Senior Director, Solution Architecture - North America

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 As the Senior Director, Solutions Architects, you will lead a team that helps prospects, customers, and partners understand how GitLab can meet their technical requirements and business goals. In this role, you will sit at the intersection of technical sales leadership, team development, and operational scale. You will guide strategy for technical evaluations, workshops, demos, and proof-of-concept engagements, while building the structure and support we need for the team to grow and perform at a high level. This is a leader of leaders role where you will manage a team of managers, not individual contributors, and be expected to develop and elevate those managers as leaders in their own right. We are looking for a transformational leader who thrives in ambiguity, brings a self-starting mindset, and has a demonstrated track record of driving change and building high-performing organizations in rapidly growing, evolving businesses. You will work closely with Sales, Partners, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, Marketing, Services, and Sales Operations to improve how we communicate GitLab's value in customer-facing technical engagements. You will also help strengthen regional planning, executive relationships, and field feedback loops so that our Solutions Architects organization can support current priorities while scaling for future growth. This is a key leadership opportunity to help GitLab deliver a clear, credible technical story for the most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps platform. What you'll do Develop strategy and operations to improve win rates by helping teams discover, explain, and demonstrate how GitLab meets customer requirements and desired business outcomes. Lead initiatives that scale the organization and its operating model to support future growth. Create and improve processes, metrics, and key performance indicators for technical evaluations, workshops, demos, and proof-of-concept engagements. Partner with Sales and Partner teams to align on strategy, priorities, and support for specific prospects, customers, and partners. Build strong relationships with key customers at the technical sponsor and executive level. Work with Enterprise sales leadership in US, Canada & LATAM to support account plans, strategies, and quarterly goals. Collaborate with Customer Success, Product, Engineering, Marketing, Services, and Sales Operations to improve engagement models, team enablement, and field feedback loops. Hire, mentor, and develop an exceptional team of Solutions Architects and managers. Drive organizational transformation by proactively identifying gaps, building structure where none exists, and leading change without waiting for top-down direction. What you'll bring Progressive leadership experience including substantial time as a second or third-line leader (managing managers) in technical sales, Solutions Architecture, or Sales Engineering organizations. Demonstrated ability to lead through ambiguity and rapid organizational change, bringing clarity and direction to teams even when strategy is still forming. Experience building and leading teams of managers in complex, distributed organizations. Strong experience improving strategy and operations for technical assessment processes, technical evaluations, and team enablement. Knowledge of software development lifecycle practices and tools, including agile and DevOps ways of working. Technical familiarity with cloud and security concepts, such as Kubernetes, Docker, static application security testing (SAST), dynamic application security testing (DAST), and cloud deployment models including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure. Experience selling technical solutions to technical practitioners, managers, and executive stakeholders. Proven ability to partner across functions, including Sales, Partners, Product, Engineering, Marketing, Customer Success, and Services. A self-starting, entrepreneurial approach — you don't wait for a playbook; you write it. About the team The Solutions Architects team serves as a trusted technical partner for the field, helping strengthen customer confidence in GitLab's platform approach and supporting successful engagements across the customer journey. Their work connects technical credibility with customer trust, giving internal teams a strong partner in complex sales motions. This team works in close partnership with go-to-market and product organizations, bringing customer feedback from the field into broader conversations about product direction, services, enablement, and value messaging. As a distributed team in an all-remote environment, they rely on clear communication, strong judgment, and shared operating practices to support teams and customers across regions. It is an important team for GitLab's continued growth because it combines technical depth, leadership, customer trust, and operational excellence. For more information, check out the Solution Architecture Handbook . The base salary range for this role’s listed level is currently for residents of the United States only. This range is intended to reflect the role's base salary rate in locations throughout the US. Grade level and salary ranges are determined through interviews and a review of education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities of the applicant, equity with other team members, alignment with market data, and geographic location. The base salary range does not include any bonuses, equity, or benefits. See more information on our benefits and equity . Sales roles are also eligible for incentive pay targeted at up to 100% of the offered base salary. United States Salary Range $244,200 — $409,500 USD 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. Privacy Policy: Please review our Recruitment Privacy Policy. Your privacy is important to us. 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 .