Backend Engineer (Ruby), Plan: Spec-Driven Development

GitLab; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

GitLab is seeking a Backend Engineer to join the Plan: Spec-Driven Development team. You will own early-stage backend work for agentic workflows that convert intent into refined work items, implementation plans, and verifiable code.

You will utilize Ruby on Rails, Python, PostgreSQL, and AI gateway tech to shape the product’s backend foundation. In this role, you will lead features from unclear problems to release, influence scope with users, and mentor engineers while collaborating across teams

Qualifications

• Experience building backend features from product discussions through design and release.
• Proficiency with Rails and Python for production systems.
• Experience designing data models, APIs, and evaluation systems for AI-assisted workflows.

Responsibilities

• Lead backend features from early product discussions through technical design, implementation, rollout, and post-launch learning.
• Build the flows, application programming interfaces, and data models behind agent-generated work items, implementation plans, durable specifications, and mergeable code.
• Develop evaluation and benchmarking systems that measure workflow quality, token cost, and success rate.
• Use Ruby on Rails and Python to build reliable production systems, with PostgreSQL, GraphQL, representational state transfer, GitLab Duo Agent Platform, large language model application programming interfaces, and an artificial intelligence gateway.

Skills

Ruby on Rails

Python

PostgreSQL

GraphQL

APIs

Tools

GitLab Duo Agent Platform

Job description

GitLab is the intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps. GitLab enables organizations to increase developer productivity, improve operational efficiency, reduce security and compliance risk, and accelerate digital transformation. More than 50 million registered users and more than 50% of the Fortune 100* trust GitLab to ship better, more secure software faster.

The same principles built into our products are reflected in how our team works: we embrace AI as a core productivity multiplier, with all team members expected to incorporate AI into their daily workflows to drive efficiency, innovation, and impact. GitLab is where careers accelerate, innovation flourishes, and every voice is valued. Our high-performance culture is driven by our values and continuous knowledge exchange, enabling our team members to reach their full potential while collaborating with industry leaders to solve complex problems. Co-create the future with us as we build technology that transforms how the world develops software.

An overview of this role

As a Backend Engineer on the Plan: Spec-Driven Development team, you'll help build GitLab's intent-to-code loop: agentic workflows that turn a stated intent into a refined work item, an implementation plan, and verified, mergeable code. You'll own early-stage backend work across the flows, application programming interfaces, data models, and evaluation systems behind this experience, using Ruby on Rails, Python, PostgreSQL, GitLab Duo Agent Platform, large language model application programming interfaces, and an artificial intelligence gateway.

You’ll join a small, distributed team working on one of GitLab's highest-visibility product bets, collaborating with design partners toward a public beta. In your first year, you'll lead major features from an unclear problem through release, help shape scope with product and users, mentor other engineers, and influence technical decisions across agent workflows and evaluation methods.

What you’ll do

• Lead backend features from early product discussions through technical design, implementation, rollout, and post-launch learning.
• Build the flows, application programming interfaces, and data models behind agent-generated work items, implementation plans, durable specifications, and mergeable code.
• Develop evaluation and benchmarking systems that measure workflow quality, token cost, and success rate.
• Use Ruby on Rails and Python to build reliable production systems, with PostgreSQL, GraphQL, representational state transfer, GitLab Duo Agent Platform, large language model application programming interfaces, and an artificial intelligence gateway.
• Collab