Engineering Manager, Database Reliability, Scalability & Operations

Overview of GitLab and the Role

GitLab is an open-core software company renowned for its comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps Platform, trusted by over 100,000 organizations globally. Our core mission is to empower everyone to contribute to and co-create the software that drives our world. By embracing AI as a critical productivity multiplier, we foster a high-performance culture where innovation flourishes and every voice is valued. As an Engineering Manager for our Database Reliability, Scalability & Operations team, you will lead the group responsible for GitLab.com’s PostgreSQL backbone, shaping its strategy and ensuring a fast, always-available platform for our growing customer base.

What You'll Do

• Lead the Database Reliability, Scalability & Operations team to ensure the availability, security, scalability, and operational excellence of GitLab.com’s database infrastructure.
• Define and drive database strategy, including critical data store selection for various use cases and cost optimization across all environments.
• Build, coach, and retain a high-performing, distributed engineering team, fostering a thriving environment for team members to deliver impactful results.
• Set clear objectives, establish healthy database practices, and act as a force multiplier for the team, shifting from reactive firefighting to proactive planning.
• Collaborate extensively with Platform/Infrastructure, Product, Development, and Support teams to advocate for and influence sound database decisions across GitLab.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for the team’s Tier-2 on-call process, ensuring GitLab.com consistently meets its availability and reliability goals.
• Lead agile projects focused on PostgreSQL reliability, performance, capacity management, and scaling initiatives within an asynchronous, remote-first setting.
• Translate complex database and distributed systems topics into clear, actionable language for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Key Projects

• Scaling PostgreSQL horizontally and vertically to effectively support the rapid growth of GitLab.com.
• Enhancing the performance, capacity, compliance, and overall availability of our extensive database infrastructure.

What You’ll Bring

• Proven experience leading distributed engineering teams focused on reliability, scale, and operations in a production environment.
• A strong background in hiring, coaching, and developing engineers, with an emphasis on cultivating a healthy team culture and sustainable on-call practices.
• Applied experience in designing and operating database systems at scale, including PostgreSQL and distributed data stores, prioritizing performance, availability, and security.
• Ability to define robust database strategies, encompassing data store selection and cost-conscious architectural decisions, in collaboration with product and platform stakeholders.
• A track record of setting clear, measurable objectives, establishing operational best practices, and holding teams accountable while remaining open to feedback and iteration.
• Demonstrated skill in collaborating effectively across infrastructure, platform, product, and support teams to drive shared outcomes and resolve complex technical issues.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, capable of explaining intricate database decisions and associated risks to leadership and non-technical partners.
• Openness to candidates with diverse backgrounds and transferable skills relevant to database reliability, large-scale systems, and technical people management.

About the Team

The Database Reliability, Scalability & Operations team at GitLab is entrusted with the full lifecycle management of the PostgreSQL database engine powering GitLab.com. Our focus is on the reliability, scalability, performance, and security of the database and its supporting services. We develop guiding patterns and frameworks for GitLab's database infrastructure, working asynchronously across regions and leveraging engineering principles and production learnings to inform our decisions. We partner closely with Support and continually strive to move from reactive problem-solving to proactive capacity planning, compliance alignment, and resilience engineering.

How GitLab Will Support You

• Comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, finances, and overall well-being.
• Flexible Paid Time Off for work-life balance.
• Access to Team Member Resource Groups for community and support.
• Equity Compensation & Employee Stock Purchase Plan, aligning your success with the company's.
• Growth and Development Fund to foster continuous learning and career advancement.
• Parental leave to support new and growing families.
• Home office support to ensure a comfortable and productive remote work setup.

Key skills/competency

• PostgreSQL
• Database Architecture
• Distributed Systems
• Team Leadership
• Scalability
• Reliability Engineering
• Operational Excellence
• Cloud Platforms
• Performance Tuning
• Data Governance