VP of Engineering, Architecture and Transformation

Overview of GitLab and This Role

GitLab is an open-core software company renowned for developing the most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps Platform, trusted by over 100,000 organizations. Our core mission is to empower everyone to contribute to and co-create the software that drives our world. By enabling widespread contribution, we transform consumers into contributors, significantly accelerating human progress. Our platform unifies teams and organizations, dismantling barriers and redefining the possibilities in software development. Through innovative products like Duo Enterprise and Duo Agent Platform, customers gain AI benefits at every stage of the SDLC.

Our internal team culture mirrors the principles embedded in our products: we embrace AI as a fundamental productivity multiplier. All team members are expected to integrate AI into their daily workflows to enhance efficiency, foster innovation, and maximize impact. GitLab is a place where careers flourish, innovation thrives, and every voice is valued. Our high-performance culture is built on our core values and continuous knowledge exchange, enabling team members to achieve their full potential while collaborating with industry leaders to solve intricate problems. Join us in co-creating the future as we build technology that revolutionizes software development globally.

As the Vice President of Engineering, Architecture and Transformation, you will establish and lead a pivotal, new Engineering Leadership Team (ELT)-level engineering pillar. This pillar will strategically focus on AI-powered productivity, next-generation architecture, and horizontal execution across all of GitLab. You will be responsible for tackling critical cross-cutting challenges, such as boosting engineering productivity through AI tools like Claude Code, resolving significant architectural hurdles like monolith decoupling, and developing next-generation primitives. Additionally, you'll enhance responsiveness by embedding a horizontal engineering team into high-priority vertical initiatives. This role encompasses two new charters: Architecture, Quality, and Engineering Excellence, and Horizontal Engineering. These charters will collaboratively define and implement engineering best practices, serve as 'Customer Zero' for GitLab's AI-assisted development workflows, and provide dynamic, high-context capacity to accelerate delivery and improve reliability, targeting benchmarks like 99.99% availability. In your initial year, you will work closely with the ELT and PMO to establish and execute a clear AI and architecture roadmap. You will set standards to elevate quality and operational efficiency and build a high-trust model for embedded horizontal teams, strengthening GitLab's global, always-on innovation cycle.

Some Examples of Our Projects

• The AI-Augmented Delivery Engine: A strategic initiative leveraging GitLab as 'Customer Zero' by integrating advanced agents—utilizing tools like Claude Code or equivalent open-source models—to automate non-creative tasks such as refactoring and MR generation. This establishes a blueprint for achieving non-linear productivity gains.
• The 'Act 2' Alignment Charter: A strategic roadmap, co-authored with senior leadership, that identifies systemic technical bottlenecks and defines the architectural evolution required to transition GitLab from a DevSecOps platform to an AI-autonomous delivery engine.

What You'll Do

• Lead the new Engineering, Architecture and Transformation pillar as part of the ELT, establishing a clear vision for horizontal engineering excellence across GitLab.
• Drive the definition, adoption, and continuous improvement of engineering best practices, collaborating with Product, PMO, and vertical engineering leaders to enhance quality, reliability, and delivery consistency.
• Own the 'Customer Zero' charter by championing internal use of GitLab, unblocking teams, and directly contributing to code when necessary to validate workflows and accelerate critical initiatives.
• Define and guide the transition to next-generation, AI-optimized architecture, including the design and rollout of core primitives that empower vertical teams to decouple legacy systems and scale for ultra-scale customers.
• Build and lead the Architecture, Quality and Engineering Excellence team to deliver non-linear productivity gains through AI-assisted development, utilizing tools such as Claude Code and GitLab Duo.
• Establish and manage the Horizontal Engineering team as a flexible, embedded group that integrates with target teams, gains deep context in their codebases, and delivers high-impact features and fixes during US business hours.
• Collaborate across the ELT and senior leaders to identify systemic horizontal challenges, prioritize cross-cutting initiatives, and ensure clear technical ownership and accountability for their execution.
• Champion an operationally frugal mindset by aligning AI and architectural decisions with cost of goods sold optimization, while upholding high availability, service reliability targets, and a strong culture of engineering excellence.

What You'll Bring

• Large-Scale Engineering Leadership: Proven experience leading extensive engineering organizations, including horizontal or platform functions spanning multiple product areas.
• World-Scale Service Operations: A deep background in building, operating, and evolving highly available, world-scale services with a strong emphasis on reliability and quality.
• Architectural Expertise: Demonstrated technical depth across modern software architectures, including experience driving major architectural transitions such as decoupling monoliths and defining foundational primitives.
• Hands-On Technical Leadership: A hands-on engineering leadership style, with the ability to engage directly in code and technical design when required, while guiding teams from strategy through execution.
• AI-Assisted Development: Expertise in AI-assisted development and tooling, with a track record of utilizing AI to enhance developer productivity and inform product direction.
• Cost-Conscious Architecture: Experience driving COGS-conscious engineering decisions, optimizing architectures and operations for both performance and cost efficiency.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Ability to influence without direct authority within a matrixed environment, aligning engineering, product, and executive stakeholders around shared outcomes.
• Product-Minded Change Leadership: Strong product mindset and change leadership skills, including managing the human aspect of large technical shifts in similarly complex, high-scale environments.

About The Team

Our ELT-led engineering pillar at GitLab drives platform-wide impact. We collaborate with product and engineering leaders across all verticals to elevate engineering standards and support long-term architectural and AI initiatives. You will join a small, high-context, globally distributed team that operates asynchronously. We also ensure responsive coverage during US business hours through embedded engineers who contribute fully to target teams. Our focus is on resolving systemic, cross-cutting engineering challenges and accelerating delivery where capacity or geographic gaps exist, transforming GitLab's global footprint into a strategic advantage.

How GitLab Will Support You

• 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
• Home office support

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.

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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.

Key skills/competency

• Engineering Leadership
• AI-Powered Productivity
• Next-Gen Architecture
• DevSecOps Platform
• Monolith Decoupling
• Horizontal Engineering
• Operational Efficiency
• Service Reliability
• Cost Optimization
• Cross-Functional Influence