diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 2ab199f5..4db8840a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ test: manifests generate fmt vet setup-envtest ## Run tests.
 # CertManager is installed by default; skip with:
 # - CERT_MANAGER_INSTALL_SKIP=true
 KIND_CLUSTER ?= multigres-operator-test-e2e
+KIND_CLUSTER_DEV ?= multigres-operator-dev
 
 .PHONY: setup-test-e2e
 setup-test-e2e: ## Set up a Kind cluster for e2e tests if it does not exist
@@ -91,6 +92,38 @@ test-e2e: setup-test-e2e manifests generate fmt vet ## Run the e2e tests. Expect
 cleanup-test-e2e: ## Tear down the Kind cluster used for e2e tests
 	@$(KIND) delete cluster --name $(KIND_CLUSTER)
 
+## TODO: This is only temporary, we should have more streamlined setup.
+.PHONY: deploy-kind
+deploy-kind: docker-build kustomize ## Build, load image to kind, install CRDs, and deploy operator to kind cluster
+	@echo "Setting up kind cluster '$(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV)'..."
+	@command -v $(KIND) >/dev/null 2>&1 || { \
+		echo "Kind is not installed. Please install Kind manually."; \
+		exit 1; \
+	}
+	@case "$$($(KIND) get clusters)" in \
+		*"$(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV)"*) \
+			echo "Kind cluster '$(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV)' already exists." ;; \
+		*) \
+			echo "Creating Kind cluster '$(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV)'..."; \
+			$(KIND) create cluster --name $(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV) ;; \
+	esac
+	@echo "Loading image $(IMG) into kind cluster..."
+	$(KIND) load docker-image $(IMG) --name $(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV)
+	@echo "Installing CRDs..."
+	$(KUBECTL) --context kind-$(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV) apply -k config/crd
+	@echo "Deploying operator..."
+	cd config/deploy && $(KUSTOMIZE) edit set image controller=$(IMG)
+	$(KUBECTL) --context kind-$(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV) apply -k config/deploy
+	@echo "Deployment complete! Use 'kubectl --context kind-$(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV) get pods -n multigres-operator' to check status"
+
+.PHONY: undeploy-kind
+undeploy-kind: ## Undeploy operator from kind cluster
+	$(KUBECTL) --context kind-$(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV) delete --ignore-not-found=true -k config/deploy
+
+.PHONY: cleanup-kind
+cleanup-kind: ## Delete the kind cluster used for development
+	@$(KIND) delete cluster --name $(KIND_CLUSTER_DEV)
+
 .PHONY: lint
 lint: golangci-lint ## Run golangci-lint linter
 	$(GOLANGCI_LINT) run
diff --git a/config/deploy/clusterrole.yaml b/config/deploy/clusterrole.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..43996051
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/deploy/clusterrole.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: ClusterRole
+metadata:
+  name: multigres-operator
+rules:
+  # MultiGres CRDs
+  - apiGroups: ["multigres.com"]
+    resources: ["*"]
+    verbs: ["*"]
+  # Core resources
+  - apiGroups: [""]
+    resources: ["pods", "services", "configmaps", "secrets", "persistentvolumeclaims"]
+    verbs: ["*"]
+  - apiGroups: ["apps"]
+    resources: ["deployments", "statefulsets"]
+    verbs: ["*"]
+  # Events for status updates
+  - apiGroups: [""]
+    resources: ["events"]
+    verbs: ["create", "patch"]
+  # Leases for leader election
+  - apiGroups: ["coordination.k8s.io"]
+    resources: ["leases"]
+    verbs: ["*"]
diff --git a/config/deploy/clusterrolebinding.yaml b/config/deploy/clusterrolebinding.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9336ccd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/deploy/clusterrolebinding.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: ClusterRoleBinding
+metadata:
+  name: multigres-operator
+roleRef:
+  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
+  kind: ClusterRole
+  name: multigres-operator
+subjects:
+  - kind: ServiceAccount
+    name: multigres-operator
+    namespace: multigres-operator
diff --git a/config/deploy/deployment.yaml b/config/deploy/deployment.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f3579ee4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/deploy/deployment.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: multigres-operator
+  namespace: multigres-operator
+  labels:
+    app: multigres-operator
+spec:
+  replicas: 1
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app: multigres-operator
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app: multigres-operator
+    spec:
+      serviceAccountName: multigres-operator
+      containers:
+      - name: manager
+        image: controller:latest
+        imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
+        command:
+        - /manager
+        args:
+        - --leader-elect
+        - --health-probe-bind-address=:8081
+        ports:
+        - name: health
+          containerPort: 8081
+          protocol: TCP
+        livenessProbe:
+          httpGet:
+            path: /healthz
+            port: 8081
+          initialDelaySeconds: 15
+          periodSeconds: 20
+        readinessProbe:
+          httpGet:
+            path: /readyz
+            port: 8081
+          initialDelaySeconds: 5
+          periodSeconds: 10
+        resources:
+          limits:
+            cpu: 500m
+            memory: 256Mi
+          requests:
+            cpu: 100m
+            memory: 128Mi
+        securityContext:
+          allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
+          capabilities:
+            drop:
+            - ALL
+          readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
+          runAsNonRoot: true
+      securityContext:
+        runAsNonRoot: true
+        seccompProfile:
+          type: RuntimeDefault
diff --git a/config/deploy/kustomization.yaml b/config/deploy/kustomization.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..24de158c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/deploy/kustomization.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
+kind: Kustomization
+
+resources:
+- namespace.yaml
+- serviceaccount.yaml
+- clusterrole.yaml
+- clusterrolebinding.yaml
+- deployment.yaml
+
+images:
+- name: controller
+  newName: controller
+  newTag: latest
diff --git a/config/deploy/namespace.yaml b/config/deploy/namespace.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..18ac27f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/deploy/namespace.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Namespace
+metadata:
+  name: multigres-operator
diff --git a/config/deploy/serviceaccount.yaml b/config/deploy/serviceaccount.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..239f4052
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/deploy/serviceaccount.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ServiceAccount
+metadata:
+  name: multigres-operator
+  namespace: multigres-operator
diff --git a/config/rbac/kustomization.yaml b/config/rbac/kustomization.yaml
index 7f61e08a..0e9f46ed 100644
--- a/config/rbac/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/config/rbac/kustomization.yaml
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ resources:
 # default, aiding admins in cluster management. Those roles are
 # not used by the kubebuilder itself. You can comment the following lines
 # if you do not want those helpers be installed with your Project.
-- guestbook_admin_role.yaml
-- guestbook_editor_role.yaml
-- guestbook_viewer_role.yaml
+# - guestbook_admin_role.yaml
+# - guestbook_editor_role.yaml
+# - guestbook_viewer_role.yaml
 
diff --git a/config/samples/etcd-minimal.yaml b/config/samples/etcd-minimal.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..49e7ae39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/samples/etcd-minimal.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+apiVersion: multigres.com/v1alpha1
+kind: Etcd
+metadata:
+  name: etcd-sample
+  namespace: default
+spec:
+  cellName: cell-1
diff --git a/devshell.nix b/devshell.nix
index fbaec1b5..5ddf1b1e 100644
--- a/devshell.nix
+++ b/devshell.nix
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ pkgs.mkShell {
     docker-buildx
     kubectl
     kind
+    kustomize
     golangci-lint
 
     # For some script use cases