security, and Conformance
This module covers the essentials of platform observability—metrics, logs, traces, and events—alongside security best practices, policy engines, and compliance in CI/CD pipelines. You'll learn to implement robust observability and security measures to ensure platform reliability and regulatory conformance.
- Continuous Delivery and Platform Engineering
Explore continuous delivery and GitOps workflows, incident response, and the integration of CI/CD pipelines with platform operations. This module equips you to automate software delivery and efficiently manage platform incidents.
- Platform APIs and Provisioning Infrastructure
Delve into Kubernetes APIs, reconciliation loops, custom resource definitions (CRDs), and operator patterns, as well as infrastructure provisioning with Kubernetes-based tools. You'll gain the skills to extend and automate platform capabilities through APIs and infrastructure-as-code.
- Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) and Developer Experience
Learn to build user-friendly developer portals, service catalogs, and API-driven platform services, while enhancing developer experience with automation and AI/ML in platform workflows. This module focuses on creating platforms that boost developer productivity and satisfaction.
- Measuring Your Platform
This module introduces platform efficiency and operational metrics, including DORA metrics for deployment frequency, lead time, change failure rate, and MTTR. You'll develop the ability to measure platform performance and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
Course Features
- Exam-focused preparation: Every module is aligned to the CNPA exam blueprint, ensuring you gain the knowledge and confidence needed to pass the certification.
- Interactive drag-and-drop games: Reinforce your understanding of key concepts through engaging, hands-on activities that make learning both effective and enjoyable.
- Comprehensive coverage: From core platform engineering fundamentals to advanced topics like security, observability, and developer experience.
- Scenario-based assessments: Practice with real-world scenarios to solidify your readiness for the CNPA exam.
- Modern cloud-native tools and practices: Including Kubernetes, GitOps, CI/CD, and infrastructure automation.
- Career advancement: Ideal for professionals aiming to become proficient platform engineers or transition into leadership roles.
About This Certification
The Certified Cloud Native Platform Engineering Associate (CNPA) is a pre-professional certification developed by the CNCF and Linux Foundation to validate foundational knowledge and practical skills in platform engineering within cloud-native environments. It is ideal for those looking to demonstrate their ability to build and manage internal developer platforms (IDPs), implement automation, and work with modern tools like Kubernetes.
Earning the CNPA certification proves your expertise in key areas such as DevOps practices, security, observability, and infrastructure provisioning. It offers industry recognition, supports career advancement, and provides a vendor-neutral credential that is applicable across all cloud-native ecosystems—making it a strong foundation for more advanced certifications and leadership roles in platform engineering.
Who Should Enroll?
- Cloud engineers and DevOps professionals seeking to specialize in platform engineering.
- Software engineers interested in infrastructure automation and cloud-native platform design.
- IT professionals aspiring to roles such as Platform Architect or Engineering Manager.
- Anyone preparing for the Certified Cloud Native Platform Engineering Associate (CNPA) certification exam.
Equip yourself with the skills and confidence to design, build, and manage scalable, secure, and developer-friendly cloud-native platforms and clear the CNPA exam with this practical, industry-aligned course featuring interactive drag-and-drop games and scenario-based learning.