--- title: "Design partners" description: "A design partner is an organization that adopts NovaFabric in a real workflow before v1.0 and trades regular feedback for direct influence over the spec." canonical: https://novafabric.ai/docs/governance/design-partners/ last_updated: 2026-10-22 source: https://github.com/MSKazemi/novafabric/blob/main/docs/governance/design-partners.md --- # Design partners **Status: open — 0 of 5 cohort-1 slots filled, 0 of 3 independent sign-offs on the v1.0 spec.** If you run real AI or HPC workloads and want a say in a format you will have to live with, this is the moment where your input changes the outcome. A **design partner** is an organization that adopts NovaFabric in a real workflow before v1.0 and trades regular feedback for direct influence over the spec. It is not a customer relationship — the project has no commercial offering and design-partner status is free. --- ## Why the program exists The Run Capsule format and the Replay Engine contract are the two artifacts NovaFabric is most committed to. **If they are frozen at v1.0 against an imagined user instead of a real one, the project fails** — the format will not survive contact with production workloads. The program exists to prevent exactly that: - Surface real capture/replay scenarios *before* they arrive as bug reports against a 1.0 release - Stress the schema against workloads the maintainers have no access to — large-scale HPC, regulated data, agent frameworks we don't run - Build a citable adoption record **Freezing the v1.0 spec requires 3 independent design-partner sign-offs.** The maintainers' own validation explicitly does not count toward that number. This is the single largest gate on v1.0, and no amount of engineering unblocks it. **Status (2026-10-08):** pre-freeze ready on technical gates; **0 of 3** required independent sign-offs recorded. One maintainer self-validation record exists and does not count. The same gate governs both the Run Capsule v1.0 format freeze and OAS v1.0 *Adopted* status — the capsule format is one of the OAS v1.0 component specs. --- ## The first cohort — deliberately small, deliberately diverse | Slot | Profile | Why this profile | |---|---|---| | 1 | **University HPC lab** running ML on a SLURM cluster | Validates the SLURM runner; HPC is the project's distinct wedge | | 2 | **National lab or research institute** with multi-cluster workflows | Tests the K8s↔SLURM bridge; brings audit scrutiny | | 3 | **AI startup shipping LLM agents** in production | Validates capsule fidelity for agent workflows and the framework adapters | | 4 | **Enterprise platform team** in a regulated industry | Validates the Evidence Bundle and the threat model against real compliance needs | | 5 | **Open-source agent-framework author** | Validates the spec direction; brings ecosystem credibility | We do not approach any vendor whose product directly competes with a NovaFabric primitive. --- ## What you commit to **Adoption** — use NovaFabric in a real workflow within 90 days of joining; provide a written workflow description (kept private); share at least 5 real capsules per quarter, redacted as needed, for spec validation. **Feedback** — one 30-minute call per quarter with the project lead; asynchronous feedback on RFCs affecting your workflow within the comment window; a reasonable response to direct spec-review asks, target one week. **Authorization** — a named engineer permitted to participate in RFCs and code review on company time. **Conduct** — your organization and its representatives uphold the [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/MSKazemi/novafabric/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md). --- ## What you get **Influence on the spec** - Your feedback is explicitly weighted in RFC review alongside maintainer comments when judging consensus - Requested features get a `dp-requested` label and rise in roadmap planning - Your representatives may co-author RFCs without being maintainers **Early access** — release candidates two weeks ahead of public release, and a direct channel for workflow questions. **Recognition** — listed with your logo (opt-in) in the README and on the project website; cited in foundation applications; invited to co-present. **What you explicitly do not get** — a discount or revenue share (there is nothing to discount); veto rights (final say stays with the project lead and later the TSC — your feedback is input, weighted input, but input); source rights beyond the public Apache-2.0 license; private features or forks. --- ## How to apply Email **[hello@novafabric.ai](mailto:hello@novafabric.ai)** with the subject line "Design partner", and include: - Organization name - Your primary use case, one or two paragraphs - A named engineering representative and their availability - Any NovaFabric capability you need or are currently blocked on The project lead reviews and either accepts, asks for more information, or declines with reasons. **First response within 2 weeks.** Not ready to commit an organization? [Open a Discussion](https://github.com/MSKazemi/novafabric/discussions) instead — informal feedback on the spec is welcome from anyone and needs no paperwork. --- ## See also - [RFC process](https://novafabric.ai/docs/governance/rfc-process/) — how spec changes get proposed and decided - [GOVERNANCE.md](https://github.com/MSKazemi/novafabric/blob/main/GOVERNANCE.md) — roles and decision-making - [ROADMAP.md](https://github.com/MSKazemi/novafabric/blob/main/ROADMAP.md) — what v1.0 still needs