Principal Solutions Architect

An overview of this role

As a Principal Solutions Architect in GitLab’s global Solutions Architecture Center of Excellence, you’ll be the trusted technical advisor and pre-sales partner who helps customers unlock the full value of GitLab’s AI-powered DevSecOps platform. You will solve complex challenges across the software lifecycle by connecting GitLab, AI agents, security, and cloud-native capabilities to real business outcomes, guiding customers through digital transformation and modern software delivery. Reporting into the Senior Director and acting as the AI subject matter expert on a team of specialists, you’ll own technical strategy for strategic accounts, lead value stream and Proof of Value (PoV) engagements, and serve as the technical “CTO” for your accounts. In your first year, you’ll be focused on driving successful platform evaluations and adoption as part of the pre-sales process, shaping AI-led solution architectures, influencing product direction with field feedback, and creating reusable assets and providing thought leadership for raising GitLab’s technical bar globally.

What you’ll do

• 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 per