Senior Engineering Manager, Non-Linear Productivity

Role Overview

Senior Engineering Manager responsible for outcomes in GitLab’s non-linear productivity domain. You will lead a small, hand-picked team (0→1) to identify and fix the highest-leverage friction points in GitLab’s own SDLC, using a root-cause and shift-left approach.

What You’ll Do

Vision & Strategy

• Define and continuously refine the operating model for a 3-month non-linear productivity pilot.
• Clarify what “friction” means, how it is diagnosed, and how fixes are prioritized against system-level metrics:
  • MRPM
  • Pipeline success rate
  • Pipeline latency
• Identify and prioritize step-change (non-linear) productivity opportunities across the SDLC, such as:
  • Flaky tests
  • Review latency
  • Pipeline reliability
  • Tooling gaps
  • Context loss for human and agentic contributors
• Convert an ambiguous mandate (“find the friction, fix it at the root”) into a concrete, time-boxed roadmap with milestones.

Team Building & Leadership

• Personally recruit and select 4 exceptional engineers for the pilot squad (direct ownership of the hiring bar).
• Negotiate engineer allocation (100% vs. partial/dual-hat) with their current Engineering Managers.
• Set technical direction and team working norms (scoping, decision-making, progress reporting).
• Mentor the team in root-cause diagnosis and shift-left thinking, emphasizing rigor over quick patches.

Deep Technical Exploration & Experimentation

• Lead hands-on investigation to instrument and baseline MRPM, pipeline success rate, and pipeline latency so the organization has a reliable starting point before proposing fixes.

Cross-Org Alignment

• Bridge the pilot squad, affected engineering managers, and leadership to ensure fixes deliver durable, measurable value before becoming a permanent function.

Reporting Line

• Reports to a VP-level engineering leader.