Principal Solutions Architect

About GitLab

GitLab is an open-core software company that develops the most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps Platform, trusted by over 100,000 organizations. Our mission is to enable everyone to contribute to and co-create the software that powers our world. By empowering contributions, we significantly accelerate human progress. Our platform unites teams and organizations, breaking down barriers and redefining what's possible in software development. Products like Duo Enterprise and Duo Agent Platform ensure customers gain AI benefits at every stage of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).

Our team embodies the same principles built into our products: we embrace AI as a core productivity multiplier, expecting all team members to incorporate AI into daily workflows for 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 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.

An Overview Of This Role

As a Principal Solutions Architect in GitLab’s global Solutions Architecture Center of Excellence, you will serve as a trusted technical advisor and pre-sales partner. Your primary goal will be to help customers unlock the full value of GitLab’s AI-powered DevSecOps platform. This involves solving complex challenges across the software lifecycle by connecting GitLab, AI agents, security, and cloud-native capabilities to tangible business outcomes, thereby guiding customers through digital transformation and modern software delivery. Reporting to the Senior Director and acting as the AI subject matter expert, you will own the technical strategy for strategic accounts, lead value stream and Proof of Value (PoV) engagements, and function as the technical “CTO” for your assigned accounts. In your first year, you will focus on driving successful platform evaluations and adoption in the pre-sales process, shaping AI-led solution architectures, influencing product direction with field feedback, and creating reusable assets and thought leadership to elevate GitLab’s technical excellence globally.

What You’ll Do as a Principal Solutions Architect

• Lead technical discovery, architecture design, demos, and end-to-end evaluations (POC/POV) to validate GitLab as the preferred agentic, AI-powered DevSecOps platform for prospects and customers.
• Drive AI-focused solution strategy as the team’s AI subject matter expert, including competitive positioning and business value justifications.
• Own the technical strategy and influence Customer Success Plans for assigned accounts, acting as the “technical CTO” to guide multi-team, multi-year transformation initiatives across the DevSecOps lifecycle.
• Collaborate with Sales, Customer Success, Product Management, Engineering, and Marketing to shape account strategies, inform territory planning, and ensure successful platform adoption.
• Provide advanced technical guidance during the pre-sales cycle, including tender and audit support, workshop design, and solving complex integration and implementation challenges.
• Serve as the voice of the customer by translating real-world feedback into product requirements, documentation improvements, and roadmap input, especially for AI, security, and platform capabilities.
• Create and share reusable technical assets such as reference architectures, working examples, best practice guides, and internal enablement content to scale impact across regions.
• Mentor other Solutions Architects, contribute to global initiatives for the Center of Excellence, and act as an external industry authority through thought leadership, standards participation, and ecosystem relationships.

What You’ll Bring

• Expert resonance for the most strategic aspects of GitLab’s product and customer personas while empowering the field with domain knowledge.
• Deep hands-on expertise with AI, such as designing or implementing AI-powered solutions, advising on AI adoption, or acting as an AI subject matter expert for customers or internal teams.
• Experience in technical pre-sales, software consulting, or similar roles where you connect complex technology to business outcomes.
• Practical background in modern software development or operations, including CI/CD, DevSecOps practices, and related tooling.
• Knowledge of cloud computing concepts and architectures, and how cloud services integrate into secure, scalable application delivery.
• Ability to design and explain technical architectures that span multiple teams and phases of the software lifecycle, from planning through monitoring.
• Skill in leading technical evaluations and workshops (for example, proofs of value or solution design sessions) with diverse stakeholders, from engineers to executives.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to act as a trusted advisor and customer advocate across sales, product, and engineering teams.
• Openness to learning and growth, with experience building new skills over time; candidates with transferable experience in adjacent domains (for example security, data, or cloud architecture) are encouraged to apply.

About The Team

This role sits within GitLab’s global Solutions Architecture Center of Excellence, a distributed team of subject matter experts focused on AI, application security, and monetization. Our mission is to accelerate GitLab’s market leadership by shaping how customers adopt GitLab and partnering with Sales, Product, and Engineering to drive successful platform outcomes. We collaborate asynchronously across regions, sharing best practices, reusable assets, and field insights that influence product direction and go-to-market motions. As an AI-focused Principal Solutions Architect on our team, you’ll help tackle complex customer challenges around AI adoption, security, and value realization, while contributing to the technical standards, frameworks, and thought leadership that support GitLab’s most strategic accounts.

Key skills/competency

• Solutions Architecture
• AI-powered DevSecOps
• Technical Pre-sales
• CI/CD & DevSecOps Practices
• Cloud Computing Architectures
• Technical Strategy & Leadership
• Customer Advocacy
• Product Roadmapping
• Proof of Value (PoV)
• Stakeholder Management