Remote Working Experiences

GitLab is an all-remote company. Read about how working remotely has changed our lives.

Andrei Zubov

For many years I was a big fan of the office environment and was sure good collaboration can only happen when people are collocated. After the pandemic, my world completely flipped. I realized people are more productive and way happier when they have the freedom to pick the location they work from, and can save hours of their lives spent on commuting. For me, there's no going back to the office!

Andrew Fontaine

Senior Frontend Engineer, Deploy:Environments

Working from home allows me to use my own space, which means using the gear that I've already acquired for my own hobbies, such as a giant monitor. It's also allowed me to visit my family on the other side of Canada far more often that I would be able to. I've also had the ability to move to places I wouldn't normally be able to find work to give my SO the opportunity to fully explore her career.

Cassiana Gudgenov

People Compliance Partner

At my previous employer, a small tech startup, we had the flexibility of working remotely one day per week. As an introvert, this was a great way for me to see how much more productive I could be in a comfortable, distraction-free location. I love GitLab's truly remote and asynchronous working philosophy. I've been extremely grateful to be able to work anywhere, be it in countries where I have family (Canada, Brazil, Bulgaria, New Zealand) or my cozy office with a cup of tea and a cat on my desk! I also always have social opportunities, including daily video meetings and chats, as well as meeting colleagues in person while traveling and at Contribute.

Charlie Ablett

Staff Backend Engineer, Plan:Optimize

I live off the grid in a rural valley and have worked remotely as a contractor for close to 2 decades so I've seen a lot. Many companies allow remote situations but the heart and soul of the company is still in an office and remote folks miss out on "meatspace" conversations and social events. Even for an all-remote company, GitLab does it well - leveraging appropriate technologies and good process to ensure as much as possible is accessible to everyone, no matter their location or time zone. Personally, I'm grateful to be able to hang out with my children, tend to my 100+ fruit trees, and pursue my hobbies... and still get heaps of work done in a richly connected social environment.

Cynthia "Arty" Ng

Staff, Strategy and Operations

GitLab has changed the way I think about remote work. While I have worked remote before, a lot of work was still done synchronously and in an office part time. At GitLab, work is much more flexible because so much is done asynchronously. Being a global company also means that I can also work in other locations, allowing me to visit friends and family in other locations. At the same time, it has allowed me to live outside a big city, and spend more time with local family and friends when not travelling.

Elsje Smart

Senior Manager, Business Development APAC & EMEA

Even though I worked remotely for many years as a telemarketing consultant for my customers, I was always the "remote person" with others working from their office. I never truly felt part of the team. I also worked in a permanent role for a US-based company for four years with the EMEA team all working from home, but we were often out of the loop. At GitLab we are all on the same level; because we are all remote there is no ability to leave people out of the loop as eveything is written down which is a necessity in our async-working world, and it works seamlessly. GitLab is the best move I ever made.

Giuliana Lucchesi

Manager, People Business Partner

When I entered the workforce, geography became one of the biggest pain points for me. I found myself in a position in which I needed to choose between the opportunity to work abroad and being based close to my family, which in and of itself is difficult as my family is spread between the US and Italy. GitLab's 100% remote environment has given me complete geographical freedom to spend time with my family and friends globally, all while being a part of an incredible organization. For me, there is truly nothing more valuable!

Jarka Košanová

Staff Backend Engineer, Govern:Authorization

When I decided I wanted to move from Switzerland back home to the Czech Republic I found out that going to an office every day is problematic. I still wanted to spend weeks, maybe even months, in Switzerland and I definitely didn't want to take a vacation for that. At that time I found one of many benefits of remote work. It was back in 2016, since then I realized there is much more to this. And this is true especially at GitLab. Working for GitLab as a family-first company allows me to work while raising a small kid and still find time for plenty of my hobbies. I make use of the flexibility GitLab offers. I can travel and don't need to take a vacation for it, I can do sport or hike in beautiful mountains in the morning and work in the afternoon or late evenings. It also helps me to keep healthy relationships as I can meet friends for lunch or spend a day with my parents while working. Working remotely at GitLab simply supports me in leading a fulfilling life.

