Matt Kirkevold's README

README – Matt Kirkevold

Who I am

I’m Matt Kirkevold, an Engineering Manager in Infrastructure Platforms, Dedicated – US Public Services at GitLab. I’m based in Longmont, Colorado (US Mountain Time) and have spent most of my career in reliability‑critical, public safety and infrastructure environments (9‑1‑1, SRE, and cloud platforms).

I think of myself as a systems engineer turned people‑first leader: I still care deeply about how things work under the hood, but my primary job now is making sure the system of people, process, and technology is healthy and sustainable.

What I work on at GitLab

• Team: US Public Services / GitLab Dedicated for Government (GDG)
• Focus areas:
  • GitLab Dedicated for Government operations and enablement
  • Planning and execution for Dedicated GDG US Public Sector initiatives
  • Building and maintaining a strong, trust-focused team

You’ll often find me working at the intersection of reliability, compliance, and pragmatism: taking requirements that can feel heavy (FedRAMP, SLAs, audits) and turning them into workflows that real humans can operate without burning out.

My leadership philosophy

A few themes that describe how I try to lead:

• Fair, calm, and steady – I work hard to treat people consistently and fairly, especially under pressure. I don’t raise my voice; I slow things down enough to make good decisions.
• Restorative by default – I’m drawn to messy, broken, or ambiguous areas that need untangling. I like taking something that “sort of works” and turning it into something dependable.
• Deliberate and risk‑aware – I’m comfortable making decisions, but I tend to look at a problem from multiple angles before we commit. I care about edge cases and failure modes.
• Harmony, not avoidance – I value healthy disagreement and direct feedback, but I’ll usually look for a way to lower the emotional temperature and keep us focused on outcomes, not personalities.
• High standards, human pace – I believe we can (and should) do excellent work, but never at the cost of people’s health or families. I will push on clarity, ownership, and follow‑through, not on heroics.

How I tend to work

• Working hours:
  • Roughly 08:00–17:00 US Mountain Time.
  • I’m occasionally available outside that window for incidents or cross‑timezone needs, but I’m not on 24/7.
• Asynchronous first:
  • I prefer issues, MRs, and well‑structured docs over meetings.
  • If a topic is fuzzy, I’ll often start with a written outline before we talk live.
• Preparation and follow‑through:
  • I like to come into discussions having read the context.
  • After a decision, I care that we capture it in writing and close the loop.
• Attention to detail:
  • I notice edge conditions, dependencies, and operational gotchas.
  • I’m okay with a bit more upfront thinking if it saves us firefighting later.

How to work with me

Best ways to reach me

• Slack: Great for quick questions, coordination, or “is this the right direction?” pings.
• Issues / Epics: Best for anything that needs a durable record, cross‑team input, or priority decisions.
• 1:1s: Use them for what you need – career, feedback, venting, or deep dives into a tricky problem.

What helps

• Bring context and options – A short summary of the situation, a link or two, and 1–2 options you’re considering go a long way.
• Tell me the constraint – If you’re blocked by time, process, or unclear ownership, say that explicitly. I’ll help unblock or re‑scope.
• Be candid – It’s okay (and encouraged) to say “I disagree” or “this feels unsustainable.” I’d rather surface tension early than have quiet frustration.
• Give me time to process – I tend to absorb information and rarely react immediately. For most asks or decisions, I’ll need time to think before I respond or act — that’s just how I operate. If you need an answer quickly, say so and I’ll flag if I need more time.

What I might ask from you

• To write things down when a topic keeps resurfacing.
• To narrow the scope so we can ship something and learn.
• To own decisions appropriate to your role, even if they’re not perfect.

How I support you

My default stance as a manager is that my job is to make your job easier and more impactful. In practice, that looks like:

• Shielding and filtering
  • Reducing randomization from outside asks, “drive‑by” work, or unclear priorities.
  • Saying “no” or “not now” on behalf of the team when necessary.
• Clarifying priorities
  • Making sure you know what matters most this week/quarter and what can safely wait.
  • Helping you align your work with team and company goals.
• Incident leadership
  • Staying calm in incidents, helping organize roles, structure timelines, and maintain communication.
  • Following through afterward so we don’t repeat the same failure the same way.
• Growth and opportunities
  • Looking for chances for you to stretch – leading an incident, owning a project, presenting to stakeholders.
  • Helping you connect your strengths (technical or otherwise) to the work we choose.
• Fairness and recognition
  • Making sure credit lands where it belongs.
  • Addressing situations where you feel undervalued or sidelined.

If you feel I’m not doing one of these well, I genuinely want you to tell me.

Communication preferences

• Style: Direct, respectful, and practical. I care more about clarity than polish.
• Medium:
  • Async (issues, MRs, docs) for most things.
  • Slack for quick back‑and‑forth or time‑sensitive coordination, general chatter.
  • Zoom when nuance, emotion, or complex tradeoffs are involved.
• Feedback:
  • I appreciate specific, behavior‑based feedback more than generic “good job” or “this feels off.”
  • I’m okay with receiving feedback in writing if that’s easier for you.

