Senior Backend Engineer, Platform Enablement

📋 Job Overview

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.

🏢 About GitLab

Performance Enablement is part of Platform Enablement within Developer Experience and Infrastructure Platforms. We help GitLab teams make performance part of the software lifecycle.

Our goal is to make performance a shared responsibility of service-owning teams while providing a strong platform and center of expertise when teams need help. We work asynchronously, collaborate broadly across research and development, and focus on building capabilities that scale beyond individual team engagements.

🎯 The Role

As a Senior Backend Engineer, Performance Enablement, you'll make performance testing and analysis easier for engineering teams to adopt and own. You'll build platforms, tooling, guidance, and artificial intelligence-assisted workflows that help teams identify performance risks during development and before they roll changes out to production.

We're moving from a hands-on consulting model to a self-service model. Service teams own their performance tests, analysis, thresholds, and evidence. We provide the paved road, documentation, skills, and expert support for challenging problems and new capabilities.

This is a backend and platform engineering role with room to grow in scope and influence. You'll help shape how Performance Enablement supports engineering teams, using artificial intelligence thoughtfully to accelerate design, implementation, testing, debugging, documentation, and automation.

You'll support work such as:

• Enabling modular feature teams, including Orbit and Artifact Registry, to run performance testing through their own development and continuous integration workflows
• Building reusable performance tooling, including component-level testing, load testing, performance analysis, and artificial intelligence-assisted engineering skills
• Improving performance results, reporting, and trend visibility so teams can make informed decisions from their own evidence
• Establishing the documentation, templates, and guidance needed to expand self-service adoption across research and development

✅ Key Responsibilities

• Build and evolve reusable backend platforms and tooling for performance testing and analysis.
• Create self-service workflows, documentation, templates, diagnostics, and artificial intelligence skills that reduce the need for bespoke support.
• Use development practices that apply artificial intelligence to accelerate implementation, testing, debugging, and technical documentation.
• Influence engineering teams to make performance testing part of normal development and release preparation.
• Turn early hands-on engagements into generalized capabilities that many teams can adopt independently.
• Provide technical expertise for difficult performance questions, tooling enhancements, and new platform capabilities.

📌 Required Qualifications

• Experience building backend or platform software.
• Experience building internal platforms or developer-facing tooling.
• Experience partnering with development teams to improve their day-to-day workflows.
• Experience using development practices that apply artificial intelligence across the software lifecycle.
• Experience with software performance, such as performance analysis, optimization, benchmarking, or leading performance-related improvements.
• Practical experience with Kubernetes, k6, and Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, or similar cloud infrastructure.
• Experience building durable solutions that support broad adoption using systems thinking.
• Communicate clearly in writing and influence teams without direct authority.

⭐ Desirable Experience

• Experience with performance testing tools and methodologies.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automation.
• Experience with container orchestration and cloud-native technologies.
• Experience with data analysis and visualization tools.
• Experience with AI and machine learning technologies.

🎁 Benefits

The base salary range for this role’s listed level is currently for residents of the United States only. This range is intended to reflect the role's base salary rate in locations throughout the US. Grade level and salary ranges are determined through interviews and a review of education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities of the applicant, equity with other team members, alignment with market data, and geographic location. The base salary range does not include any bonuses, equity, or benefits.

Benefits to support your health, finances, and well-being

Flexible Paid Time Off

Team Member Resource Groups

Equity Compensation & Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Growth and Development Fund

Parental Leave

🛂 Visa & Eligibility

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.