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GitLab is seeking a Staff Backend Engineer to join the Database Excellence group and build database automation and PostgreSQL-as-a-service capabilities. You'll use Go to automate the full lifecycle of PostgreSQL across GitLab's infrastructure, making database operations safer, more consistent, and easier to scale for high-throughput, always-on services.
Key responsibilities include:
- Design and build Go-based automation for PostgreSQL provisioning, configuration, upgrades, failover, scaling, and decommissioning, reducing reactive operational work that currently consumes 80% of team time.
- Create automation that works across infrastructure-as-code tooling and multiple cloud providers, evaluating operator-based approaches as the platform evolves.
- Leverage AI agents as a regular part of building and operating services, including implementation, review, and reducing repetitive work.
- Build for internet scale, designing automation for high-throughput production workloads where GitLab.com traffic sets the bar for correctness, latency, and availability.
- Integrate compute, storage, networking, identity/access management, and managed data services across cloud providers into one coherent PostgreSQL platform.
- Develop GitLab's PostgreSQL-as-a-service platform to replace bespoke database setups with standardized, automated provisioning and lifecycle management.
- Collaborate with product management, infrastructure, software delivery, and other engineering teams to design and ship high-performing solutions.
- Research and implement improvements to PostgreSQL performance, scalability, and data health, maintaining 8+ months of operational runway for critical database saturation points.
- Review database automation and Go changes from other engineers with attention to safety, maintainability, and performance.
- Document automation practices, PostgreSQL operational patterns, and guidance for platform users and contributors.
- Build safe, repeatable automation for PostgreSQL major version upgrades at scale, validating changes against real production traffic.
You'll work in a fully remote, highly collaborative environment with a team that embraces AI as a core productivity multiplier.