Decision‑making and risk

• I naturally scan for failure modes and unintended consequences.
• I’m comfortable being the DRI when needed, but I prefer pushing decisions to the closest capable owner.
• Expect me to ask questions like:
  • “What’s the smallest safe step we can take here?”
  • “What happens if this fails in the worst possible way?”
  • “Who is impacted if we’re wrong, and how badly?”

My values

• Fairness – People should experience me as consistent and equitable, especially under pressure. I take care not to let personal feelings override what’s fair.
• Trust – I default to trusting adults to make good decisions in their domain. I’d rather extend trust and adjust than start from suspicion.
• Sustainability – High standards are important, but not at the expense of health or family. I care about systems (and careers) that are durable, not just impressive for a quarter.
• Integrity – I aim to be straightforward and honest, even when that’s uncomfortable. I try to align what I say, what I do, and what I reward.
• Collaboration – I believe complex problems are best solved together. I value teamwork, shared context, and a bias toward helping rather than blaming.

My superpowers (and where they backfire)

• Restorative – seeing what’s broken and fixing it
  • At its best: I’m quick to spot underlying issues in systems, processes, or relationships and enjoy rolling up my sleeves to get things working again.
  • At its worst: I can drift into “I’ll just fix it myself,” taking on too much or stepping into others’ lanes instead of enabling them to own the solution.
• Deliberative / Judgment – thinking things through
  • At its best: I’m careful about risks, look at problems from multiple angles, and make considered decisions that hold up over time.
  • At its worst: I can over‑analyze or keep gathering input past the point of diminishing returns, which can feel like slow decision‑making to others.
• Harmony / Teamwork – keeping things calm and moving
  • At its best: I help lower the emotional temperature, find common ground, and keep the group focused on outcomes instead of personalities.
  • At its worst: I may under‑challenge ideas or delay hard conversations because I’m trying to preserve a sense of peace for everyone.
• Achiever / Perseverance – getting things over the finish line
  • At its best: I follow through, push work to completion, and stay with a problem until we’ve truly resolved it, not just patched it.
  • At its worst: I can overestimate what’s realistically achievable or keep pushing myself past a healthy limit if I’m not careful.
• Discipline / Prudence – bringing structure and consistency
  • At its best: I create clarity, routines, and predictable ways of working so people know what to expect and can rely on the system around them.
  • At its worst: Too much structure can make me impatient with ambiguity or change, and I can come across as rigid when things are still forming.

If you notice me leaning into the “at its worst” side of any of these, saying so is a favor.

My assumptions

• You’re capable and want to do good work and make good decisions.
• You’ll raise risks, blockers, or misalignments early if something doesn’t feel right.
• You’re comfortable disagreeing with me respectfully and bringing your own perspective.
• You value clarity and fairness, even if it occasionally means having tougher conversations.
• You’d rather own meaningful work (with support) than be overly sheltered from challenges.

If any of these assumptions don’t feel true for you, it’s helpful for me to know so I can adjust how I support you.

Feedback for me

I genuinely welcome feedback and would rather hear it early than have it simmer.

• Format – Specific, behavior‑based feedback is most useful: what you saw or experienced, how it landed for you, and what you’d like to see instead.
• Medium – Written feedback (issue, doc, or Slack DM) works well for me, and I’m also happy to talk live in a 1:1 if that feels better.
• Tone – Direct but respectful is perfect. You don’t need to “soften” everything; I’d rather understand the real impact than guess.

If you’re not sure how to start, one simple frame is: “When you <behavior>, it had <impact> on me/the team. In the future, it would help me if you could <change>.”

What I’m still working on (and sometimes tripping over)

• Letting go earlier: I can default to “I’ll fix this” when something is broken; I’m working on creating space for others to own and learn.
• Balancing thoroughness with speed: My deliberative side can sometimes slow decisions; I’m consciously practicing being explicit about when we opt for speed with known risk.
• Being more visible: I tend to focus on unblocking and behind‑the‑scenes work; I’m improving at surfacing that context so the team sees the full picture.

A bit more about me (non‑work)

• I’ve spent decades in public safety and critical systems, which shaped my bias toward reliability, calm crisis response, and doing the right thing even when it’s hard to measure.
• I enjoy systems of all kinds – from infrastructure and tooling to how teams and organizations function.
• Outside work, I recharge through family life and hands‑on “fixing” (which probably won’t surprise anyone who’s read this far). I have a history in both punk and classical music, enjoy traveling when I can, and I’m just as happy spending a quiet evening at home with a book.

If you’re new to working with me

If we’re just starting to work together, good first steps:

1. Send me your README if you have one, or a short note on how you like to work.
2. Book a 1:1 where we talk about:
   • What energizes you
   • What frustrates you
   • How I can best support you in the next 3–6 months
3. Share one thing you’d change about how we work today if you had a magic wand.

My goal is that you know what to expect from me, feel treated fairly and consistently, and have the space and support you need to do work you’re proud of.

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