Senior Engineering Manager
Job Summary
The Senior Engineering Manager will lead a high-impact, 0-to-1 pilot team focused on non-linear productivity improvements within GitLab's SDLC. This role involves sourcing top-tier engineering talent and implementing data-driven fixes for system-level friction points. You will be responsible for defining the strategy, diagnosing technical bottlenecks, and ensuring measurable improvements in pipeline performance and developer efficiency.
Responsibilities
- Build and lead a high-autonomy 0-to-1 engineering pilot team
- Define and execute strategy for non-linear SDLC productivity
- Identify and fix high-leverage friction points in CI/CD pipelines
- Instrument and track system-level metrics (MRPM, latency, success rate)
- Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure durable, measurable improvements
Required Skills
- Deep CI/CD and Build System expertise
- Expertise in Developer Productivity engineering
- Root-cause analysis and shift-left methodology
- High-performance team building and mentorship
- Metrics-driven accountability and strategy
Job Details
### Role Overview
Senior Engineering Managers at GitLab own outcomes for a defined engineering domain, build and grow the team that delivers them, and are trusted to operate with significant autonomy. This role focuses on driving non-linear productivity by building and leading a small, hand-picked team of engineers who find and fix the highest-leverage friction points in GitLab's own SDLC.
### Responsibilities
**Vision & Strategy**
- Define and refine the operating model for the non-linear productivity pilot: diagnosis of friction, prioritization of fixes, and tracking against system-level metrics.
- Identify and prioritize non-linear productivity opportunities across the SDLC, including flaky tests, review latency, pipeline reliability, and tooling gaps.
- Translate broad mandates into concrete, time-boxed roadmaps with defined milestones.
**Team Building & Leadership**
- Personally source, evaluate, and select 4 exceptional engineers for the pilot squad.
- Set technical direction and working norms for a fast-moving, high-autonomy team.
- Mentor engineers in root-cause diagnosis and shift-left thinking, emphasizing rigor over temporary patches.
**Deep Technical Exploration & Experimentation**
- Lead hands-on investigations to instrument and baseline top-level metrics (MRPM, pipeline success rate, pipeline latency).
- Diagnose highest-leverage friction points and validate hypotheses with data before implementing fixes.
- Design solutions that compound, including shift-left quality changes and tooling investments.
- Review architecture and dig into pipeline internals to unblock the team on complex technical problems.
**Internal Adoption & Operations**
- Work directly with affected engineering teams to ensure fixes are adopted and durable.
- Report impact based on metric movement rather than activity.
- Codify reusable patterns and playbooks for org-wide adoption.
- Define and manage the transition from a pilot to a permanent function.
### Requirements
- Track record leading small, high-autonomy engineering teams in developer productivity, CI/CD, platform, or infrastructure reliability.
- Deep expertise with CI/CD and build systems, with a clear understanding of what drives pipeline success and latency.
- Demonstrated root-cause instinct and a focus on high-talent density.
- Comfort operating under metrics-driven accountability.
- Strong executive-level communication skills.
- Familiarity with agentic or AI-assisted development workflows is a plus.
- Experience with GitLab's CI/CD internals or similar large-scale build systems is preferred.