Kelsey has the answer for you: "Kubernetes is a platform for building platforms. It's a better place to start; not the endgame." (https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/93525292372179353...)

As an application developer, you probably also don't work with the Kernel and syscalls directly (anymore), so I guess you can expect higher abstractions and a smoother experience for Kubernetes in the future.