Opportunity at
GitLabStaff Backend Engineer, Core DevOps
GitLab seeks a Staff Backend Engineer for its Core DevOps team to provide technical leadership and guide large backend initiatives. GitLab operates as an open core…
Career Tools
About This Role
GitLab seeks a Staff Backend Engineer for its Core DevOps team to provide technical leadership and guide large backend initiatives. GitLab operates as an open core software company providing an artificial intelligence-powered DevSecOps platform used by millions to build software. In this position, the professional will spearhead the modernization of large legacy monoliths into modular, reusable, and independent systems while establishing standards that maximize development speed without sacrificing security or…
Job Description
GitLab seeks a Staff Backend Engineer for its Core DevOps team to provide technical leadership and guide large backend initiatives. GitLab operates as an open core software company providing an artificial intelligence-powered DevSecOps platform used by millions to build software. In this position, the professional will spearhead the modernization of large legacy monoliths into modular, reusable, and independent systems while establishing standards that maximize development speed without sacrificing security or reliability. The Core DevOps team manages fundamental repository features, ranging from web-based code exploration to Git command-line operations.
This role suits an experienced engineer who excels at cross-team collaboration, asynchronous communication, and technical decision-making without formal authority. Working within an all-remote environment, the individual will partner with product, infrastructure, security, and frontend groups to architect scalable backend systems. Responsibilities include defining application programming interface standards, managing dependencies, participating in on-call rotation, and mentoring senior and intermediate team members. The ideal candidate brings extensive background architecture expertise, a track record of driving cross-functional technical delivery, and familiarity with artificial intelligence-assisted workflows. GitLab offers compensation that includes equity and flexible paid time off, alongside various health and well-being programs.
Responsibilities
- Lead technical design and delivery for backend initiatives spanning multiple teams.
- Drive modular backend, service, data, and platform architecture while modernizing legacy monoliths.
- Define and improve application programming interface standards, testing protocols, security practices, and observability.
- Establish patterns for data ownership, eventing, failure isolation, and operational documentation.
- Implement Go service patterns and Kubernetes operating practices, and guide Rust adoption where applicable.
- Participate in on-call rotations and incident response, serving as an escalation point during complex outages.
- Mentor senior and intermediate engineers and lead the integration of artificial intelligence-assisted workflows.
Requirements
- Demonstrated history of leading technical work across multiple teams or a broad product area.
- Deep backend architecture and production expertise with complex applications, services, or platforms.
- Experience modernizing a monolith or legacy backend architecture in production environments using modular approaches.
- Experience building alignment through clear written proposals and decision records.
- Experience making strategic trade-offs among customer outcomes, delivery speed, technical health, and reliability.
- Production experience with artificial intelligence-assisted or agentic engineering workflows.
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 remote work policy for this position?
The role operates in an all-remote environment, though certain positions may carry specific location-based eligibility requirements.
What is the employment type for this role?
The position is a full-time role.
What is the salary range for the Staff Backend Engineer position?
For United States residents, the base salary range is $152,800 to $259,200 USD, though the final offer depends on factors such as experience, skills, geographic location, and market data. Salaries for locations outside the US are not specified in the posting.
How can an applicant apply or find out about location eligibility?
Candidates can apply directly through the posting to allow recruiters to assess their application, and GitLab's talent acquisition team can answer any location eligibility questions after the recruiting process begins.
Sample Interview Questions
AI-generated questions tailored to this specific role — a preview of the full practice set.