Skill Profile

GitLab CI/CD Advanced

Includes, rules, environments, Review Apps, DAST integration, parent-child pipelines

DevOps & CI/CD CI/CD

Roles

6

where this skill appears

Levels

5

structured growth path

Mandatory requirements

22

the other 8 optional

Domain

DevOps & CI/CD

Group

CI/CD

Last updated

3/17/2026

How to Use

Choose your current level and compare expectations. The items below show what to cover to advance to the next level.

What is Expected at Each Level

The table shows how skill depth grows from Junior to Principal. Click a row to see details.

Role Required Description
DevOps Engineer Understands .gitlab-ci.yml structure: stages, jobs, scripts, artifacts. Runs pipelines, reads logs and understands job statuses. Knows basic concepts: variables, cache, execution rules (rules/only/except).
DevSecOps Engineer Creates .gitlab-ci.yml with basic stages: build, test, deploy. Configures GitLab SAST and Dependency Scanning in pipeline. Uses GitLab Container Registry for image storage. Applies protected branches and merge request approvals. Understands GitLab runners and pipeline triggers.
MLOps Engineer Understands GitLab CI/CD pipeline structure (stages, jobs, artifacts). Applies basic practices for triggering ML training pipelines via .gitlab-ci.yml. Follows team conventions for model artifact storage and pipeline variable usage.
Platform Engineer Required Writes basic .gitlab-ci.yml pipelines for platform projects: stages, jobs, artifacts. Uses predefined variables and rules for conditional execution. Configures Docker executor for runners. Understands caching and job dependencies.
QA Automation Engineer Understands GitLab CI/CD job configuration and test stage basics. Applies existing pipeline templates to run automated test suites on merge requests. Follows team practices for test report artifacts and JUnit XML integration.
Release Engineer Required Knows basic GitLab CI concepts for release engineering and can apply them in typical tasks. Uses standard tools and follows established team practices. Understands when and why this approach is applied.
Role Required Description
DevOps Engineer Develops CI/CD pipelines in GitLab: multi-stage pipelines, parent-child and downstream pipelines, include templates. Configures GitLab Runners (Docker, Kubernetes executors), manages variables, environments and review apps.
DevSecOps Engineer Develops multi-stage GitLab CI pipelines with security scanning: SAST, DAST, Container Scanning, License Compliance. Configures GitLab Auto DevOps with review apps. Introduces parent-child pipelines for complex deployments. Manages GitLab runners with Docker executor and security isolation.
MLOps Engineer Independently creates multi-stage GitLab pipelines for ML workflows (data validation, training, evaluation, registry push). Configures GPU runners, DVC integration, and model registry artifacts. Automates experiment tracking and model promotion with pipeline triggers and API calls.
Platform Engineer Required Creates templated CI/CD pipelines (include/extends) for standardizing platform processes. Configures GitLab Runner fleet with autoscaling in Kubernetes. Implements parent-child pipelines for complex deployments. Uses environments and review apps for preview.
QA Automation Engineer Independently creates GitLab pipelines with parallel test execution, dynamic child pipelines, and selective test triggering via rules. Configures test splitting across runners for optimal feedback time. Automates coverage reporting, flaky test detection, and merge request quality gates.
Release Engineer Required Confidently applies GitLab CI for release engineering in non-standard tasks. Independently selects the optimal approach and tools. Analyzes trade-offs and proposes improvements to existing solutions.
Role Required Description
DevOps Engineer Required Designs CI/CD platform on GitLab: shared pipeline templates for the organization, dynamic child pipelines, DAG optimization. Configures GitLab Runner autoscaling on Kubernetes, integrates with Vault for secrets, implements compliance pipelines.
DevSecOps Engineer Required Designs GitLab CI/CD platform for the organization: shared runners, custom executors, pipeline efficiency. Introduces GitLab Security Dashboard for centralized vulnerability view. Configures compliance pipelines for enforced security checks. Creates CI/CD component library for reuse.
MLOps Engineer Required Architects CI/CD with GitLab CI/CD Advanced. Optimizes pipeline speed and reliability. Implements progressive delivery.
Platform Engineer Required Designs CI/CD platform on GitLab for IDP: CI/CD component catalog, compliance pipelines, security scanning integration. Creates golden pipeline templates for teams. Implements GitLab Releases and feature flags for controlled rollout through the platform.
QA Automation Engineer Required Designs CI/CD architecture with GitLab CI/CD Advanced. Optimizes pipeline speed and reliability. Implements progressive delivery.
Release Engineer Required Expertly applies GitLab CI for release engineering to design complex systems. Optimizes existing solutions and prevents architectural mistakes. Conducts code reviews and trains colleagues on best practices.
Role Required Description
DevOps Engineer Required Defines GitLab CI/CD standards for the organization: include template library, compliance framework, runner infrastructure standards. Designs multi-project pipeline architecture, DORA metrics for delivery effectiveness evaluation.
DevSecOps Engineer Required Defines CI/CD strategy on GitLab for the organization. Manages GitLab Premium/Ultimate with SAML SSO and audit events. Builds GitOps workflow with GitLab Agent for Kubernetes. Introduces compliance framework with mandatory pipeline stages. Optimizes pipeline performance and runner fleet management.
MLOps Engineer Required Defines the DevOps strategy with GitLab CI/CD Advanced. Establishes CI/CD standards. Implements platform engineering approaches.
Platform Engineer Required Defines organizational GitLab CI/CD strategy: instance vs SaaS, runner infrastructure, license optimization. Leads internal component library creation. Designs compliance framework with automatic audit trails. Integrates GitLab with IDP for end-to-end developer workflow.
QA Automation Engineer Required Defines DevOps strategy with GitLab CI/CD Advanced. Establishes CI/CD standards. Implements platform engineering approaches.
Release Engineer Required Establishes GitLab CI standards for the release engineering team and makes architectural decisions. Defines the technical roadmap considering this skill. Mentors senior engineers and influences practices of adjacent teams.
Role Required Description
DevOps Engineer Required Develops DevOps platform strategy based on GitLab: end-to-end from SCM to production, Security integration, Package Registry, Infrastructure. Defines enterprise GitLab instance architecture with HA, geo-replication and DR plan.
DevSecOps Engineer Required Architecturally defines DevSecOps platform based on GitLab. Designs multi-tenant CI/CD architecture. Defines GitLab migration strategy or integration with existing tools. Develops enterprise-wide CI/CD standards. Influences GitLab roadmap through customer advisory board.
MLOps Engineer Required Shapes the GitLab CI/CD strategy for the organization-level MLOps platform: unified include templates for ML pipelines, standards for model training and deployment stages. Designs GitLab Runners architecture with GPU support, MLflow integration for automatic experiment tracking from pipelines, and model promotion policies through environments.
Platform Engineer Required Shapes DevSecOps platform strategy based on GitLab: complete SDLC, value stream analytics, AI-powered DevOps. Defines roadmap for integrating GitLab capabilities into IDP. Evaluates GitLab Duo AI for automating developer workflows at organizational scale.
QA Automation Engineer Required Defines the organization's DevOps strategy. Designs internal developer platform. Builds engineering excellence culture.
Release Engineer Required Shapes GitLab CI strategy for release engineering at the organizational level. Defines best practices and influences technology choices beyond their own team. Is a recognized expert in this area.

Community

👁 Watch ✏️ Suggest Change Sign in to suggest changes
📋 Proposals
No proposals yet for GitLab CI/CD Advanced
Loading comments...