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An overview of this role
Help us build the next generation of authentication services at GitLab. As a Senior Backend Engineer on the Authentication team, you'll work on authentication features across the Rails monolith and GATE, our new identity and access management control and data plane that supports every GitLab deployment model.
In this role, you'll expand authentication mechanisms such as support for agentic identities while helping keep GitLab and its customers secure through robust access management tooling and by addressing vulnerabilities reported through our HackerOne program.
The Authentication team works across many core components used by external users and GitLab teams. GATE will become the foundation for token issuance, validation, and identity services across GitLab.com multi-tenant SaaS, Self-Managed, Dedicated, and air-gapped environments. This means your work will have a direct impact on the GitLab product and the customers and users who rely on it.
Some of our projects include:
- Building GATE as the centralized service for token issuance and validation
- Token consolidation and migration of authentication paths out of the Rails monolith
- Passkeys and passwordless authentication
- Composite identities to merge machine and human authorization for AI
- Service accounts and secure automation improvements
- Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), OpenID Connect (OIDC), and System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) enhancements for automated user provisioning and single sign-on (SSO)
What you’ll do
- Contribute to the team's overall direction and play a direct part in shaping the future roadmap of GATE and GitLab's authentication services.
- Design and implement authentication features across the Rails monolith and GATE, including token issuance, validation, and identity services.
- Help migrate authentication and token management paths from the monolith into GATE while maintaining reliability across all deployment models.
- Build authentication mechanisms from the ground up, such as Workload Identity Federation.
- Bolster the security posture of our users and organizations through robust access management and by addressing vulnerabilities reported through our HackerOne program.
- Solve technical problems of high scope and complexity across Go and Ruby codebases.
- Help define and improve internal standards for style, maintainability, and best practices in a high-scale environment. Maintain and advocate for these standards through code review.
- Represent GitLab and its values in public communication around broader initiatives, specific projects, and contributions from people not working for GitLab Inc.
- Ship moderately sized features and improvements with moderate guidance and support from other team members.
- Collaborate with the team on larger projects, including the build-out of GATE.
- Improve GitLab engineering projects through the maintainer trainee program at your own comfortable pace, while striving to become a project maintainer.
What you’ll bring
- Professional experience with Go and/or Ruby in scaling or mission-critical software-as-a-service products.
- Familiarity with authentication and authorization technologies or techniques such as OAuth, OpenID Connect (OIDC), Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), single sign-on (SSO), System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), JSON Web Token (JWT), role-based access control (RBAC), or identity and access management (IAM).
- Knowledge of token systems, cryptographic signing, and key management.
- Experience building or contributing to a service from concept to production, including proposal, discussion, and execution.
- Proficiency in written and verbal English, with the ability to clearly communicate complex problems and solutions in a remote, largely asynchronous work environment.
- Experience with performance and optimization problems, and a demonstrated ability to diagnose and prevent these problems.
- Experience working in a highly agile, iterative software development process, with the ability to manage your work effectively, stay organized, and follow through on priorities.
About the team
Our mission is to empower GitLab system administrators with the toolkit they need to create their desired balance of security and accessibility for their GitLab experience.
Authentication is the first impression a new customer has when they configure a new GitLab instance, and we aim to make it as seamless as possible: from that first login, to onboarding users, to managing the basic security rules for their instance in a secure, flexible, and scalable manner.
How GitLab Supports Full-Time Employees
- Benefits to support your health, finances, and well-being
- Flexible Paid Time Off
- Team Member Resource Groups
- Equity Compensation & Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- Growth and Development Fund
- Parental Leave
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.