Jess Perry

Customer Success Manager

I have worked from home for the past 15 or so years and cannot imagine going back into an office full-time. I suffer from extreme anxiety and being around larger groups of people with a lot of noise can cause a lot of stress for me. Working from home has been a tremendous relief and allows me to focus on my work without suffering unnecessary mental health issues. I am able to be more productive at home without the social distractions of in-person work that comes with an office job. Working from home also allows me to keep up with life's responsibilities such as running errands, attending appointments, laundry, dishes, and caring for my elderly disabled parents. Being able to throw a load of laundry in while I'm head down working on a project allows my free time to be my free time without taking up my entire evening or weekends to keep up with the demands of regular life. Not only am I much more productive both at work and with homelife duties I am able to excel, relax, be myself, and prioritize my mental wellbeing.

Kassio Borges

Staff Backend Engineer , Plan:Knowledge

Remote work has enabled Kassio to enjoy his trips with his wife.

Kira Aubrey

Field Marketing Manager

Working remotely allows me to manage each day more effectively. This significantly lowers my stress levels so I can focus more time and energy on the things that matter most. I am a better, more focused and efficient team member at work and a relaxed, more energized mother, wife and friend!

Kyle Yetter

Senior Backend Engineer

Many years ago, I had a job that demanded 2-3 hours of driving every day. It was deeply stressful, expensive, and invasive -- I had no feeling of a work-life balance. I was not especially happy, but it was necessary at the time, and it was manageable enough. However, this became much less manageable when a close family member was diagnosed with a dangerous rare form of cancer, and I needed to be their caretaker. Under the circumstances, my employer at the time graciously allowed me to work from home while I tended to my family's care needs. Before this story gets too somber, I'll reveal that this family member pulled through their treatment successfully and they are still alive and well today, many years later. And it's not clear if that would have been possible if I was not able to be at home, administering medication and coordinating their care while they were ill, weak, and vulnerable. Further, once I began to work from home, I found I was often twice as productive. I was fully able to still collaborate and participate with my coworkers, and I was not setting gallons and gallons of gasoline on fire simply to be in person in an office. Once I adjusted to this form of work, I decided I would not go back to traditional commute work. As of the time I am writing this, I am a new team member at GitLab. However, I can testify that GitLab is the company that has most figured out how to provide and manage remote work with methods that allow productivity and autonomy. The GitLab Handbook is full of gold in terms of practical advice that gives insight into handling the nuances of working remotely.

Departments:

Core Development
Engineering Function
Infrastructure Department
Core Platform Sub-department
Geo BE Team

Job Title: Senior Backend Engineer

Pronouns: he/his

Pronunciation: Kyle like "While", Yetter like "Better"

GitLab Handle: kyetter

Story

Kyle Yetter is an experienced software engineer who lives with his husband in the US South in a former luxury department store. Together, they tend to two cats: a tough <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydactyl_cat" target="_blank">Hemmingway</a> tabby, and a gentle Maine Coon/hovering cloud of fur. Previously, he's worked in telecom, web hosting/system administration, ed tech, and gig economy marketplace spaces. Most recently, he spent three and a half years as a senior engineer for TaskRabbit, and then another year as a leading engineer for Wonolo. Kyle is a bit of a programming language nerd, as well as a long-time Ruby fanboy. Ruby is his strongest fluency, but he's also very interested in JavaScript, Go, Python, Perl, PHP, Java, Bash/Shell languages, as well as many other more domain-specific technologies. Kyle strives to be well-rounded with a wide variety of interests. Here is a small sampling of things he likes to think about: <ul> <li>podcasts</li> <li>audiobooks</li> <li>the color vermilion</li> <li>square toed shoes</li> <li>Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.</li> <li>thoughtful artistic horror movies</li> <li>trashy indefensible horror movies</li> <li>feminism</li> <li>pears</li> <li>katamaris</li> <li>foxes</li> <li>orchestral harps</li> <li>bandanas</li> <li>Soulsborne games</li> <li>bright colors and bold patterns</li> <li>stick figure drawings</li> <li>improv comedy</li> <li>mathematics</li> <li>ginger</li> <li>gingerbread</li> </ul>

Michael Trainor

Senior Support Engineer

Like many others, COVID-19 forced me to work remotely. From the first day, I was a convert. I believe that many types of jobs can benefit from remote work. I am incredibly excited to be working remotely and asynchronously at GitLab!

