Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for a compute cluster comprising placement and load balancing (PLB) logic that receives data (e.g., state metadata) relating to a service (e.g., database service) executing on the compute cluster, from a resource manager executing on the compute cluster, via a first API associated with the resource manager. The PLB logic receives second data from the service via a second API and determines whether a PLB action is indicated based on one of the second data or a combination of the first data and the second data. When a PLB action is indicated, the PLB logic sends a command to the resource manager to execute the PLB action. The PLB logic also receives queries from clients external to the compute cluster and may spawn a child PLB logic to offload PLB operations, respond to queries, or perform software validation in the child.