Engineering Manager, AI Engineering: Chat

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

The Engineering Manager on the Duo Chat team helps shape the core AI capabilities behind GitLab Duo Chat, so customers can work faster and more securely across the GitLab DevSecOps platform. In this role, you will manage a team of engineers building AI-powered product experiences that span the software development lifecycle, while staying close to the technical work that informs strong engineering judgment. You will play a key role in how the team delivers scalable, reliable, and high-quality AI features, from roadmap execution to stronger testing, performance, and developer clarity.

Some examples of our projects:

• Extend capabilities of the Duo Agent Platform agentic chat regarding agentic capabilities, UI and context management
• Integrate new agentic generative AI models and providers into GitLab Duo Chat to expand capabilities and improve answer quality
• Improve debugging, observability, and test coverage for AI-powered chat workflows to maintain reliability at scale

What you’ll do

• Manage a team of experienced frontend, backend, and AI engineers to deliver GitLab Duo Chat roadmap commitments across the DevSecOps lifecycle.
• Partner with product and UX teams to define requirements and deliver AI features that address customer needs and improve answer quality.
• Participate in technical architecture and development work for systems that run AI agents at scale, with a focus on reliability, performance, and maintainability.
• Guide day-to-day execution by setting clear direction, tracking progress against milestones, and removing blockers to keep delivery on schedule.
• Coach engineers through feedback, guidance, and development conversations that foster each engineer's growth and overall team performance.
• Promote a team culture grounded in curiosity, inclusion, accountability, and steady delivery against team goals.
• Improve quality, testing, and performance practices that increase coverage, strengthen observability, and keep AI-powered chat workflows reliable in production.

What you’ll bring

• Experience managing engineering teams in a distributed environment and enabling strong team execution.
• Strong software engineering foundation with the ability to contribute to technical discussions and evaluate engineering tradeoffs.
• Hands-on familiarity with agentic AI or generative AI applied to software development workflows.
• Ability to work effectively through ambiguity, changing requirements, and fast-moving product development.
• Clear communication and collaboration skills across engineering, product, design, and other stakeholders.
• Dedication to coaching engineers and creating an inclusive, constructive team environment.
• Comfort balancing people management with technical involvement in day-to-day development.
• Openness to transferable experience from different technical backgrounds if it aligns with managing AI-powered product teams.

About the team

We are part of GitLab's AI Engineering organization and own the AI-powered chat experience embedded across the GitLab platform. We include backend, frontend, and AI specialists who work asynchronously across time zones using issues, merge requests, and documentation as core collaboration tools. Our focus is to expand generative AI capabilities, improve the performance and reliability of chat workflows, and strengthen the debugging and testing foundations needed to enable AI features safely at scale. For more on how we work, see the Team Handbook Page.

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.  

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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.