Nathan Black

Senior Support Engineer (US Federal)

There is a simplicity when a walk to the office is to a different room. The ability to customize the office to the interests and creativity of the inhabitor is extremely rewarding.

Phil Calder

Director of Engineering, Govern

When I started at GitLab I swapped a three hour round trip commute for more time with family. I used to get daily traffic reports and rail announcements warning of delays for commuters, now I get to be at home for meals with family. Being all-remote at GitLab means greater flexibility in terms of work hours, and has enabled me to work async with and learn from colleagues from around the world.

Pedro Moreira da Silva

Staff Product Designer

The best part of working remotely at GitLab is how much better I appreciate and invest in quality time with family and friends. Because I'm more productive, I also have more time to organize my life and not feel stressed out. Oh, and the commute? It's nonexistent, so I'm not only helping myself but also the planet. '

Pedro Pombeiro

Senior Backend Engineer, Verify:Runner

Except for two 3-year stints, my professional career has involved remote work in one way or another. Initially at an offshore office and more recently with 100% distributed teams. Working on an offshore office gave me some flexibility, but I still felt as the odd one compared to the main team. I'd miss out on learning and development opportunities that were tailored to the main team, along with many other opportunities. When I moved to Switzerland in 2012 I chose a quiet countryside city where there was basically a single big employer. After a while I started realizing that this choice was limiting my growth, as well as the kind of coworkers that I got to work with. Fortunately, in 2014, shortly after buying a lifetime subscription for a personal media streaming service called Plex, I received a newsletter in which Plex asked for software developers, without any restriction on location, and 2 weeks later I was moonlighting with them. The fact that my previous employer could no longer use the lack of other opportunities in the region as leverage to underpay and to not recognize its workers was a breath of fresh air for me, and it was clear I would likely never work co-located again. There are just so many advantages to remote work for me that the alternative is not even something I want to consider.

Tom McAtee

Support Engineer

I've worked remotely before, but GitLab is the first workplace I've had that embraces remote work fully and encourages all sorts of activities to develop bonds that would usually only form face-to-face.

Shem Gyll

Support Engineer (EMEA)

Everything about remote work is more streamlined, modern and accessible than traditional work. Even applying for remote roles these days is far easier and more productive! Working remotely allows me to focus more on my work without outside distractions in a zen-like trance where productivity just flows simply and easily. I like to walk a lot so working remote gives me opportunities to walk during my breaks or before work, sometimes even taking a long walk to somewhere peaceful before clocking in for the day.

Samantha Lee

Learning and Development Program Manager

Working on a remote team has created the opportunity for my work and personal life to coexist in a way that is both productive and healthy. The opportunity to work flexibly and from my own home allows me extra time each day to dedicate towards my own passions, family, and friends. All remote at GitLab makes me feel included, supported, and engaged, no matter what time zone I'm working from or where my team is located.

Smriti Garg

Senior Backend Engineer, Govern:Authentication

After taking maternity break for almost forever .. working remotely enabled me to start working again and do what I love along with taking care of my little one and home. Life of a mother should never be about choosing between her family and her work.

Thong Kuah

Principal Engineer, Data Stores

Working with other GitLab team-members around the world asynchronously means that I can schedule my work around family time, which I truly appreciate. Having previously worked one day a week from home, I knew the benefits in terms of productivity and flexibility which is crucial to enable me to contribute to my family life with young children. Going fully remote with GitLab has meant that I am able to send and pick up my kids from school every weekday, thus relieving the stress of rushing home and not having enough hours of the day. I am then able to split my day and work later in the evenings which is also my usual productive times. Thanks !

Last modified October 2, 2023: Fix markdown errors in culture (17f51696)

View page source - Edit this page - please contribute.