diff --git a/internal/pkg/composable/providers/kubernetes/pod.go b/internal/pkg/composable/providers/kubernetes/pod.go
index 996b35ee9c4..38927ad33ee 100644
--- a/internal/pkg/composable/providers/kubernetes/pod.go
+++ b/internal/pkg/composable/providers/kubernetes/pod.go
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
+	v1 "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
+
 	"github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-autodiscover/kubernetes"
 	"github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-autodiscover/kubernetes/metadata"
 	"github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-autodiscover/utils"
@@ -104,11 +106,12 @@ func NewPodEventer(
 	// Deployment -> Replicaset -> Pod
 	// CronJob -> job -> Pod
 	if metaConf.Deployment {
-		replicaSetWatcher, err = kubernetes.NewNamedWatcher("resource_metadata_enricher_rs", client, &kubernetes.ReplicaSet{}, kubernetes.WatchOptions{
+		// use a custom watcher here, so we can provide a transform function and limit the data we're storing
+		replicaSetWatcher, err = NewNamedWatcher("resource_metadata_enricher_rs", client, &kubernetes.ReplicaSet{}, kubernetes.WatchOptions{
 			SyncTimeout:  cfg.SyncPeriod,
 			Namespace:    cfg.Namespace,
 			HonorReSyncs: true,
-		}, nil)
+		}, nil, removeUnnecessaryReplicaSetData)
 		if err != nil {
 			logger.Errorf("Error creating watcher for %T due to error %+v", &kubernetes.Namespace{}, err)
 		}
@@ -539,3 +542,19 @@ func hintsCheck(annotations mapstr.M, container string, prefix string, validate
 	}
 	return hints, incorrecthints
 }
+
+// removeUnnecessaryReplicaSetData removes all data from a ReplicaSet resource, except what we need to compute
+// Pod metadata. Which is just the name and owner references.
+func removeUnnecessaryReplicaSetData(obj interface{}) (interface{}, error) {
+	old, ok := obj.(v1.ReplicaSet)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("obj is not a ReplicaSet")
+	}
+	transformed := v1.ReplicaSet{}
+	transformed.ObjectMeta = kubernetes.ObjectMeta{
+		Name:            old.GetName(),
+		Namespace:       old.GetNamespace(),
+		OwnerReferences: old.GetOwnerReferences(),
+	}
+	return transformed, nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/pkg/composable/providers/kubernetes/watcher.go b/internal/pkg/composable/providers/kubernetes/watcher.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..eda0af70705
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/pkg/composable/providers/kubernetes/watcher.go
@@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
+// Copyright Elasticsearch B.V. and/or licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one
+// or more contributor license agreements. Licensed under the Elastic License 2.0;
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License 2.0.
+
+package kubernetes
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"time"
+
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+	utilruntime "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/runtime"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/cache"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/util/workqueue"
+
+	autodiscoverK8s "github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-autodiscover/kubernetes"
+	"github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs/logp"
+)
+
+const (
+	add    = "add"
+	update = "update"
+	delete = "delete"
+)
+
+var (
+	accessor = meta.NewAccessor()
+)
+
+// some type aliases to avoid unnecessarily long declarations
+type (
+	ResourceEventHandler = autodiscoverK8s.ResourceEventHandler
+	Resource             = autodiscoverK8s.Resource
+	Namespace            = autodiscoverK8s.Namespace
+	Node                 = autodiscoverK8s.Node
+	WatchOptions         = autodiscoverK8s.WatchOptions
+	Watcher              = autodiscoverK8s.Watcher
+)
+
+type item struct {
+	object    interface{}
+	objectRaw interface{}
+	state     string
+}
+
+type watcher struct {
+	client       kubernetes.Interface
+	informer     cache.SharedInformer
+	store        cache.Store
+	queue        workqueue.Interface //nolint:staticcheck // TODO: use the typed version
+	ctx          context.Context
+	stop         context.CancelFunc
+	handler      ResourceEventHandler
+	logger       *logp.Logger
+	cachedObject runtime.Object
+}
+
+// NOTE: This watcher implementation is identical to the one in autodiscovery, with the single difference
+// that it allows setting a transform function on the informer.
+// This is necessary to avoid storing a lot of unnecessary ReplicaSet data.
+
+// NewWatcher initializes the watcher client to provide a events handler for
+// resource from the cluster (filtered to the given node)
+func NewWatcher(
+	client kubernetes.Interface,
+	resource Resource,
+	opts WatchOptions,
+	indexers cache.Indexers,
+	transformFunc cache.TransformFunc,
+) (Watcher, error) {
+	return NewNamedWatcher("", client, resource, opts, indexers, transformFunc)
+}
+
+// NewNamedWatcher initializes the watcher client to provide an events handler for
+// resource from the cluster (filtered to the given node) and also allows to name the k8s
+// client's workqueue that is used by the watcher. Workqueue name is important for exposing workqueue
+// metrics, if it is empty, its metrics will not be logged by the k8s client.
+func NewNamedWatcher(
+	name string,
+	client kubernetes.Interface,
+	resource Resource,
+	opts WatchOptions,
+	indexers cache.Indexers,
+	transformFunc cache.TransformFunc,
+) (Watcher, error) {
+	var store cache.Store
+	var queue workqueue.Interface //nolint:staticcheck // TODO: use the typed version
+	var cachedObject runtime.Object
+	informer, _, err := autodiscoverK8s.NewInformer(client, resource, opts, indexers)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	store = informer.GetStore()
+	queue = workqueue.NewNamed(name)
+
+	if opts.IsUpdated == nil {
+		opts.IsUpdated = func(o, n interface{}) bool {
+			oldVersion, _ := accessor.ResourceVersion(o.(runtime.Object))
+			newVersion, _ := accessor.ResourceVersion(n.(runtime.Object))
+
+			// Only enqueue changes that have a different resource versions to avoid processing resyncs.
