Intermediate Backend Engineer, Database Automation (Ruby) at GitLab

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. *Fortune 500® is a registered trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, used under license. Claim based on GitLab data. Fortune 100 refers to the top 20% ranked companies in the 2025 Fortune 500 list, published in June 2025. Fortune and Fortune Media IP Limited are not affiliated with, and do not endorse products or services of GitLab. An overview of this role As an Intermediate Backend Engineer in the Database Automation team, you'll develop and enhance the frameworks, patterns, and tooling that keep GitLab's application datastores scalable, healthy, and safe across GitLab.com and thousands of self-managed instances. You'll work closely with experienced engineers and cross-functional teams to build reliable backend features, learn best practices in data architecture and lifecycle management, and contribute to identifying and addressing performance improvements in our infrastructure. As part of the Data Engineering organization, you'll gain hands-on experience with PostgreSQL and Ruby on Rails in an all-remote, highly team-based environment where you'll receive mentorship and grow your skills in data scalability, system design, and addressing the complex reliability issues self-managed customers face when upgrading and scaling. Some examples of our projects: SQL Traffic Replay Tooling Background Operations Framework What you’ll do Develop and iterate backend features and data frameworks that make it safe and efficient to work with data at scale across GitLab.com and self-managed deployments. Work with product management, UX, frontend, infrastructure, software delivery, and analytics teams to design and ship high-performing, reliable solutions. Review and improve database-related changes from other engineers and external contributors to ensure data integrity, safety, and performance across diverse environments. Design, build, and maintain tooling and guardrails such as SQL traffic replay and background operations frameworks to proactively detect and remediate scalability, performance, and data health issues. Research, design, and implement improvements to database performance, scalability, and data health, including areas like soft delete strategies and database migration testing. Document database best practices, anti-patterns, and data architecture guidance so developers can make informed, consistent choices. Develop solutions for database upgrade paths and migration strategies that maintain backwards compatibility while reducing downtime and operational friction for self-managed customers with diverse deployment configurations. In this role, you'll succeed by shipping incremental improvements and, over time, building the capability to fully own larger pieces of work with shorter revision cycles. What you’ll bring Professional software engineering experience working with PostgreSQL in large, complex production environments, including performance tuning and troubleshooting. Proficiency with Ruby on Rails or another Ruby framework, with experience designing, implementing, and reviewing backend features and services. Ability to reason about software design, algorithms, and performance trade-offs at a system level, especially in data-intensive applications. Strong written communication skills and comfort working asynchronously in an all-remote, distributed team. Self-directed work style with effective organizational skills and the ability to manage priorities as a "manager of one." Alignment with GitLab's values, including transparency, teamwork, inclusion, and contribution to open source practices. Openness to learning and applying new tools and approaches, including transferable experience from related data, infrastructure, or developer tooling domains. About the team The Database Automation team is a remote, agile backend team within the Data Engineering organization. We work asynchronously across regions, partner closely with infrastructure, software delivery, and analytics, and take a self-organized approach to improving GitLab.com infrastructure while supporting self-managed customers as they upgrade and scale. How GitLab Supports Full-Time Employees 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 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