Backend Engineer

Role Overview

Join GitLab as an Intermediate Backend Engineer on the Knowledge Graph team. You will help build and operate a graph data service that powers features across GitLab’s platforms, working in a small Rust-first team and taking ownership of specific components or features.

Key Missions / Responsibilities

• Implement and iterate backend features in the Rust-based Knowledge Graph service, including:
  • Query engine changes
  • SDLC and code indexing flows
  • API endpoint development
• Maintain integrations between Knowledge Graph and the broader GitLab platform, touching areas such as:
  • GitLab Rails
  • Data Insights Platform
  • GitLab Duo Agent Platform
• Contribute to system design by proposing options, raising questions, and documenting decisions with focus on:
  • Reliability
  • Scalability
  • Maintainability for analytical graph workloads
• Improve operational maturity (reliability, incident response readiness, follow-ups)
• Collaborate cross-team and participate in code reviews in an all-remote environment

Requirements

• Solid system design fundamentals for your level; ability to reason about trade-offs and align with documented architectural decisions
• Production experience building/maintaining backend systems with a focus on reliability and long-term service ownership (incident responses and improvements)
• Strong written communication and comfort collaborating asynchronously across time zones
• Practical interest in using AI tools in day-to-day development, including thoughtful validation and workflow integration
• Exposure to distributed data/analytics systems (e.g., OLAP, Kafka/NATS-style messaging, or CDC pipelines) or strong motivation to learn
• Language-agnostic mindset; ability to pick up adjacent technologies as needed (e.g., Ruby, Go, TypeScript/Vue where relevant)
• Interest in graph data modeling and query patterns, such as property graphs, multi-step traversals (n-hop), and aggregations
• Comfort in a low-process, high-ownership environment with clear progress communication
• Proficiency in at least one modern backend language, plus strong interest in Rust (prior Rust experience or ability to ramp quickly)

Nice-to-Haves

• Prior experience in graph data systems/knowledge graph tools and concepts
• Practical experience integrating AI-assisted development safely into production-grade engineering workflows