Senior Software Engineer (RoR/Go), SSCS: Authentication

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.

*Fortune 500® is a registered trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, used under license. Claim based on GitLab data. Fortune 100 refers to the top 20% ranked companies in the 2025 Fortune 500 list, published in June 2025. Fortune and Fortune Media IP Limited are not affiliated with, and do not endorse products or services of GitLab.

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

Responsibilities

• 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
• Expand authentication mechanisms such as support for agentic identities
• Keep GitLab and its customers secure through robust access management tooling and by addressing vulnerabilities reported through HackerOne program