> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/1971491-backend-engineer-architecture-engineering](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/1971491-backend-engineer-architecture-engineering). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Backend Engineer, Architecture Engineering - **Company:** GitLab - **Location:** United States (Remote available) - **Experience:** Expert - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Distributed Systems, Python (Programming Language), Systems Development Life Cycle, Large Language Models, Backend, Rate Limiting, Gitlab - **Published:** August 7, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.workingnomads.com/job/go/1775527/ ## About the Role * Experience building reliable agentic or large language model (LLM)-based systems, including multi-step orchestration, tool use, guardrails, and recovery. * Ability to work autonomously in unfamiliar codebases and drive solutions from discovery through completion. * Strong distributed systems and computer science fundamentals, including coordination, consistency, idempotency, rate limiting, failure modes, and degradation under load. * Proficiency in Go, Rust, or Python, with the ability to read and modify code in the others. * A track record of delivering results from unclear or incomplete requirements - able to take a complex, loosely specified problem and decompose it into a concrete proposal of small, shippable steps. * Experience designing evaluation frameworks for systems where 'looks plausible' and 'is actually correct' are different questions, and a track record of raising the quality bar for a team's output, not just your own. * A history of unblocking and enabling teammates - through design reviews, technical writing, or mentoring - and of engaging regularly with other teams to find where collaboration actually pays off. ## Description * Set the technical direction for the team's agentic systems, from how agents are orchestrated to where a step should stay human-owned, and defend those calls once they're tested against real code. * Discover and prioritize sources of friction across GitLab's SDLC, driving the fix - agentic, process-based, or both - from a rough hypothesis through to a shipped, measured result. * Work across any part of GitLab's codebase as the problem requires, since this team operates like a small, generalist group rather than one scoped to a single service. * Apply distributed systems judgment to catch cases where generated code looks correct but breaks under concurrency, at scale, or across deployment topologies (including self-managed, dedicated, and multi-tenant environments), and coach others to do the same. * Mentor senior and mid-level engineers on agent engineering practices and distributed systems judgment, through design reviews and pairing that raise the team's collective bar rather than just your own output. * Collaborate with the India-based group a few times a week to align on the roadmap, and represent the team's technical progress to stakeholders in the Chief Technology Officer's organization. * Serve as a bar raiser for the team's hiring, owning the Technical Leadership round for other Staff-level candidates as the team scales. * Own a greenfield technical foundation from day one, with your scope and impact free to grow as the team scales. ## Related Videos - [Building a Multi-Agent Orchestration Engine That Actually Follows the Rules](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100159-building-a-multi-agent-orchestration-engine-that-actually-follows-the-rules) - [WeAreDevelopers LIVE - Modern DevOps for IoT Devices and More](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1805-wearedevelopers-live-modern-devops-for-iot-devices-and-more) - [Developing the Backend with Stefan Lingler, CTO at Shpock](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100360-developing-the-backend-with-stefan-lingler-cto-at-shpock) - [Rate-limiting using eBPF and Istio: How to protect your SaaS customers from themselves](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100220-rate-limiting-using-ebpf-and-istio-how-to-protect-your-saas-customers-from-themselves) - [Unveiling the Magic: Scaling Large Language Models to Serve Millions](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1619-unveiling-the-magic-scaling-large-language-models-to-serve-millions) - [Enabling automated 1-click customer deployments with built-in quality and security](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/83-enabling-automated-1-click-customer-deployments-with-built-in-quality-and-security) ## Related Articles - [What Are Large Language Models?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/304-what-are-large-language-models) - [Dev Digest 121 - AI goes offline](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/456-dev-digest-121-ai-goes-offline) - [What is Agentic Programming and Why Should Developers Care?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/625-what-is-agentic-programming-and-why-should-developers-care) - [Dev Digest 120 - Apple and peers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/455-dev-digest-120-apple-and-peers) - [A 5-Step Open-Source Setup for Agentic Engineering](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/738-a-5-step-open-source-setup-for-agentic-engineering) - [Never delegate the understanding](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/749-never-delegate-the-understanding)