Senior Partner Solutions Architect, Strategic Partnerships - GitLab

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.

Role Overview

As a Senior Partner Solutions Architect, Strategic Partnerships, you'll own the technical strategy and validation of joint work with GitLab's strategic partners: hyperscalers, artificial intelligence (AI) labs, AI-native companies, and DevSecOps vendors. You will collaborate with partners, Product, and R&D to turn partner and customer needs into integrations, influence product design, and build the business case for each joint effort.

In this role, you will also own the AI model evaluation process with model partners, collaborating closely with R&D teams to assess new models ahead of release and ensure GitLab leverages optimal models. Unlike customer-facing Solutions Architect roles focused on adoption, you'll work directly with partners to improve the GitLab platform. This role has no sales quota or variable pay.

What You'll Do

• Own the end-to-end technical strategy for assigned strategic partners, connecting technical requirements with joint business objectives.
• Turn partner technology and roadmaps into integration, architecture, and product opportunities across the GitLab platform, from planning to monitoring, AI agents, and model integrations.
• Resolve complex technical issues across GitLab and partner systems, covering cloud architecture, tool integrations, and AI model evaluation; build working prototypes to validate concepts.
• Manage the end-to-end AI model evaluation process with model partners, coordinating with R&D for early access, evaluation criteria, and roadmap translation.
• Design and facilitate partner workshops, architecture reviews, and cloud financial management (FinOps) sessions.
• Build business cases for joint technical efforts, scoping gains, costs, and resources to align stakeholders across R&D and leadership.
• Feed partner requirements and technical feedback back into Product and R&D roadmaps.
• Coordinate Engineering, Product, FinOps, Finance, Sales, and Marketing with partner technical teams to move joint work from evaluation to delivery.
• Track cloud, AI, and DevSecOps developments to guide partnership investment and document reusable findings.

What You'll Bring

• Proven experience as a Senior Solutions Architect, Partner Solutions Architect, Partner Engineer, or similar senior technical role (experience with technology partners or alliances preferred).
• End-to-end understanding of the software development lifecycle, CI/CD, and DevSecOps, with in-depth knowledge of GitLab.
• Hands-on cloud architecture experience with at least one hyperscaler: Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft Azure (FinOps experience is a plus).
• Working knowledge of AI model evaluation frameworks and agent technology, including LLM APIs, agent frameworks, and Model Context Protocol (MCP).
• Experience designing and leading technical workshops with senior stakeholders, as well as developing robust business cases.
• Autonomous, ownership-driven approach to identifying and executing initiatives without waiting for a backlog.
• Clear, concise written and spoken communication skills across both technical and executive audiences.
• Willingness to travel approximately once per quarter and work overlapping hours with EMEA (candidates on the US West Coast should expect an early start around 7:00 AM PT).