contributors/devel: add welcome-to-kubernetes-new-developer-guide.md

Also: in the `devel/README.md` "directory" file link to the
"welcome-to-kubernetes" doc.

2 files changed, 98 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/contributors/devel/README.md b/contributors/devel/README.md
index 17c03650..5e5490ee 100644
--- a/contributors/devel/README.md
+++ b/contributors/devel/README.md
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ Guide](http://kubernetes.io/docs/admin/).
 
 ## The process of developing and contributing code to the Kubernetes project
 
+* **Welcome to Kubernetes (New Developer Guide)**
+  ([welcome-to-kubernetes-new-developer-guide.md](welcome-to-kubernetes-new-developer-guide.md)):
+  An introductory guide to contributing to K8s.
+
 * **On Collaborative Development** ([collab.md](collab.md)): Info on pull requests and code reviews.
 
 * **GitHub Issues** ([issues.md](issues.md)): How incoming issues are triaged.
diff --git a/contributors/devel/welcome-to-kubernetes-new-developer-guide.md b/contributors/devel/welcome-to-kubernetes-new-developer-guide.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8cddd2fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contributors/devel/welcome-to-kubernetes-new-developer-guide.md
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+
+Welcome to Kubernetes! (New Developer Guide)
+============================================
+
+_This document assumes that you know what Kubernetes does. If you don't, check
+out [the Kubernetes keynote](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SvQqZNP6uo) and
+try the demo at [https://k8s.io/](https://k8s.io/)._
+
+Introduction
+------------
+
+Have you ever wanted to contribute to the coolest cloud technology? This
+document will help you understand the organization of the Kubernetes project and
+direct you to the best places to get started. By the end of this doc, you'll be
+able to pick up issues, write code to fix them, and get your work reviewed and
+merged.
+
+If you have questions about the development process, feel free to jump into our
+[Slack Channel](http://slack.k8s.io/) or join our [mailing
+list](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/kubernetes-dev).
+
+Special Interest Groups
+-----------------------
+
+Kubernetes developers work in teams called Special Interest Groups (SIGs). At
+the time of this writing there are [31 SIGs](../../sig-list.md).
+
+The developers within each SIG have autonomy and ownership over that SIG's part
+of Kubernetes. SIGs organize themselves by meeting regularly and submitting
+markdown design documents to the
+[kubernetes/community](https://github.com/kubernetes/community) repository. You
+can see an example of the design document process at
+[kubernetes/community#645](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/pull/645).
+Like everything else in Kubernetes, a SIG is an open, community, effort. Anybody
+is welcome to jump into a SIG and begin fixing issues, critiquing design
+proposals and reviewing code.
+
+Most people who visit the Kubernetes repository for the first time are
+bewildered by the thousands of [open
+issues](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues) in our main repository.
+But now that you know about SIGs, it's easy to filter by labels to see what's
+going on in a particular SIG. For more information about our issue system, check
+out
+[issues.md](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/contributors/devel/issues.md).
+
+Downloading, Building, and Testing Kubernetes
+---------------------------------------------
+
+This guide is non-technical, so it does not cover the technical details of
+working Kubernetes. We have plenty of documentation available under
+[github.com/kubernetes/community/contributors/devel](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/master/contributors/devel).
+Check out
+[development.md](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/contributors/devel/development.md)
+for more details.
+
+Pull-Request Process
+--------------------
+
+The pull-request process is documented in [pull-requests.md](pull-requests.md).
+As described in that document, you must sign the [CLA](../../CLA.md) before
+Kubernetes can accept your contribution.
+
+There is an entire SIG
+([sig-contributor-experience](../../sig-contributor-experience/README.md))
+devoted to improving your experience as a contributor. Contributing to
+Kubernetes should be easy. If you find a rough edge, let us know!  File an issue
+in the appropriate repository if you know it, send a message on [our Slack
+channel](https://kubernetes.slack.com/messages/C1TU9EB9S/details) or to the
+[owners](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/contributors/devel/owners.md)
+of contributor-experience. Better yet, help us fix it by joining the SIG; just
+show up to one of the [bi-weekly
+meetings](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qf-02B7EOrItQgwXFxgqZ5qjW0mtfu5qkYIF1Hl4ZLI/edit).
+
+The Release Process and Code Freeze
+-----------------------------------
+
+Every so often @k8s-merge-robot will refuse to merge your PR, saying something
+about release milestones. This happens when we are in a code freeze for a
+release. In order to ensure Kubernetes is stable, we stop merging everything
+that's not a bugfix, then focus on making all the release tests pass. This code
+freeze usually lasts two weeks and happens once per quarter. See the [1.8 release
+schedule](https://github.com/kubernetes/features/blob/master/release-1.8/release-1.8.md)
+for more information.
+
+If you're new to Kubernetes, you won't have to worry about this too much. After
+you've contributed for a few months, you will be added as a [community
+member](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/community-membership.md)
+and take ownership of some of the tests. At this point, you'll work with members
+of your SIG to review PRs coming into your area and track down issues that occur
+in tests.
+
+Thanks for reading!
+
+