Senior Backend Engineer, Gitlab Delivery: Runway (Platform Engineering)

About the Role

The role is integral to GitLab's mission to enable organizations to increase developer productivity, improve operational efficiency, reduce security and compliance risk, and accelerate digital transformation. By joining the Runway team, you will contribute to building technology that transforms how the world develops software.

What You Will Do

• Manage and evolve production-grade Kubernetes clusters across cloud environments, contributing to architectural decisions on upgrades, scaling, disaster recovery, and reliability improvements.
• Implement and maintain GitOps workflows using ArgoCD, including Application Sets, sync policies, and deployment standards, and share best practices with teams adopting these patterns.
• Build and maintain reusable Terraform modules that enable safe, repeatable cloud infrastructure provisioning, including state management and drift detection practices.
• Lead incident response, drive post-mortems to clear conclusions, and implement improvements to availability, performance, and resilience as part of on-call rotation.
• Partner with application teams to onboard services onto the platform, writing documentation, runbooks, and self-service tooling that improves developer productivity.
• Implement security controls such as RBAC, network policies, and secrets management that meet compliance requirements.
• Contribute to CI pipeline integrations as part of end-to-end delivery workflows.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive platform improvements that enhance reliability, observability, and security controls.

What We Are Looking For

• Experience in designing, building, and maintaining large-scale distributed systems, preferably with Kubernetes.
• Strong proficiency in at least one programming language, with a preference for languages like Go, Python, or Ruby.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure, particularly with Terraform, and familiarity with cloud providers such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.
• Understanding of containerization and orchestration, including Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience with infrastructure as code (IaC) tools and practices.
• Strong understanding of security principles, including network security, identity and access management, and compliance.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with remote teams.
• Experience with Agile development methodologies and version control systems like Git.

Nice to Have

• Experience with ArgoCD and GitOps practices.
• Knowledge of observability tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and New Relic.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automation.
• Familiarity with secrets management tools like HashiCorp's Vault.
• Participation in open-source projects, particularly those related to Kubernetes or cloud native technologies.

Benefits and Perks

• The opportunity to work on a highly visible and impactful project that contributes to the evolution of software development.
• Collaborative and dynamic work environment with a team of experienced professionals.
• Professional development opportunities, including training, mentorship, and participation in industry conferences.
• Flexible and remote work arrangements, with the ability to work from anywhere.
• Competitive compensation and benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.
• Access to the latest tools and technologies, including a generous budget for professional development and equipment.
• Recognition and reward for outstanding performance, including bonuses and stock options.

• Showcase your technical expertise: Highlight your experience with Kubernetes, cloud infrastructure, and programming languages in your resume and cover letter.
• Demonstrate your understanding of GitLab's technology stack: Familiarize yourself with GitLab's products and services, and be prepared to discuss how your skills align with their technology stack.
• Emphasize your collaboration skills: As a remote team member, the ability to collaborate effectively with others is crucial; provide examples of successful team projects or collaborations in your previous roles.
• Prepare for behavioral interviews: GitLab uses behavioral interviews to assess how you'll work with the team and contribute to the company's culture; review common behavioral interview questions and practice your responses.
• Highlight your experience with security and compliance: Given the importance of security in GitLab's products, showcasing your understanding and experience with security principles and compliance is essential.
• Be prepared to discuss your approach to problem-solving and incident response: As a senior engineer, you'll be expected to lead incident response and drive improvements to availability and performance; be prepared to walk through your thought process and approach to problem-solving.
• Ask about opportunities for growth and professional development: Demonstrate your interest in growing with the company by asking about opportunities for professional development, training, and mentorship.