I build systems that work in the real world.
I'm Marc Saleiko — a Staff Engineer at GitLab, working on the Plan stage — specifically the Work Items framework, the architectural foundation that powers how teams track and manage their work. My focus is on building systems that are reusable, extensible, and designed to make future work easier rather than harder.
I'm based in Brüggen, Germany, where I work from a self-built insulated office cabin I call the Pömpeli. Before GitLab I wore a lot of hats — freelance web developer for over a decade, head of engineering at a startup, computer science lecturer. That mix gave me a generalist's instinct I've never quite shaken: I'm more interested in how pieces fit together than in any one piece in isolation.
I mentor engineers, write design documents, and have a stubborn preference for boring solutions to complex problems.
Work
A few excerpts from recent work — not a complete list, just the pieces that best show how I think about building systems.
Work Items Framework
The architecture behind "everything is a work item" — configurable types, custom statuses, a data-driven system replacing years of hardcoded logic. I authored the engineering vision that guides how multiple teams build on the framework over the next 2–3 years.
Read the engineering vision →Configurable Work Item Types
Tech lead and architectural DRI for the initiative that makes work item types fully customizable at the namespace level — shipped in GitLab 19.0. Designed the core architecture and led six workstreams across teams, paying down years of hardcoded type checks along the way.
Read the design document →Custom Status for Work Items
Designed and shipped MVC1 and MVC2 of custom statuses — a lifecycle management system for work items that doubled weekly usage after launch. Beyond shipping the feature, I drove internal adoption: enabling the GitLab organization itself to replace years of scoped-label workflows with native statuses, including the triage automation that depends on them.
Watch walkthrough (6,300+ views) →Before GitLab
Head of Engineering
Led the technical architecture for a scaling startup — resolving performance bottlenecks and high-volume data processing challenges. Architected a project management system inside the platform, content collection workflows with intelligent automations, bulk processing tools, and enterprise MS365 integrations. Built on Rails and PostgreSQL, alongside establishing agile development processes for the team.
Adjunct Lecturer
Taught computer science courses in German for almost five years, specializing in object-oriented programming and content management systems. Modernized existing curricula with current web development practices, UX fundamentals, and web writing — and produced video content for remote learning during COVID-19. Lectures, examinations, and supervision of student research projects.
Independent Web Developer & Designer
For over a decade I ran my own web development practice alongside everything else — building websites and web applications for agencies and small businesses, from design to deployment. It's where I learned to own a problem end to end.