Senior Director, Global SME Solutions Architecture

Details

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. The company embraces AI as a core productivity multiplier, with team members expected to incorporate AI into their daily workflows.

Role Overview

As the Senior Director, Global Subject Matter Expertise (SME) Solutions Architecture, you will build and lead GitLab's Subject Matter Expert organization: three regional teams in AMER, EMEA and APJ, each covering Security & Compliance, Platform, Core DevSecOps, and AI & Competitive. This team is the depth layer of GitLab's technical selling model. It wins the most complex opportunities, scales product expertise into the Account SA team, and turns field insight into product direction.

This is a leader-of-leaders role. You will manage three regional SME Managers, not individual contributors, and develop them as leaders. The SME organization is new, so GitLab is seeking a transformational leader who thrives in ambiguity, builds structure where none exists, and has a track record of establishing high-performing technical teams in fast-growing, evolving businesses.

You will work as a peer to GitLab's regional Solutions Architecture Senior Directors and partner closely with Sales, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, Product Marketing, and Sales Operations. The team is distributed and all-remote.

Responsibilities

• Set the strategy, operating model, and global standards for the SME organization, aligned to the VP Global SA and GitLab's go-to-market plan.
• Build the resourcing model from product-level bookings and consumption targets. Size each product group by region based on specialist coverage needs.
• Act as the field's senior partner to Product Management and Engineering, running a structured feedback loop that shapes roadmaps, launch readiness, and early-access programs.
• Hire, mentor, and develop regional SME Managers and, through them, the full global team.
• Own the engagement model with regional SA Senior Directors, Post-Sales SAs, and Customer Success, including triage rules, coverage thresholds, closed-won handoffs, and escalation paths.
• Create and improve processes, metrics, and KPIs for SME-led technical evaluations, workshops, demos, and Proofs of Value.
• Partner with CRO staff, regional sales leaders, and AVPs on product-category performance, forecast risk, and competitive strategy.
• Partner with Enablement, Product Marketing, and other teams to drive field readiness for new product launches, including Duo Agent Platform, security, and platform offerings.
• Build relationships with key customers at the technical sponsor and executive level.
• Use AI to improve deal research, demo creation, Proof-of-Value automation, and knowledge sharing.
• Drive organizational transformation by identifying gaps early, building structure where none exists, and leading change without waiting for top-down direction.

Requirements

• 5+ years of second-line leadership experience managing managers in Solutions Architecture, Sales Engineering, or a technical specialist organization.
• Experience building or scaling a specialist, overlay, or global Solutions Architecture team in enterprise SaaS, DevSecOps, security, or developer tools.
• A record of tying technical-team design to bookings and consumption outcomes, supported by data.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity and rapid organizational change, bringing clarity and direction while strategy is still forming.
• Strong relationships with Product and Engineering leaders, with a history of shaping roadmaps from field insight.
• Fluency across the software development lifecycle; application security, including SAST, DAST, and SCA; cloud platforms including AWS, GCP, and Azure; Kubernetes; and AI-assisted development, including LLM evaluation and production deployment patterns.
• Executive presence with technical practitioners, managers, and C-level stakeholders.
• Proven ability to partner across Sales, Partners, Product, Engineering, Marketing, Customer Success, and Professional Services.
• A self-starting, entrepreneurial approach, with the ability to create processes and operating models without an existing playbook.

Measurement

• Global product-category commit attainment and consumption growth.
• Time from technical win to the first workload in the customer's production environment on SME-engaged opportunities compared with non-engaged opportunities.
• SME coverage and engagement speed on the top 10% of opportunities.
• Account Team capability lift, including fewer escalations and more deals handled without an SME over time.
• Product impact, including field sentiment on the product feedback process and field-sourced requirements adopted into the roadmap.
• Team health, including hiring against plan, manager development, engagement, and retention.

Benefits

• Benefits supporting health, finances, and well-being.
• Flexible paid time off.
• Team Member Resource Groups.
• Equity Compensation and Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
• Growth and Development Fund.
• Parental Leave.

Compensation

The United States base salary range is $244,200–$409,500 USD. The range does not include bonuses, equity, or benefits. Sales roles are also eligible for incentive pay targeted at up to 100% of the offered base salary.

GitLab is an equal opportunity workplace and supports accommodations during the recruiting process.