Opportunity at
GitLabBackend Engineer, Knowledge Graph (Rust)
GitLab operates an intelligent DevSecOps platform relied upon by over fifty million registered users and more than half of the Fortune 100. The organization seeks an…
Career Tools
About This Role
GitLab operates an intelligent DevSecOps platform relied upon by over fifty million registered users and more than half of the Fortune 100. The organization seeks an Intermediate Backend Engineer to join the GitLab Orbit team within the Data Engineering organization. In this position, the engineer helps build and maintain a Rust-based graph data service powering GitLab Duo agents, analytics, and architecture features across Self-Managed, Dedicated, and GitLab.com deployments. The role…
Job Description
GitLab operates an intelligent DevSecOps platform relied upon by over fifty million registered users and more than half of the Fortune 100. The organization seeks an Intermediate Backend Engineer to join the GitLab Orbit team within the Data Engineering organization.
In this position, the engineer helps build and maintain a Rust-based graph data service powering GitLab Duo agents, analytics, and architecture features across Self-Managed, Dedicated, and GitLab.com deployments. The role involves designing and operating property graph workflows utilizing ClickHouse, NATS JetStream, and the Data Insights Platform.
Responsibilities include implementing query engine features, handling SDLC and code indexing flows, managing API and MCP endpoints, maintaining platform integrations, and contributing to system design discussions. The engineer participates in on-call rotations, writes runbooks, improves observability metrics, and uses AI-assisted development workflows responsibly. Candidates should be comfortable working in an environment that relies on asynchronous communication across time zones.
For United States residents, the base salary range is $115,200 to $162,000 per year, determined by factors such as interview performance, experience, skills, and location. Additional offerings include equity compensation, flexible paid time off, parental leave, and growth funds.
Responsibilities
- Implement and iterate on backend features in the Rust-based Knowledge Graph service under senior and staff guidance
- Maintain integrations between Knowledge Graph, GitLab Rails, the Data Insights Platform, and the GitLab Duo Agent Platform
- Contribute to system design discussions focusing on reliability, scalability, and maintainability for analytical graph workloads
- Improve service operational maturity by adding metrics, logging, alerts, runbooks, and participating in on-call rotations
- Collaborate asynchronously with product, data, infrastructure, security, and AI teams
- Utilize AI-assisted development workflows responsibly and share effective practices with the team
- Participate in code reviews, knowledge-sharing sessions, and pairing
- Contribute across the stack when needed, including occasional Ruby work for Rails integration or frontend changes
Requirements
- Professional experience building and maintaining production backend systems
- Proficiency in at least one modern backend language with a strong interest in Rust
- Solid fundamentals in system design appropriate for the level
- Ability to communicate progress clearly in writing across time zones
Qualifications
- Prior Rust experience or clear evidence of ability to ramp up quickly in a performance-sensitive codebase
- Exposure to distributed data or analytics systems like OLAP databases, Kafka, NATS, or change data capture pipelines
- Interest in graph data modeling and query patterns such as property graphs and multi-step traversals
- Practical experience or strong interest in using AI tools for day-to-day development
Core Skills
Benefits
- Flexible Paid Time Off
- Team Member Resource Groups
- Equity Compensation and Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- Growth and Development Fund
- Parental Leave
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers are based only on the employer’s listing; where it doesn’t say, neither do we.
What is the salary range for this position?
For United States residents, the base salary range is $115,200 to $162,000 per year. The exact salary depends on interviews, education, experience, market data, and geographic location.
What employment type is this role?
This is a full-time position.
Is the role remote?
The posting states that all roles at the company are remote, though certain positions may carry specific location-based eligibility requirements.
What technologies are used in this role?
The primary backend stack is built in Rust and interacts with ClickHouse, NATS JetStream, the Data Insights Platform, GitLab Rails, and the GitLab Duo Agent Platform.
Sample Interview Questions
AI-generated questions tailored to this specific role — a preview of the full practice set.