Director, Product Security Architecture
Overview
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.
We are seeking a Director, Product Security Architecture to lead our Security Architecture function within the team, which protects GitLab's platform and products by identifying, prioritizing, and mitigating security risks across the entire product lifecycle. Composed of , and The base salary range for this role's listed level is currently for residents of the United States only. This range is intende
Requirements
manage and grow a team of Product Security Architects and our closely-aligned risk and metrics engineer who are each dedicated to major product areas of Security, AI, and Core DevOps. Your team will focus on turning product security risks,
, and insights into clear architectural guidance, "paved roads," and multi-quarter risk reduction programs that align with how Product and Engineering actually plan and deliver.
operate in an environment where feature delivery and platform capabilities are accelerating, architectures and technologies are evolving, and teams are continually balancing ambitious product goals with a strong security posture. In this context,
help Product Security:
- Maximize risk reduction by identifying strategic opportunities that fit naturally into existing R&D work
- Ensure that material product security risks and tradeoffs are surfaced, acknowledged, and decided at the right leadership levels
- Lead SPA/AppSec scaling strategies that increase coverage and support non-linear developer gains, with a clear focus on enabling developer velocity with minimal friction
While many strong candidates will come from a deep product security background, this role is also an excellent fit for experienced software or architecture leaders who have consistently delivered secure, resilient systems in complex R&D environments and are excited to lead security outcomes in close partnership with engineering.
- Lead, develop, and mentor a team of Product Security Architects and closely-aligned specialists who are dedicated to major product functional areas (e.g., Sec Section, AI, Core DevOps)
- Own and continuously evolve the Product Security Architecture strategy and partnership model, shifting architects from embedded consultants to accelerators of secure architecture delivery, and serve as a strategic partner to Product and Engineering Directors/VPs
- Oversee and mature the
- Lead the Product Security AI strategy for scaling, including adoption of AI-assisted and platform-level investments that expand security review coverage, reduce toil, and support non-linear developer gains while enabling developer velocity.
- Partner with Application Security, Infrastructure Security, Security Research, Security Operations, Security Risk, and Security Compliance on end-to-end risk reduction, including security-related controls, quality standards, and integration of research and operational learnings into architectures.
- Define and track meaningful architecture-related metrics and Key Risk Indicators, and represent Product Security in cross-functional forums, clearly articulating risk, tradeoffs, and recommended paths forward.
What you'll bring
- Significant experience (typically 10+ years) leading software, architecture, or application security initiatives in high-velocity R&D organizations, with a strong grounding in building and evolving complex software systems
- Strong application security and secure design literacy, whether from direct AppSec roles or from owning secure delivery of large-scale systems, including familiarity with common vulnerability classes, modern software architectures, and practical mitigation patterns
- Deep understanding of systemic product security risks in large-scale platforms, with expertise in at least some of: CI/CD and pipeline security, software supply chain security, identity and access management (AuthN/Z), AI/ML security, or multi-tenant SaaS architectures
- Proven ability to operate effectively in constrained environments: balancing business goals and risk reduction, focusing attention on the highest-impact, hardest-to-reverse decisions, and framing options in terms of risk, cost, and customer impact rather than absolutes.
- Demonstrated success building trust with Product and Engineering Directors/VPs, influencing multi-quarter roadmaps, and co-owning outcomes rather than acting solely as a gate.
- Experience designing and rolling out scalable security patterns—standards, "paved roads," and secure-by-default configurations—that reduce risk while minimizing additional toil for product and engineering teams.
- Experience collaborating with Compliance, Audit, and Security Operations on the definition, implementation, and demonstration of security controls and security-related quality standards, and translating technical designs into clear language for auditors, engineers, and senior leaders.
- Experience supporting organizations through significant technology and architectural change (e.g., adoption of new languages and frameworks, or evolution from monoliths toward microservices or domain-oriented architectures) while maintaining or improving security posture.
- Ability to operate at multiple altitudes—from executive-level strategy and stakeholder alignment down to detailed technical design discussions when necessary—with excellent written and verbal communication in an all-remote, asynchronous environment.
- Comfort with AI-augmented workflows and enthusiasm for leveraging tools like GitLab Duo to scale the Product Security Architecture function, along with strong alignment to GitLab's Apply on Greenhouse →