Intermediate Backend Engineer, Pipeline Authoring

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Remote from: Poland
Salary: PLN 248k–372k / yr
Department: Software Engineering
Employment: Full Time
Experience: Open level
Published: 29 Oct 2026
Apply before: 28 Nov 2026
Listing views: 32
Application actions: 1

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AI Summary

The role, at a glance.

GitLab is hiring an intermediate backend engineer to develop and improve CI/CD Pipeline Authoring capabilities, including the Component Catalog and reusable components. The role centers on building reliable, secure, scalable Ruby on Rails services, backed by relational databases and integrated with product workflows. The engineer will deliver smaller features independently, collaborate on larger initiatives, review code, reduce technical debt, and participate in Tier 2 on-call rotations. Success requires strong asynchronous collaboration, clear technical communication, and a continuous-improvement mindset within a globally distributed team.

Role DNA

A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description.

Job Complexity

4/5

EasyHard

Pace & Pressure

4/5

RelaxedFast-paced

Autonomy Level

4/5

GuidedFull ownership

Communication Load

4/5

IndependentCollaborative

AI insightThis is a technically demanding product-engineering role involving mature CI/CD functionality, reliability, security, performance, and on-call troubleshooting. The intermediate scope permits support on larger projects, but still expects independent delivery of smaller changes in an asynchronous environment.

Salary analysis

Estimated compensation compared with the broader PLN market for similar roles.

Estimated job median (per year)Highly competitive

PLN310,000

PLN market range (per year)PLN240k–PLN360k

0PLN396.00k

AI insightThe yearly pay period is inferred from the job context; it was not explicitly stated by the employer. GitLab discloses a Poland base salary range of 248,000–372,000 PLN. The annual period is inferred from the full-time role and the scale of the stated base-pay range. The midpoint is 310,000 PLN yearly; an estimated Polish market range for a comparable intermediate backend engineer is approximately 240,000–360,000 PLN yearly.

Core skills

Skills and capabilities most closely associated with this opportunity.

Ruby Ruby on Rails PostgreSQL Relational databases GraphQL CI/CD Backend development Automated testing Code review Performance optimization Application security Agile development Asynchronous communication Technical debt management On-call support

Sample interview questions

How would you design a Ruby on Rails feature that lets users reuse CI/CD pipeline components safely?

I would begin by defining a clear component contract, including versioning, validated inputs, defaults, and backward-compatibility expectations. I would implement authorization and input validation at the service boundary, cover expected and failure cases with tests, and add observability for adoption and errors. I would release iteratively behind appropriate controls and use user feedback to refine the experience.

Describe your approach to improving the performance of a slow Rails endpoint backed by PostgreSQL.

I would first reproduce and measure the issue using application metrics, logs, and database query analysis. I would identify unnecessary queries, N+1 behavior, missing indexes, inefficient joins, or excessive payloads, then make the smallest evidence-based change. After adding regression coverage, I would verify the improvement in a representative environment and monitor production behavior after release.

How do you ensure Ruby on Rails code remains testable and maintainable?

I keep controllers thin, place business rules in focused service or domain objects, and use clear interfaces with limited responsibilities. I write unit tests for business logic and integration tests for important user flows, while avoiding brittle implementation-focused tests. Consistent naming, small reviewable changes, and documentation of non-obvious decisions help maintain long-term clarity.

How would you handle a Tier 2 on-call incident involving failed pipeline creation?

I would assess impact and urgency, review recent deployments and relevant logs, and identify whether the issue is isolated or systemic. I would communicate status early, mitigate through rollback, feature controls, or a targeted fix when appropriate, and keep an incident record of decisions and evidence. After resolution, I would help create follow-up actions such as tests, alerts, documentation, or reliability improvements.

How do you collaborate effectively in an asynchronous engineering team?

I write concise updates that provide context, decisions, open questions, and links to supporting material so colleagues can respond across time zones. I make proposals explicit, request feedback early, and document outcomes in durable channels. For complex topics, I break work into small deliverables and surface blockers promptly rather than waiting for synchronous meetings.

Opportunity details

About this role.

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

The Pipeline Authoring group develops tools for creating and managing your pipelines. We balance maintaining core functionality of the product with developing newer areas. Our key areas of focus are CI/CD components and the CI/CD Catalog, which allows users to discover, reuse, and contribute CI/CD components to make software development more efficient and productive.

As a Backend Engineer, you will work on maturing our Catalog and Component functionality and reliability, improve and maintain performance, scalability and security of Pipeline Creation, and always consider usability and user experience in these key areas of the product. Your contributions and collaboration with your fellow team members will ensure that GitLab CI/CD remains a best in class solution.

Some of the things we have recently been working on include:

Inputs for Pipelines
Inputs for Jobs
Inputs Enhancements
CI/CD Catalog – UX improvements
Learn more on the Pipeline Authoring direction pages:

About the team

The Pipeline Authoring team is made up of experienced Engineers, some having worked in this area for many years and some having joined more recently. The team shares a passion for finding solutions to complex challenges that scale and are maintainable. Located across five countries and several time zones, async communication is key to our success. The team lives by GitLab’s core values and is always eager to improve. Many things in GitLab begin with a pipeline, so our team regularly interacts with other GitLab teams, community contributors and customers as we strive to create the best possible Pipeline Authoring experience.

Learn more on the Pipeline Authoring group handbook page and Pipeline Authoring Unfiltered playlist.

What you’ll do

Write high-quality, efficient, and maintainable code while adhering to best practices and contributing to code reviews.
Ship small features and improvements with minimal guidance and support from other team members. Collaborate with the team on larger projects.
Advocate for improvements to reliability, security, and performance.
Recognize impediments to our efficiency as a team (“technical debt”), propose and implement solutions.
Participate in agile development practices, including async planning sessions, stand-ups, and retrospectives, to drive iterative software development and continuous improvement for the team.
Contribute to our development process by asking questions and providing feedback to make us better as a team.
Embrace continuous learning and stay connected with industry best practices, tools, and technologies to drive improvements in our software.
Participate in Tier 2 on-call rotations to assist troubleshooting product operations, security operations, and urgent engineering issues.

What you’ll bring

Proficiency with Ruby and Ruby on Rails
Proven experience writing testable code in Ruby on Rails
Experience with Relational Database Management Systems (PostgreSQL is a plus)
Experience with GraphQL is a plus
An ability to self manage and organize in an asynchronous and collaborative work environment
Demonstrated capacity to clearly and concisely communicate about complex technical, architectural, and/or organizational problems and propose thorough iterative solutions
Familiarity with various stages of software development end-to-end (Agile methodologies is a plus)
Proven ability to work effectively in a team including product managers, designers, and other engineers
A commitment to continuous learning and openness to giving and receiving feedback as a part of fostering individual and team development

The base salary range for this role’s listed level is currently for residents of the EU, applicable in the specified country or countries only. Sales roles are also eligible for incentive pay targeted at up to 100% of the offered base salary. 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 and having regard to any applicable collective agreements. The base salary range does not include bonuses, equity, or benefits.

Poland base salary range: 248,000zł- 372,000zł

How GitLab Supports Full-Time Employees

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.

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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 (which includes disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, active duty wartime or campaign badge veterans, and Armed Forces service medal veterans), or any other basis protected by law. GitLab will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. See also GitLab’s EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know during the recruiting process.