At a Glance
- Tasks: Build innovative tooling for cloud-native and self-managed deployment environments.
- Company: Join GitLab, a leading platform in DevSecOps with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible paid time off, equity compensation, and a growth fund.
- Other info: Remote work opportunities with a focus on diversity and inclusion.
- Why this job: Shape the future of software deployment and validation with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Strong backend engineering experience, especially with Kubernetes and cloud-native operations.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
GitLab is the intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps. GitLab enables organizations to increase developer productivity, improve operational efficiency, reduce security and compliance risk, and accelerate digital transformation. More than 50 million registered users and more than 50% of the Fortune 100 trust GitLab to ship better, more secure software faster. The same principles built into our products are reflected in how our team works: we embrace AI as a core productivity multiplier, with all team members expected to incorporate AI into their daily workflows to drive efficiency, innovation, and impact. GitLab is where careers accelerate, innovation flourishes, and every voice is valued. Our high-performance culture is driven by our values and continuous knowledge exchange, enabling our team members to reach their full potential while collaborating with industry leaders to solve complex problems. Co-create the future with us as we build technology that transforms how the world develops software.
An overview of this role: As a Senior Backend Engineer in GitLab’s Platform Enablement organization, you will help make GitLab easier to deploy, validate, and operate across environments. This team is centered on two major areas: Cloud Native deployment guidance and ephemeral environments. You’ll help shape GitLab’s next generation of self-managed deployment guidance as Reference Architectures evolve toward a model based on deployment patterns, workload characterization, component requirements, topology guidance, and scaling principles. You’ll also help improve production-like ephemeral environments so teams can validate changes earlier, test against infrastructure and deployment conditions that more closely reflect real-world operation, and reduce drift between development, CI, and production. This includes shaping the tooling, workflows, and platform contracts that make these environments more consistent, more repeatable, and more useful to engineers building and shipping across GitLab’s different deployment models.
Current projects: Deployment Environments is currently focused on:
- Evolving GitLab’s self-managed deployment guidance beyond legacy Reference Architectures into a clear Cloud Native model.
- Improving production-like ephemeral environments for earlier, higher-confidence validation.
- Supporting a platform model where services declare requirements, operators satisfy them, and shared artifacts work across GitLab.com, Dedicated, and Self-Managed.
What you’ll do: In this role, you’ll:
- Build tooling and workflows for cloud-native and self-managed deployment environments.
- Contribute to Cloud Native deployment guidance, including component requirements, architecture patterns, topology guidance, and scaling principles.
- Improve ephemeral environments that bring validation closer to production reality.
- Work across application, infrastructure, and platform boundaries to keep deployment artifacts and environment contracts consistent from development through production.
- Partner with related teams on packaging, testing, delivery workflows, and customer-facing deployment guidance.
What you’ll bring:
- Strong backend engineering experience, ideally with Kubernetes-based systems, distributed applications, or platform engineering.
- Experience with deployment architecture, environment management, or cloud-native operations.
- Comfort working at the boundary of developer workflows and production infrastructure.
- Good systems thinking around service dependencies, deployment patterns, and infrastructure abstraction.
- A collaborative, pragmatic approach to building durable platform capabilities.
About the team: The Deployment Environments team helps make GitLab easier to deploy and easier to validate across development, CI, GitLab.com, Dedicated, and Self-Managed. Its work spans Cloud Native deployment guidance, ephemeral environments, and the platform contracts that reduce drift across the software lifecycle.
How GitLab Supports Full-Time Employees: Benefits to support your health, finances, and well-being include Flexible Paid Time Off, Team Member Resource Groups, Equity Compensation & Employee Stock Purchase Plan, Growth and Development Fund, and Parental Leave.
Please note that we welcome interest from candidates with varying levels of experience; many successful candidates do not meet every single requirement. Additionally, studies have shown that people from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to a job unless they meet every single qualification. If you're excited about this role, please apply and allow our recruiters to assess your application.
Country Hiring Guidelines: GitLab hires new team members in countries around the world. All of our roles are remote; however, some roles may carry specific location-based eligibility requirements. Our Talent Acquisition team can help answer any questions about location after starting the recruiting process.
Privacy Policy: Please review our Recruitment Privacy Policy. Your privacy is important to us. GitLab is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. GitLab’s policies and practices relating to recruitment, employment, career development and advancement, promotion, and retirement are based solely on merit, regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, lactation, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression), national origin, age, citizenship, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information (including family medical history), discharge status from the military, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. GitLab will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.
Senior Backend Engineer, Deployment Environments employer: GitLab
At GitLab, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture. As a Site Reliability Engineer, you will have access to extensive growth opportunities, working alongside experienced professionals in a dynamic environment that values your contributions. Our commitment to employee well-being and development, combined with the chance to work on cutting-edge technology in a supportive atmosphere, makes GitLab a truly rewarding place to advance your career.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Backend Engineer, Deployment Environments
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at GitLab or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to GitLab.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like GitLab.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like GitLab that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Backend Engineer, Deployment Environments
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at GitLab.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at GitLab and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at GitLab
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If GitLab uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.