+			return oldVersion != newVersion
+		}
+	}
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.TODO())
+	w := &watcher{
+		client:       client,
+		informer:     informer,
+		store:        store,
+		queue:        queue,
+		ctx:          ctx,
+		cachedObject: cachedObject,
+		stop:         cancel,
+		logger:       logp.NewLogger("kubernetes"),
+		handler:      autodiscoverK8s.NoOpEventHandlerFuncs{},
+	}
+
+	_, err = w.informer.AddEventHandler(cache.ResourceEventHandlerFuncs{
+		AddFunc: func(o interface{}) {
+			w.enqueue(o, add)
+		},
+		DeleteFunc: func(o interface{}) {
+			w.enqueue(o, delete)
+		},
+		UpdateFunc: func(o, n interface{}) {
+			if opts.IsUpdated(o, n) {
+				w.enqueue(n, update)
+			} else if opts.HonorReSyncs {
+				// HonorReSyncs ensure that at the time when the kubernetes client does a "resync", i.e, a full list of all
+				// objects we make sure that autodiscover processes them. Why is this necessary? An effective control loop works
+				// based on two state changes, a list and a watch. A watch is triggered each time the state of the system changes.
+				// However, there is no guarantee that all events from a watch are processed by the receiver. To ensure that missed events
+				// are properly handled, a period re-list is done to ensure that every state within the system is effectively handled.
+				// In this case, we are making sure that we are enqueueing an "add" event because, an runner that is already in Running
+				// state should just be deduped by autodiscover and not stop/started periodically as would be the case with an update.
+				w.enqueue(n, add)
+			}
+
+			//We check the type of resource and only if it is namespace or node return the cacheObject
+			switch resource.(type) {
+			case *Namespace:
+				w.cacheObject(o)
+			case *Node:
+				w.cacheObject(o)
+			}
+		},
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	if transformFunc != nil {
+		err = informer.SetTransform(transformFunc)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+
+	return w, nil
+}
+
+// AddEventHandler adds a resource handler to process each request that is coming into the watcher
+func (w *watcher) AddEventHandler(h ResourceEventHandler) {
+	w.handler = h
+}
+
+// GetEventHandler returns the watcher's event handler
+func (w *watcher) GetEventHandler() ResourceEventHandler {
+	return w.handler
+}
+
+// Store returns the store object for the resource that is being watched
+func (w *watcher) Store() cache.Store {
+	return w.store
+}
+
+// Client returns the kubernetes client object used by the watcher
+func (w *watcher) Client() kubernetes.Interface {
+	return w.client
+}
+
+// CachedObject returns the old object in cache during the last updated event
+func (w *watcher) CachedObject() runtime.Object {
+	return w.cachedObject
+}
+
+// Start watching pods
+func (w *watcher) Start() error {
+	go w.informer.Run(w.ctx.Done())
+
+	if !cache.WaitForCacheSync(w.ctx.Done(), w.informer.HasSynced) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("kubernetes informer unable to sync cache")
+	}
+
+	w.logger.Debugf("cache sync done")
+
+	// Wrap the process function with wait.Until so that if the controller crashes, it starts up again after a second.
+	go wait.Until(func() {
+		for w.process(w.ctx) {
+		}
+	}, time.Second*1, w.ctx.Done())
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (w *watcher) Stop() {
+	w.queue.ShutDown()
+	w.stop()
+}
+
+// enqueue takes the most recent object that was received, figures out the namespace/name of the object
+// and adds it to the work queue for processing.
+func (w *watcher) enqueue(obj interface{}, state string) {
+	// DeletionHandlingMetaNamespaceKeyFunc that we get a key only if the resource's state is not Unknown.
+	key, err := cache.DeletionHandlingMetaNamespaceKeyFunc(obj)
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+	if deleted, ok := obj.(cache.DeletedFinalStateUnknown); ok {
+		w.logger.Debugf("Enqueued DeletedFinalStateUnknown contained object: %+v", deleted.Obj)
+		obj = deleted.Obj
+	}
+	w.queue.Add(&item{key, obj, state})
+}
+
+// cacheObject updates watcher with the old version of cache objects before change during update events
+func (w *watcher) cacheObject(o interface{}) {
+	if old, ok := o.(runtime.Object); !ok {
+		utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("expected object in cache got %#v", o))
+	} else {
+		w.cachedObject = old
+	}
+}
+
+// process gets the top of the work queue and processes the object that is received.
+func (w *watcher) process(_ context.Context) bool {
+	obj, quit := w.queue.Get()
+	if quit {
+		return false
+	}
+	defer w.queue.Done(obj)
+
+	var entry *item
+	var ok bool
+	if entry, ok = obj.(*item); !ok {
+		utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("expected *item in workqueue but got %#v", obj))
+		return true
+	}
+
+	key, ok := entry.object.(string)
+	if !ok {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	o, exists, err := w.store.GetByKey(key)
+	if err != nil {
+		utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("getting object %#v from cache: %w", obj, err))
+		return true
+	}
+	if !exists {
+		if entry.state == delete {
+			w.logger.Debugf("Object %+v was not found in the store, deleting anyway!", key)
+			// delete anyway in order to clean states
+			w.handler.OnDelete(entry.objectRaw)
+		}
+		return true
+	}
+
+	switch entry.state {
+	case add:
+		w.handler.OnAdd(o)
+	case update:
+		w.handler.OnUpdate(o)
+	case delete:
+		w.handler.OnDelete(o)
+	}
+
+	return true
+}