Worked on enhancing upgrade diagnostics and modernizing Kafka testing infrastructure across rapid7/strimzi-kafka-operator and k-wall/kroxylicious repositories. Delivered a label-based pod image logging feature for Strimzi upgrade tests, refactoring Java system test utilities to accept Kubernetes LabelSelectors for more precise diagnostics and improved upgrade reliability. In kroxylicious, migrated system tests to Strimzi 0.48.0 with KRaft-only mode, updated test matrices for Docker image versioning, and refactored test templates to support ephemeral storage and dual node roles. Leveraged Java, JUnit, and Kubernetes to improve test coverage, deployment flexibility, and observability, resulting in faster release cycles and clearer upgrade traceability.