Senior Distribution Engineer, GitLab: Build

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Senior Distribution Engineer, GitLab: Build

An overview of this role

As a Distribution Engineer, your work within the GitLab Build team will help us manage the build pipelines, research support for new services, platforms, and architectures, as well as maintain existing ones. You will be tasked with ensuring the components that make up GitLab are up-to-date, license compliant, and available for our users’ platforms and architectures. 

GitLab Build engineering regularly interfaces with broader development teams in supporting newly created features. The GitLab Build team is involved with diverse projects and tasks that include assisting community packaging efforts.

Some interesting links about the team and role:

• Our primary projects
• Our work with the community
• Our Demo videos

What you’ll do  

• Multi-Platform Packages: Build and maintain packages for supported Linux distributions and architectures. Participate in product release activities.
• Container Images: Develop and maintain official GitLab container images
• Build Tooling & Infrastructure: Develop and maintain tools that enable efficient component building
• Integration Services: Ensure development team components integrate seamlessly into GitLab packages
• Security Partnership: Collaborate with Security teams to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities, proactively improve posture and footprint.
• Dependency Management: Maintain up-to-date, secure dependencies across all components
• Documentation & Self-Service: Create guides and provide infrastructure enable and facilitate development teams working independently
• Cloud Marketplace: Manage listings and integrations with major cloud providers
• Installation Experience: Maintain install, update, and upgrade documentation and processes pertaining to GitLab installation and setup
• Quality Assurance: Ensure all installation methods are thoroughly tested before release
• Code License Management: Ensure compliance across all bundled dependencies
• Partner Certifications: Submit components and packages to partners for validations and certifications

What you’ll bring 

• Familiarity with GNU/Linux build toolchains (autotools, make, cmake, gcc, etc.)
• Production experience with building container images and container build tooling
• Experience with Debian and RHEL based systems, and building .deb and .rpm packages
• Experience using Continuous Integration systems (e.g., GitLab CI, GitHub Action, Jenkins, Travis)
• Advanced Shell Scripting expertise in production environments, including the ability to write and maintain complex scripts (Ruby, Golang, Python, or Rust are a plus)
• Familiarity with building and packaging cloud native applications
• Proficiency in the English language, both written and verbal, sufficient for success in a remote and largely asynchronous work environment
• Experience with major cloud providers (e.g., GCP, AWS, Azure)
• Knowledge of service scaling and rollout strategies. (Desirable)
• Awareness of Observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, etc) is a plus

About the team

The Build team is focused on producing artifacts including system packages, container images, and related components like marketplace listings alongside the tooling required to create and maintain them. We serve as the bridge between development teams and end users, providing tooling and expertise that enables efficient component building while delivering installation experiences that are simple, secure, and dependable.

In addition, the Build team is also responsible for reviewing a large number of MR's authored outside the team. These include dependency and security updates for other bundled components like PostgreSQL, Consul, Patroni.

How GitLab will support you

• Benefits to support your health, finances, and well-being
• All remote, asynchronous work environment
• Flexible Paid Time Off
• Team Member Resource Groups
• Equity Compensation & Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Growth and development budget 
• Parental leave 
• Home office support

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.  

Privacy Policy: Please review our Recruitment Privacy Policy. Your privacy is important to us.

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.